By Andrew Coen
but the two Five Towns school districts will gladly accept Albany's tardiness after both Hewlett-Woodmere and Lawrence were given major aid increases from what was originally proposed by Governor Eliot Spitzer.
The adopted budget approved by the State Senate and Assembly gives Hewlett-Woodmere $5.7 million in state aid, a 16 percent increase, with neighboring Lawrence now scheduled to receive $8.6 million from Albany, a 12 percent jump from, a year ago. Under Gov. Spitzer's initial proposal the estimated state aid for Lawrence would have been $8 million, a 3.18 percent increase from last year, with Hewlett-Woodmere receiving $5.6 million from Albany, a 1.1 percent hike.
Lawrence school board president Dr. Asher Mansdorf said State Senator Dean Skelos (R-Rockville Centre) deserves tremendous credit for helping to bring more aid to district 15 and throughout the region. "Sen. Skelos is like having an uncle in the business," said Mansdorf. "He comes up big for his constituency."
Mansdorf said he hopes the extra state aid will help the district be able to reduce the $96.4 million proposal unveiled by superintendent Dr. John Fitzsimons, a 4.95 percent increase from the current year's budget. Mansdorf said the majority of the school board will request that Fitzsimons aim for a zero-based budget since the combination of the state aid and an estimated $4 million in unexpended funds as well as previous un-used reserve moneys allows for the proposal to be sliced without cutting any programs or staff. "This budget can be brought in at no increase with no cuts in programs," said Mansdorf.
Dr. Fitzsimons could not be reached for comment.
State aid to help H-W Budget
Prior to the new state aid figures being released the Hewlett-Woodmere school district held a public forum on their tentative budget in which school officials attributed much of their proposed increases to increasing mandates and a lack of help from Albany. At the time of the March 27 public forum district officials had said the state aid would account for less than 7 percent of their total budget compared to a 43 percent average across the state.
According to Hewlett-Woodmere assistant superintendent for business Dr. Peter Weber, the new state figures will raise the percent of aid in the total budget to around 7 percent and while still low compared to other districts will help reduce the tax burden slightly. Weber said it is too early to tell how the extra state aid will impact the $89.3 million tentative budget, a 6.24 percent increase, that was outlined at the March 27 forum but he expects the tax levy (percent of the budget to be raised in taxes) to be dropped. District officials said at the March 27 forum that he predicted the tax levy could be as high as 6.6 percent but now expects it to be less than the total budget hike.
"This is going to have a positive impact on our taxpayers," said Weber of the extra state aid Hewlett-Woodmere will now receive. "We're looking forward to seeing what the basis is for that increase."
Weber said the district won't know what the tax rate increase will be until Nassau County Assessor's Office compiles their final numbers for homes in late April and whether they will receive addition STAR funds for senior citizens to be able to reduce their property taxes.
The $89.3 million tentative proposal Dr. Weber outlined on March 27 was dropped by $958,495 following two work sessions on February 4 and March 10. Weber said the increase would mainly maintain current programs and staff but would also include increases to special education with an expansion of the district's collaborative co-teaching mainstream program, computer system updates and a new junior varsity girl's lacrosse team. Other increases in the tentative budget include contractual salaries, facility maintenance and the rising cost of retirement and insurance. District officials have also included $76,000 for calculators since it is now required by the state to provide the devices to students who take classes requiring them.
Several parents from Franklin Early Childhood Center in Hewlett showed up to the March 27 forum to urge the school board to add another teacher at the school in order to keep class sizes as interment as possible for the children. "It is important to try and have as small a class as possible," said Franklin parent Michael Grossman.
"Keeping the class size [low] is so important," said Susan Aller, a parent of triplets that attend Franklin.
The final size of the tentative budget will be set by the Hewlett-Woodmere school board on April 18, which will then be voted on by the public on May 15. "We want to thank the members of the community who came to the Public Forum to express their views," said Dr. Weber.
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