New York will not reduce education aid immediately for school districts that have lost enrollment but will overhaul its school-aid formula to account for changes in the near future, Gov. Kathy Hochul said while announcing the “framework” of a budget deal yesterday. Yancey Roy reports on Newsday.com that the final budget should come in at $237 billion, an increase of more than $3 billion over last year. School aid will be $35.9 billion, a $1.3 billion increase.

The governor said the “conceptual” agreement also will include New York’s first comprehensive housing expansion plans in decades. It will include no income-tax increase, a priority for the governor, a moderate Democrat.

At Monday’s news conference, Hochul affirmed many of the broad strokes of the potential deal Newsday and others reported in recent days. Those include crackdowns on illegal cannabis shops and retail theft rings, a ban on co-payments for insulin and a significant boost in tuition assistance for college students. The State Legislature had not signed off on all the details late Monday afternoon, multiple sources said. In fact, some lawmakers called the governor’s announcement “premature.”

“There are lots of open issues that need closing,” one Democrat said.

The budget was due April 1, but was hung up on the thorny issues of education and housing.

Hochul drew fire in January by proposing that the state end a policy in which no school district receives less aid than the year before despite enrollment changes — a so-called hold harmless policy.

Hochul's proposal would have meant reduced state assistance for 337 of the more than 700 school districts in New York — sparking opposition from Republican and Democratic state legislators, all of whom are up for reelection this year.

***

There are 53 "million-dollar" communities on Long Island, according to new data released by Zillow. Rachel Weiss reports on Newsday.com that the real estate marketplace company found that the United States has reached a record high in its number of cities where the typical home is worth $1 million or more.

There are 550 "million-dollar" cities currently, as inventory lessens and competition ensues on the housing market, according to Zillow's data. Last year, there were 491 cities on this list.

Out of 550 cities, 66 are located in New York State — and most of them are on Long Island. There are 32 Suffolk County communities named in the data, and 21 in Nassau.

Ten of the Long Island communities in this report have typical home values surpassing $2 million.

The priciest "million-dollar" location on the list in New York is Sagaponack, where the typical home value is $5,713,691, according to Zillow. Other East End communities include Water Mill, Bridgehampton, Amagansett, Wainscott, Quogue, Sag Harbor, Southampton, Montauk, and East Hampton.

***

The Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame (LIMEHOF) is now accepting applications for its 2024 Student Scholarship program. The deadline for applications is Friday, May 10th, 2024.

Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame will award $500 scholarships to graduating students. These scholarships will provide funding to eligible graduating high school students from Long Island who have shown an interest in pursuing a career in music. For more information, click here.

All applications must be postmarked by the application due date in order to be accepted.

For more information about LIMHOF’s education recognition programs, contact Tom Needham, Education Advisory Board Chairman at info@limusichalloffame.org. More information and applications for both programs may be found here.

***

The Southampton Board of Education is expected this evening to approve the appointment of Dr. Fatima Morrell as the school district’s superintendent effective this coming July 8th. Michelle Trauring reports on 27east.com that in 2022, Time magazine recognized Dr. Morrell as a National Innovative Teacher. Last year, she received the National School Boards Association Magna Award and Buffalo’s Excellence in Education 2023 “Trailblazer of the Year” Award.

In 2021, she was a recipient of a Pulitzer Center Grant and gained international recognition for her emancipation curriculum, which promotes equity in schools and encourages conversations about the legacy of racism in the United States.

“For all our children, we have to unpack white supremacy, as hard as that is to talk about,” Dr. Morrell told Time magazine. “It is important that every single child receives an anti-racist curriculum in the Buffalo public schools, and I’m going to continue to push that.

Regarding her upcoming role as Southampton Public Schools superintendent Dr. Morrell stated, “It is with great humility and honor that I begin my service as the superintendent of the Southampton Union Free School District. It is my greatest expectation that together we will continue to advance the educational excellence, innovation, and outstanding achievements of the Southampton UFSD community. I look forward to working collaboratively with the diverse district stakeholders to provide best-in-class educational opportunities that prepare all students to meet and exceed the challenges of the 21st century workforce and global economy.”

Tonight’s Southampton Board of Education Meeting will be held at 6:30 P.M. in the Intermediate School Music Room.

***

New York is expected to join a bipartisan, multistate system to combat voter fraud in state and presidential elections under a little-noticed proposal now in state budget negotiations. Michael Gormley reports on Newsday.com that the Election Registration Information Center system, known as ERIC, is a voluntary nationwide organization of Democratic and Republican election officials. The organization reports that it has uncovered millions of outdated, duplicate or fraudulent voter registrations since 2012, when ERIC was created.

The system is the only organization in which states share information from their voter rolls, federal death notices, driver's license records and Postal Service records to improve the accuracy of active voter lists and detect possible illegal voting.

The secure system based in Washington, D.C. identifies the names of dead voters, voters who have moved out of state, and voters who register in more than one community within their state. ERIC also identifies eligible residents who haven’t registered to vote. “If you care about voter integrity, this is literally the single best thing we can and should be doing,” said Sen. James Skoufis (D-Cornwall), a prime sponsor, in an interview with Newsday.

In Albany, the budget proposal appears to have wide, bipartisan support to be passed as part of the state budget deal, which is expected to be sealed between legislative leaders and Gov. Kathy Hochul in coming days.

***

This coming Saturday, The Southampton Rose Society will hold its annual rose planting and pruning session with rosarian Peter Bertrand, who will demonstrate the fundamentals of planting and pruning a variety of rose bushes, including climbers. The session will be held on the grounds of the Rogers Memorial Library in Southampton on Saturday, April 20, at 10 a.m. No registration is required for the hands-on session created to make rose gardening accessible for all. Take-home instructional pamphlets will be given to all participants. The rose is the official flower of the United States, New York State, and Southampton Village. The Southampton Rose Society is a nonprofit charitable organization, affiliated with the American Rose Society. It has created and maintains five public gardens in Southampton.

***

The Town of Southampton has been awarded a $402,608 grant to upgrade the flooring and kennels at the Southampton Town animal shelter, officials said.

The Southampton Animal Shelter Foundation was one of only 10 agencies and organizations statewide to be awarded a grant from the program; $3.8 million in total was awarded to the 10 recipients, the town said. Lisa Finn reports on Patch.com that the grant is being awarded from the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets, under the Companion Animal Capital Projects Fund program. The Town of Southampton submitted a competitive grant application for a $447,342 project to repair and upgrade the flooring in the kennel area of the shelter, as well as to replace all current dog kennels, at Southampton Animal Shelter, 102 Old Riverhead Rd WEST in Hampton Bays.

Southampton Town Councilman Michael Iasilli stated, "As an advocate of animal welfare and town board member, I want to thank Ryan Murphy for working diligently with the shelter to provide the best conditions possible for our pets."

To that end, Iasilli said he worked with the town board to make April 30 "Adopt a Pet Day." On April 30, the shelter will hold an open house for families to come and learn about all the services they provide, he said.

In 2023 the Southampton Animal Shelter had more than 900 cats and dogs come and go through its doors. Almost 500 dogs called the animal shelter their temporary home over the course of the year, town officials explained.