By Scott Brinton, Nancy Hiler and Sari Zeidler
With New York state facing a $1.5 billion budget gap for fiscal year 2008-09 and a $12.5 billion hole next year, Gov. David Paterson proposed this week to cut $1.4 billion in state aid for education over the next 16 months, with the first round of cuts coming as early as next April.
Wall Street's financial meltdown is, in large part, responsible for the state's budget woes, according to the governor. Before the crisis, 20 percent of state income tax revenues came from the Street. With well-compensated traders losing their jobs or having their hours reduced, and a number of financial firms posting heavy losses, one of the state's primary revenue streams is rapidly drying up, forcing across-the-board expenditure reductions.
The two sectors that would be most affected by the governor's cost-cutting plan would be education and health care, though Paterson is proposing cuts to any number of budget lines, from aid to libraries to subsidies for local governments.
The possibility of midyear cuts to education aid allocations had schools officials throughout Bellmore-Merrick concerned. The governor's revised aid schedule, if passed by the Legislature, would break down as follows:
¥ Bellmore Elementary School District: -$285,082, a 7.29 percent reduction.
¥ Bellmore-Merrick: -$1,882,849, a 10 percent reduction.
¥ Merrick: -$421,751, a 7.97 percent reduction.
¥ North Bellmore:-$703,544, a 6.26 percent reduction.
¥ North Merrick: -$411,375, a 6.51 percent reduction.
The state Legislature was scheduled to vote on the governor's reduction plan in a special session on Tuesday. The Legislature, however, declined to do so, saying it might take it up again in January.
Republicans will control the Senate through January, when Democrats, who captured a one-seat advantage on Election Day, will take over. This past week, GOP senators stood firmly against the Democratic governor's aid reduction plan, vowing to defeat it if and when it came up for a vote.
The governor, however, said that the state's failure to act on his proposal could cost New York dearly. "It is essential that we take action," Paterson said in a statement on his Web site. "Inaction will impede our ability to produce a fair and balanced budget next year. These difficult decisions cannot be put off any longer. If my colleagues disagree with elements of the budget reduction plan I have submitted, I ask them to respond by offering their own solutions."
Paterson noted that, by law, he is required to balance the state budget.
Subhed: Legislators' response
"This week Governor Paterson laid out his plans to cut state education aid as a way to address the state's current fiscal situation," said Sen. Charles Fuschillo Jr., a Republican from Merrick. "We all realize that New York state is facing difficult financial times, and I will continue to work with my colleagues to make smart spending reductions, as we did this past August. However, I am opposed to these proposed cuts because of the devastating impact they would have on local school districts, students and taxpayers.
"Under the governor's proposal," Fuschillo continued, "all Long Island school districts would face midyear education aid cuts, in some cases as high as 10 percent. If these cuts were implemented, each school district would have to find ways to immediately make up for the lost state revenue, which could lead to program cuts or staff layoffs. Taxpayers could also face massive school tax increases in the next school budget at a time when they are already overburdened with high school taxes and a bad economy."
Sen. Dean Skelos, a Republican from Rockville Centre, will remain the Senate majority leader through January. Skelos's spokesman, Scott Reif said, "Senator Skelos has made clear that we believe it's unfair to advance midyear education cuts because you're forcing school districts to scramble, and it will have the effect of passing down costs and forcing local school districts to raise property taxes to make up for the shortfall."
As of press time, Senate Republicans did not offer an alternative to cuts, as Paterson requested.
Subhed: Reaction in Bellmore
Dr. Joseph Famularo, superintendent of the Bellmore School District, said, "The state has forced us to meet mandate after mandate, both educational and operational, resulting in significant costs to the district. The fact is, our district has not received its fair share of state aid, and now the state wants to cut 7.29 percent of what little we do receive.
"As far as the potential impact of the proposed cuts," Famularo continued, "we have been taking proactive measures since it was first rumored months ago that midyear cuts were a possibility. We will continue to look at ways to cut spending, increase revenue and reduce energy costs, while at the same time maintaining the quality education we provide to Bellmore students."
Subhead: In Merrick
"We're very concerned about the cuts and how they will affect the educational programs, not only in our districts but in all of New York state," said Dr. Ranier Melucci, superintendent of the Merrick School District.
Melucci did not say which programs might be affected if the governor's cuts passed the Legislature. "What we normally would do would be to speak to the Board of Education, and I would expect the board to look to programs that don't affect the children," he explained.
Melucci said that district officials had begun meeting to develop preliminary plans if the cuts passed, but nothing definite would be proposed until after school officials met with the board on Tuesday, after press time.
The superintendent added, "We certainly will do anything we can to limit the cuts we need to make, but if the state tells us we need to cut several hundred thousand dollars, then it's something we have to do."
Subhead: In North Bellmore
Arnold Goldstein, superintendent of the North Bellmore School District, said, "We had been expecting a cut, but we believe that we can manage this without directly affecting the integrity of the classroom. In anticipation of a possible cut, we had already placed a freeze on all but emergency spending."
Specifically, Goldstein said the district would look to cut conferences for teachers, staff development workshops that require substitute teachers for attendees, and supplies and new equipment.
"We will each be required to make sacrifices, and we will each feel the impact," Goldstein said.
Subhead: In North Merrick
Of the possibility of midyear cuts, David Feller, superintendent of the North Merrick School District, said, "We're very alarmed by the proposal. It's like changing the rules of the game midstream. The state aid that we were promised is an important source of revenue that the district depends on as it estimates its budget, and the tax levy we estimate factors in that aid. Any dollar that is reduced in state aid gets made up by our taxpayers."
If the cuts were to pass, Feller said, "We would be forced to look at everything. To be honest with you, I would not be eager to do anything that would diminish the educational program that our citizens have come to expect during the course of the school year."
Subhed: In the Bellmore-Merrick Central
High School District
"The Board of Education has been extremely fiscally responsible," said Cynthia Regal, the Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District's assistant superintendent for business. "We were anticipating the possibility of a midyear cut. They accounted for a midyear cut. It [would be] a big hit, but one that we could absorb" this year without cuts to student programming.
If, however, the state continued to reduce aid allocations, Regal said, "We [would] have to start looking deeply into our program." She added, "We [couldn't] necessarily sustain" student programming at current levels.
If programs were not cut, taxes would have to go up. "Our taxpayers have accepted a pretty hefty burden over the years," Regal said, "and no one wants them to accept any more."
Comments about this story? SBrinton@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 203.
