Oceanside, Island Park Letters to the Editor

Don’t spend school budget savings

To The Editor:

Long Island is a great place to grow up and live. We have everything: great restaurants, plenty of movie theaters, bowling alleys, great golf courses, fishing, beaches, hiking, ice skating, safe communities, great schools and much more. Most people spend a fortune to go to places on vacation for these activities. We have them right here.

The one problem we have is high taxes. Everyone complains about them, even if they are paid with them.

Well, this year, we actually have a chance to have them reduced. This is because the stock market is at an all-time high. According to an article by John Hildebrande in the Dec. 7 issue of Newsday, Long Islanders will have to put $100 million to $150 million less into the teachers’ retirement plan. The problem is that the schools are using the money for raises for employees who never put money into the pension plan. The school boards, our liaisons to the schools, are agreeing with the spending instead of reducing their budgets.

When the market tanked in 2000-02 and 2008-09, school districts had to put more money into the teachers’ pension fund. This was decided by the state. In Oceanside, we went from $1 million to $2 million to over $10 million last year. This was added to the budget. This year, we will save $2.5 million to $3 million. But instead of reducing the budget and having the taxpayers benefit, we are giving it out in raises. Every district is doing this.

As usual, people are taking advantage of the middle class. This time, it’s our own neighbors. Everybody should bring this topic up at school board meetings when the 2015-16 budgets are discussed. Ask why we don’t benefit from putting less money into their retirement pension funds.

Randy Perlmutter

Oceanside

Governor wrong on evaluations

To the Editor:

I am a retired teacher who worked in New York City. The majority of teachers are hardworking, caring people. They work many more hours past regular school hours. They buy supplies for their students with their own money and care about students.