Bellmore-Merrick schools tackle aid setbacks

All five local school districts –– including the Bellmore-Merrick Central, and Bellmore, Merrick, North Bellmore and North Merrick elementary districts –– had part of their state allotments for December held back after Gov. David Paterson ordered the payments halted so the state could stay solvent.

Officials from all of the districts said they would be able to maintain services without December's reduced aid payments, which amounted to several thousand dollars each, but expressed concerns that STAR rebate payments might be withheld in January, which could lead to cash-flow troubles.

For now, state officials say the aid payments are being held until New York is back in the black. Locally, however, school officials are skeptical. They worry that the reductions will become permanent.

Matt Anderson, a spokesman for the New York State Budget Office, said the state has experienced “an unprecedented drop in revenue beyond anything seen in recent history,” which is why Paterson decided to withhold scheduled payments. If the state government had paid all its expenses in December, Anderson said, the state's general fund would be more than $1 billion in the red for the first time in state history.

“The governor said he won’t let the state run out of cash on his watch,” Anderson said. He added that a district-by-district breakdown of the $436 million set to be withheld from STAR payments across the state was not available at press time.

"As of this week, we did not get our check for state aid," Merrick School District Board of Education Trustee Gina Piskin announced at a Dec. 15 public meeting. The Merrick School District was scheduled to receive $143, 731, but instead received $129,358, according to a state report.

"Thank God we are the kind of district that can absorb that without feeling any immediate effects," Superintendent Dr. Ranier Melucci said.

Dr. Christine Grucci, Merrick's assistant superintendent for business and technology, called the potential loss of STAR payments totaling more than $500,000 a cause for greater concern. Should the Merrick district be unable to make necessary payments, the district has access to undesignated reserve funds. Grucci, however, said that is unlikely to happen because the district receives adequate funds from property taxes.

In the North Merrick School District, an expected payment of $22, 852 was reduced by $2, 285. "While it's not convenient, we're not that hand-to-mouth," said Stephen Draper, the district's assistant superintendent for business and operations. According to Draper, the district does not anticipate needing to borrow money or make cuts, even if STAR payments are lost, as it has access to reserve funds.

In the Bellmore School District, an anticipated December payment of $193,232 was reduced by $19,323. Dierdre Gambino, assistant superintendent for business and technology, said, "The real hard hit will be the reduction we are anticipating for the STAR." She added the district can access reserve funds, and is waiting to see what the state decides before tapping reserves. "At this point in time, the aid piece is a surprise," she said.

In North Bellmore, the scheduled December aid payment of $699,706 was cut by $69,971. Toni Cincotta, North Bellmore's assistant to the superintendent for business and finance, said the Board of Education will consider whether to access reserve funds or to borrow. "We'll make decisions in the best interest of the children," she said.

In the Central High School District, a payment of $698,318 was reduced by $69,832. Cynthia Strait Regal, Central's assistant superintendent for business, said the district does not expect to borrow money, even though she said it stands to lose $2 million in STAR payments next month. "We have access to reserves of approximately $4 million in undesignated fund balance. We are OK at the current time," she said.