By Jennifer Marino
Most of the solutions require the assistance of legislators such as state Sen. Dean Skelos, Assemblyman Bob Barra, U.S. Rep. Carolyn McCarthy and U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton. The three main problems facing the school district this year are the Nassau County reassessments, the reduction in state aid and expenses that are market-driven, contractual or mandated. Without these changes, the district could face an 18.8 percent budget increase even if there are no additional expenditures.
"We need your help," Johnson said. "There's no way we can do this alone."
In the case of the assessments, the main problem is the adjusted base proportions, which mean that businesses and utilities will shoulder less of the burden next year. Last year, 62 percent of the school tax burden was paid by homeowners, but it has been upped to 86 percent with the new property assessments, according to Johnson. The notice residents received regarding the reassessment did not reflect the shift of burden.
"Who do we talk to about socking it to King Kullen?" asked one resident. The district said it does not know who made the decision to shift the tax burden. Charles O'Shea, chairman of the Board of Assessors, issued a statement regarding the shift, saying that it has nothing to do with the new assessments.
"The bottom line is that reassessment has not, does not and will not have any impact on base proportions, and as a result, does not shift taxes from one class to another," read part of the statement.
The New York State Office of Real Property Services measures the property values each year, mostly through a sampling of sale prices, according to James Culver, a consultant to Nassau County. The increase in value of residential properties caused the shift in the base proportions. The shifts would have occurred whether or not the assessments had been done, O'Shea said in his statement.
"It's like trying to grab a cloud," said Johnson of trying to understand and solve the adjusted-base-proportion problem.
Gov. George Pataki's proposed budget reflects a 16.6 percent decrease in state aid to the Rockville Centre School District. He also wants to change the way state aid is categorized. With the changes, the main areas in which Rockville Centre would lose out would be BOCES and special education. Neither of these programs would have their own category, as they currently do, and Rockville Centre would get less or no funding.
As far as expenses are concerned, the school district is hoping the No Child Left Behind Act will be postponed for a year so that additional funding can be found for the mandates included in the act. Very little can be done to alleviate the increased cost of the contributions to retirement systems and health insurance, but the district hopes that retirement incentives will help. District officials also would like to see the Wicks Law repealed, because it adds to the price of construction projects.
Included in the presentation handed out at the town meeting was contact information for several politicians who could help institute the changes needed to keep the budget increase down. PTA members suggested putting form letters to legislators on the school and PTA Web sites. "[The] PTA has been a sleeping giant in this," said Johnson.
School board secretary Marcia Hirsch suggested that residents and parents also fax, e-mail and call legislators. She added that a personal letter, even if it's a handwritten note at the bottom of a form letter, makes more of an impact.
"This is something we are all in together," said Board President Meg Koch.
