By JUDY RATTNER
If it is approved by district residents, the tax levy would rise by 2.93 percent. Assistant Superintendent Robert Bartels said that the average resident, with a home valued at $707,600 (see Budget Notes, at left), is projected to see an increase of $270, though Bartels cautioned that that is only an estimate, because assessment information has yet to be finalized by Nassau County. The increase would be $245 for a homeowner with the basic STAR exemption.
In another unanimous vote, the board decided to use $700,000 of approximately $900,000 in federal funds it expects to receive from the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act to restore jobs and programs that might otherwise have been cut due to a decrease in state aid of $1.2 million next year.
Although the school district has yet to receive written guidelines on how to distribute the federal funds, Superintendent Dr. William Johnson said that after many discussions, he believes the board's move "meets the spirit of the law." Johnson added that the school board had carefully prepared a budget that would boost student performance and improve educational programs in the district.
A suggestion to "repurpose" Watson Elementary School as part of a redistricting plan that would have saved the district between $1.6 million and $1.9 million - a proposal that was met with fierce opposition and eventually withdrawn - was followed by months of line-by-line scrutiny of spending. The board managed to hold the line on class size while trimming the budget by approximately $1.9 million, with cuts in staffing mainly coming from the ranks of teaching assistants. It also eliminated the third-grade strings music program and replaced fifth-graders' overnight excursion to the Ashokan Environmental Education Center upstate with a day trip to Caumsett State Park in Lloyd Neck. This prompted impassioned pleas to restore the programs from several parents who attended the April 21 meeting.
Despite the board's efforts to keep budget increases to a minimum, some members of the audience weren't satisfied.
"I'm disappointed," said Catherine White, who added that the tax increase would be extremely difficult for senior citizens on fixed incomes and many village residents with jobs in the financial sector who are either out of work or making less money this year. "For these times," White said, "I don't think it's right."
To the critics who wanted certain programs restored, Trustee Steve Kriss said, "We'll have to hold to this budget as presented, and we're 100 percent behind it."
And to those who wanted to see a smaller tax levy increase, board Secretary Lorrie Brady said, "What we're presenting is a compromise."
Residents will go to the polls May 19 at South Side High School to vote on the proposed school and library spending plans; two school board candidates, current board President Mark Masin and Liz Dion; and two library board candidates, current Trustee Eileen Burke Bucaria and Vito Iacobellis.
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School budget and tax levy increases over the past five years
School year Budget increase Tax levy increase
2009-10 (proposed 1.99% 2.93%
2008-09 4.20 4.62
2007-08 5.25 4.17
2006-07 5.59 4.59
2005-06 6.93 7.95
