Although there are no challengers to the incumbent Roslyn School District Board of Education members this year, voters in the district will decide the fate of the school budget, the library budget, and a proposition authorizing expenditure of Capital Reserve Funds.

Voting will take place on Tuesday, May 29, from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. in the Roslyn High School gymnasium.

The proposed 2008-09 budget, one approved by BOE members at its April 10 meeting, amounts to $94,178,999, itself a 4.60 percent increase over the current year.

The tax levy, school officials said, is projected to increase 4.90 percent with an estimated average property tax increase of 5.66 percent.

The estimated average tax increase, school officials said, is lower than the one in a Scopes newsletter mailed to all residents last week. The new estimate is based on updated information received from the Nassau County Department of Assessment, school officials added. A revised newsletter, officials said, along with additional budget information, is available at www.roslynschools.org.

In a letter sent last month to school district residents, Superintendent Dr. John A. Richman noted that the proposed budget includes such initiatives as a summer academic program, a new alternative program at Roslyn High School, increased foreign language offerings at both the middle school and the high school, and a reading and writing project of Columbia University's Teachers College.

The proposed budget also includes refurbishing and renovation projects at the middle school auditorium, the middle school outdoor athletic complex, and the high school running track.

According to Dr. Richman, the initial budget draft amounted to a 7.85 percent increase. The district, he added, found those numbers too high and so they made cost reductions and "efficiencies" totaling $3.3 million.

On April 21, the Bryant Library Board of Trustees approved their own 2008-09 budget proposal for the May 20 vote. The budget, library officials said, proposes an increase to taxpayers of 3.45 percent and the operating budget represents a 5.83 percent increase over last year's budget. This increase, library officials added, enables the library to continue to provide current services and to offer new enhancements in technology.

The proposed budget has been impacted by the high cost of fuel and utilities. And so, the board sought to reduce the impact of such expenses by obtaining a $6,100 New York State Construction Aid grant to help defray the costs of energy bills, partnering with Friends of Bryant Library who support the library with services, equipment and materials not ordinarily provided through tax dollars, partnering with other institutions to lower the cost of programs and services, and purchasing cooperatively with the Nassau Libraries. The Nassau Digital Doorway Consortium, library officials said, will save the library $18,600 annually.

In addition, voters will be asked to approve a transfer of $1.5 million from the Capital Reserve Fund for new capital projects. School officials claim that no tax increase will come from such a transfer.

The two incumbent BOE members facing no opposition this year are Meryl Waxman Ben-Levy and Clifford Saffron. Both are running for another three-year term.

The school district has also listed the qualifications needed for the May 20 election. To vote, an individual must be:

• A U.S. citizen

• 18 years old by election day

• A resident in the Roslyn School District for at least 30 days by election day

• Registered to vote.

If you have not voted in a Roslyn School District election or general election within the last four years, or are a new resident and have not registered to vote with the board of elections, you must register in advance to vote in the election and budget vote which will take place on Tuesday, May 20. No person shall be entitled to vote unless qualified to vote pursuant to law.

For absentee ballots and additional voter information, call the district clerk, Anne Keller, at 625-6599.