By Liz McBreen
The budget for the district itself will increase 5.5 percent over last year's. After factoring in state-mandated increases such as pension benefits, medical insurance and debt services, the budget increases 8.8 percent, to a total of $50,973,890. These mandates come in addition to large proposed cuts in state aid and property-value reassessments in Nassau County, and they are non-negotiable. According to Superintendent Dr. Maria Palandra, the Board of Education in each district is told by the state what is being required for each academic year, and the boards have no choice but to comply. This year, the state is mandating almost $1.4 million for employee benefits.
Palandra and board members supplied copies of a preliminary budget to residents at a March 5 meeting. Palandra explained that the district budgets essential services, and nothing unnecessary is included. "We provide a basic program," she said. "The children in the district receive an excellent education, but there are no frills. When we are forced to cut services, they are essential services."
The board members addressed one of the biggest problems in the Elmont district: students living in illegal apartments. Since the district is obliged to educate all children who reside within it, it has no choice but to accept students who can prove they live in Elmont. According to Palandra, students are required to provide the district with notarized documents proving they reside in Elmont. Whether or not they live at a residence legally, the board must accept them. Between last September and January, 215 new students have come into Elmont schools, according to Palandra.
Students can be removed from the district only if it can be proved that they live outside it. Investigations into the actual addresses of students have been going on for the past 15 years.
Making the situation more difficult, the definition of a residence is continually broadened, according to the vice president of the board, Carl Termini. "Right now, it looks like new federal laws coming down will be more lenient in proving the rightful residence of students. That could be a disaster for school budgets."
Another federal law, "No Child Left Behind," instituted last January, creates another obstacle for districts that are already financially burdened. Each district is required to report the progress of specific groups of students if they include 40 or more children. If statistics provided to the state show that children of different races, special-education students or students taking English as a second language are not performing at the same level as other children in the district, tutoring and extra help are to be provided for them at the district's expense. This is a particularly stringent mandate for Elmont because of the diverse populations in its six schools.
To date, No Child Left Behind has not affected the Elmont budget because the district has been able to provide adequate services for students with special needs. The individualized attention that the law calls for is one more requirement that school board must consider at budget time.
The board has been able to cut expenditures for special-education programs, and this is due to more "in-house" education of children with special needs. There are currently two classes for autistic children at Clara H. Carlson, according to Palandra. "Services for these children have been enhanced, and I am proud of the education that they are receiving within the Elmont district," she said. The in-house services have also meant a decrease in transportation costs, since the children no longer have to be bused to facilities outside the district.
The district will increase its Computer Assisted Instruction budget by 100 percent when it purchased 30 Dell Pentium 4 computers for each school building. Students are currently doubling up at computer stations because there are not enough to accommodate them. "I feel computer training has to be an integral part of a student's education at an elementary level," said Palandra. The computers will be installed through BOCES and the school will lease them on a three-year cycle, never allowing the machines to become outdated.
School Board President Deanna Doreson commended the board for the work and effort that it put into creating a solid budget. "We work hard every year to create a budget that we can control," she said. Referring to increasing state mandates, Deanna added, "We are angry to be put in this position, but it is the law."
The next Elmont budget hearing will be on March 18 at 7:30 p.m. at the Elmont Road School. It will be followed by a Board of Education meeting.
