Week in Review: Looming Teacher Layoffs, Debating Firehouse Options

81 Teacher Layoffs Loom in Three Village

The Three Village Central School District is staring down an $8.1 million budget gap – and a potential layoff of about 81 teachers if alternate solutions aren't found to eliminate that gap. That was the revelation at Tuesday's school budget workshop, during which Jeff Carlson, assistant superintendent for business services, detailed the grim situation that the district is facing: Even with a tax levy increase of 4.05 percent – that's what's allowed for Three Village this year under state aid formulas – the district won't be able to make up for a loss in high tax aid from the state, soaring pension contribution and health insurance costs, and a contractual raise for teachers that could amount to an increase of between 5.4 percent and 6.1 percent.

How Much Do We Pay For That? Snow Removal After February Blizzard

Between equipment expenditures, contracted services and employee overtime, the Three Village Central School District paid more than $60,000 to remove the snow and prepare the school grounds for students and staff to return following the February blizzard, according to a school official. That amount breaks down as follows: $21,385 paid to the East Setauket-based company Troffa Landscaping for their services provided and equipment rented, and $48,000 paid in overtime to 90 school maintenance and operations staff members working in shifts to complete snow removal.

Donors Step Up to Bat for $300M in Gifts to Stony Brook in a Year

When the Simons Foundation first profferred a $50 million matching challenge to fund endowments and research at Stony Brook University, the Stony Brook Foundation estimated that it would take between three and five years for the matching donations to come in. On Monday, the University announced it had surpassed that goal in 12 months – and that it raised $200 million total through the matching challenge, which was issued in December 2011 as part of a $150 million gift that Jim and Marilyn Simons made to Stony Brook via their foundation. Before the end of 2012, that goal was met.

Cops Seek East Setauket Wallet Thief

Suffolk County police are seeking information that will help catch a thief who stole a wallet from a woman's pocket book while she was shopping at Stop & Shop in East Setauket on March 4. According to police, a black male in his 50s, between 5 feet 10 inches and 6 feet tall, with a medium build, entered the store at 3:45 p.m. and stole the wallet while the victim was shopping in the frozen food section. The man walked with a limp that may have been fake, and carried a notepad that police said may have been a prop used to make people think he was a store employee. He and was wearing glasses, a tan caddy-style cap, a yellow-and-blue shirt with vertical stripes, tan pants, tan work boots and a dark-colored fleece vest, and arrived and left the store in a white SUV. Police said the woman had left her purse unattended in a shopping cart while she shopped. The incident is being investigated as a case of grand larceny. Anyone with information is asked to call CrimeStoppers at 1-800-220-TIPS; all calls will be kept confidential. A reward of up to $5,000 is offered for information leading to an arrest.

Building Committee Explores Options for Main Street Firehouse

After hiring an architect in October, the Setauket Fire District has reconvened its Community Building Committee and has begun exploring whether the Main Street firehouse should be renovated or rebuilt so it can better meet the needs of the community. Last week it began what will be a series of monthly meetings; the next will be held on March 28 at 7 p.m. at the Hulse Road facility. The fire district has also set up an email address – HQBuilding@setauketfd.com – to collect input.

SBU: Petition' Claims of Defunding Asian Cultural Programs Are Untrue

In response to a petition on Change.org that suggests Stony Brook University is cutting funding for Asian and Asian-American programs, the university has released a statement saying those claims are untrue.