By Mike Schnitzel
, but many people at Tuesday night¹s meeting were upset to hear that funding for the district¹s automotive program would be cut entirely.
After the board voted unanimously to exclude the program from next year¹s budget and tried to move on to other matters, more than 40 audience members who had come in support of the program walked out.
³We need to find a place where students who aren¹t college material can go,² said Margaret Finnegan, a Valley Stream Central High School graduate. She added that she felt vocational programs were an important part of the curriculum, and to end the automotive program would be a ³tremendous disturbance to the population of Valley Stream.²
Superintendent Dr. Marc Bernstein said that if a special state legislative grant could be obtained to fund a $603,000 renovation of the automotive shop, the district would revisit the matter later, but it needed an immediate vote in order to have a budget ready to put before the voters on May 15.
³We must weigh the educational and financial components of this program,² Bernstein said. ³If the financial aspect were not significant, then we wouldn¹t be looking at eliminating this program, but we have to take a realistic look at the financial impact.²
James Pollitt, a 10th grade student at Central, said he was upset that the board was looking to end the program. ³Taking away the auto program, you¹re taking away opportunities for kids from my grade down to first grade,² Pollitt said.
If funding for it cannot be found by next March, when the budget for the 2008-09 school year will be finalized, the program will not be back for that school year.
Budget overview
The $92 million budget approved by the board for the upcoming school year calls for a $5.2 million increase over this year¹s budget, an increase of nearly 6 percent. Average homeowners would see a 6 percent increase on the high school portion of their tax bills. The new tax rate, however, cannot be calculated until new assessment data becomes available from the county after April 1.
The budget increase would help the district cover mandated costs, including contractual salary increases and rising benefit costs. A new state requirement that schools provide students with calculators for math courses, and an update of textbooks, are other reasons for the increase, Bernstein said.
To help offset the tax levy, the district will appropriate $3.3 million it expects will be left over from the current budget when the district¹s accounts close on June 30. About $14.5 million in expected state aid from Gov. Eliot Spitzer¹s proposed state budget will also help offset costs.
Propositions
The board will ask voters to decide on two propositions on May 15. The first would authorize the board to appropriate $1.4 million from the capital reserve fund it approved last May, and the maximum $1.2 million of state Excel Aid, to help implement a district-wide technology program and undertake various capital projects. The technology program calls for the upgrade of technology infrastructure, such as schools¹ servers, computer security systems and software. Planned capital improvements include tennis court replacement at Central High School and the update of electrical systems at North and South high schools.
The second proposition would authorize the board to appropriate $1.3 million from the capital reserve fund to install an air conditioning system in the Keller Auditorium at Central High School.
Legal action against VSTA
The board voted to authorize its attorneys, Lamb and Barnosky LLP, to file an improper practice charge against the Valley Stream Teachers Association after it failed to show up for negotiations with the high school board on a new collective bargaining agreement.
Relations between the board and VSTA have been acrimonious since early in the school year, when the board voted to break away from the negotiating coalition it formed with the three elementary districts in favor of negotiating with VSTA one-on-one.
Comments about this story? MSchnitzel@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 265.
