Floral Park-Bellerose Trustee Laura Trentacoste is running for a third term in an uncontested race, according to the school district.

District residents will vote on both the trustee seat, which comes with a three-year term, and the $38.9 million budget May 16.

Trentacoste, who lives in the district with her husband and three children, was first elected to the board in 2017 and again in 2020 after running unopposed. Trentacoste, a writer, is a graduate of both Floral Park-Bellerose School and Floral Park Memorial High School and has lived in the district for over two decades. She has previously served as vice president and president.

The budget, adopted April 4, includes a spending increase of 7.94%, or $2.86 million, from the current fiscal year. The tax levy is projected to increase by 1.69% from the current year, which does not go over the state’s mandated tax cap.

Floral Park-Bellerose is projected to get 28.61% more state aid. Included in Gov. Kathy Hochul’s tentative budget is nearly $2 million more in foundation aid, a 36% increase from the current year.

The foundation aid formula, established in 2007, uses factors like pupil needs and regional costs to help determine how much state aid a school district should receive. Many school districts have argued that they have been shortchanged, however, even as the formula aimed to reduce inequity among districts.

Within the budget, 78% of funding will go toward programming, which includes instructional salaries, special education programs and transportation, among other things.

Capital costs, which include the operation and maintenance of the district, amount to 12% of the total budget.

Administrative costs amount to 10% of the budget.

Special education improvements are included in the proposed budget enhancements. A resource room, the addition of a special education small class, a behavioral analyst in each school building and two full-time reading specialists per building are included in the spending plan.