By Anne Marie Allocca
The $22.1 million budget calls for a tax rate of $166.54 per $100 of assessed value. The average homeowner, whose house is assessed at $1,600, can expect to see a $175 increase. A home's assessed value is .5 percent of its market value, as determined by Nassau County.
The proposed increase is the lowest in at least five years, according to Dr. Edward Fale, superintendent of schools. He and Dan Onorato, assistant superintendent for business, sat down with the Herald to discuss just what is driving the increase this year. "Each year when we prepare the budget, we make every effort to budget educational initiatives, building maintenance, capital projects with the financial constraints and the financial troubles that all of us who are living in Nassau County have," Fale said. "This year it's particularly concerning that the economy has not grown at the rate that was anticipated. The taxes all across the county are high, and we know that our residents are really meeting personal financial challenges.
"In attempting to balance the educational initiatives and the other items that we need to do against an increasing tax rate, we tried to be as conservative as possible," Fale said. "However, there are some budgeting initiatives that we had to include - [for example] a non-funded mandate by the federal and state government regarding the implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act. Whereas in the past the state testing was at the fourth-grade level, beginning next year the NCLB act now requires testing to be in every grade level in reading and math from grades three to eight."
A study conducted by the Nassau County Council of School Superintendents determined that more than $1 million would need to be allocated to fund the mandate. District 24's portion of that would be about $20,000 just for the testing program, Fale said.
"We're required to implement this program under the No Child Left Behind Act," he said. "The state must participate by enforcing the regulations of the federal act."
In addition, the New York state math standards have been revised, which will have a significant impact on fifth- and sixth-grade math. Next fall, Fale will offer staff development related to the math standards to make sure each child has "every possible opportunity to be as successful as their potential on the new state tests.
"Some of the topics being brought into sixth-grade math have never been taught before by the sixth-grade teachers," Fale added. "I'll do some of the staff development; I was a high school math teacher. We also have some staff developers through BOCES that we will be paying to come and help."
The staff development cost for 2005-06 through BOCES is $52,000, up from $35,000 last year.
There is also a line item of $400,000 to continue the capital improvement program to maintain the buildings. The roof project at William L. Buck School will be completed this summer, and the left-over money will be used for additional roof work at Robert W. Carbonaro, leaving Carbonaro's roof work to be completed at the end of summer 2006.
Onorato explained that the third item driving the increase is the completion of the automation of the district's three libraries. "We have to budget an additional $50,000 so that, by the end of next year, all three libraries will have automation, and we'll be up to speed with the other Valley Stream elementary district libraries as well as the public library," Onorato said. "They will have a scanner, and it will help us with our inventory and help with research skills also.
"We have a budget that we feel is financially fiscally prudent and responsible," he said. "We don't carry a lot of fat in our budget. A good portion -- 80 percent - goes right into instruction."
Insurance premiums for health and dental benefits for teachers and employees are increasing 8.9 percent, or $86,600.
There will be change in two programs, Fale explained. The Pride program, in which three teachers from around the district prepare model lessons for social studies, is being eliminated. "That is largely in response to the additional demands of the reading and math standards by No Child Left Behind, and also as a budgetary item," Fale said.
He added that the Challenge program, an enrichment program for fourth-, fifth- and sixth-graders, is being redefined. "It is not being eliminated, not being reduced, but we're bringing it up to date to make it a program which will meet the needs of the children in a better way, curriculum-wise," Fale said. "It will be a better match for the needs of today's students. The Pride teachers used to teach the Challenge program. We're going to have one Challenge teacher district-wide that will spend two days in each building out of the six-day cycle. This means two positions are being eliminated by attrition. However, we will have three retirements. If we didn't have the retirements, we would have had to excess from less experienced staff. Now we don't have to."
State aid has also been a factor in holding down the budget increase. The district is set to receive nearly $3 million in state aid next year. "We would like to express our appreciation to our local senator, Dean Skelos, and Assemblyman Bob Barra for the support they have given to the school district. They are always in communication with us, and they are very responsive to our needs," said Fale.
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