School district wins tax challenge

The Rockville Centre school district learned last week that it has successfully challenged a lawsuit filed over the winter by Nassau County Legislator Roger Corbin to shift the payment of real estate tax refunds from Nassau County to school districts and other local entities.

"This is a huge, huge win for us," said school Superintendent Dr. William Johnson. "It could have cost us a lot of money. Thank goodness we prevailed."

The decision, issued by New York Supreme Court Judge Ute Lally, reaffirms the viability of a section of Nassau County Administrative Code, known as the Nassau County Guaranty, which absolves towns, school districts and special districts from responsibility for refunds associated with errors in the tax assessments made by the county.. In its review, the court found that the state legislature plainly recognized that school districts in the county were not financially responsible for tax certiorari refunds.

Rockville Centre had filed the challenge in conjunction with the Plainview Old Bethpage school district and the Nassau Suffolk School Boards Association, with pro bono representation by Ingerman Smith, L.L. P. and Guercio & Guercio.