By JOSEPH KELLARD
Oceanside published a series of features about budgets and taxes in its October 2004 and January and March/April 2005 newsletters, which were mailed to every home in the school district. Additionally, Superintendent Dr. Herb Brown had a letter on these issues printed in the Herald last September.
"Instead of waiting until the month before the budget vote in May, and say it's that time of year again to talk about budgets and taxes," Brown explained, "we thought we'd start talking about budgets and taxes and Roslyn [school district] and finance controls and things we thought would be on people's minds. And we thought we'd make it a whole-year effort of trying to get out the education about what our district does."
Oceanside's projected budget for 2005-06 is $105.4 million, a 6.4 percent increase over the current budget of $99.4 million. The $99.4 million is an 8.6 increase over the 2003-04 budget.
After the initial budget defeat, the Board of Education decided to put the same budget up for a second vote, and stressed to the public that if it failed again there would be severe cuts to school programs. It passed by a considerable margin a month later.
"The board had no inkling that the community was upset or that this was coming," said school board President Sue Graham, adding that the board saw sparse attendance at its budget hearings leading up to the first vote. Both Graham and Brown characterized the vote as "a tax revolt."
About the district's decision to distribute budgetary information much earlier than usual this year, Graham said, "Our theory is that residents tend to get very upset when they do not attend the budget hearings and all of a sudden they get in the mail a notice that their taxes are going sky high and our budget is going up."
In what's known as "the road show," Brown and other administrators will attend district-wide PTA meetings to provide a brief synopsis of the budget, and in April the district will mail out its annual newsletter devoted exclusively to the budget.
On top of these routine budget-time practices, however, Brown will also take other out-of-the-ordinary action, discussing the budget and taxes at the next meeting of the Oceanside Civic Association, on April 13 at 7:30 p.m. at the middle school.
As usual, the district holds budget hearings throughout February, March and April, and the final one will take place on May 9 at 7:30 p.m. at School 6. While attendance at these meetings has improved this year, Graham said, she recalled a meeting in recent years at which about five residents showed up.
"I think the reason this happens is that people have already heard what we're proposing," Graham said, "and they feel they don't have to go to the budget hearings. They feel we've already approved the budget, and that there's nothing they can do. That's not always the case. If they point out something glaring to us, we'll look into changing it."
Graham said the district has taken "a very, very hard look at our increases," and that in light of all the mandated increases, such as health insurance and the teachers' retirement system, "we sincerely feel that this is a very economical and educational budget."
Oceanside originally proposed a $104.9 million budget, but the district added $500,000 after state rules were changed in January on the way districts pay into the teachers' retirement system, Brown said.
Island Park, too, added an unexpected item to its proposed $26.3 million budget - which represents a 6.5 percent increase from last year - for programs pertaining to severely disabled children admitted to the Bayview Nursing Home on Austin Boulevard. "The question is, where does the responsibility for educating these kids lie for payment?" said Superintendent Dr. Ed Price. State law would require the district to put these children in BOCES programs or schools for the disabled in local towns. But if these children are New York City residents, the city is responsible to ensure programs for them.
"If that is the case and NYC wants to work out a program, we'd certainly be willing to work with them," Price said. Island Park nonetheless must budget for potentially providing for these children. "And 1 percent of our increase is going just for that," Price added. "If everything is going in our favor, as we are hoping it will, then that money won't be spent."
Last year, Island Park residents passed the district's $24.7 million budget, a 4.9 increase from the previous year, by a 3-to-2 margin. Price said that the process leading up to this year's budget vote is being conducted no differently. The district sends out a postcard to each home in the community, informing residents of when budget meetings will be held. The board and administration held a meeting in January to discuss some of the issues the district will face in the budget, and another early in March, at which they went through the proposed expenditures. Island Park, too, will hold its final budget hearing on April 9.
"Obviously, if anyone or any group would want to meet with us about the budget, certainly we would meet with them," Price said. "I'll go anywhere anytime."
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