By Cindy J. Roth
Education officials repeatedly decried the tentative aid packages that the governor outlined in his proposed 2002 budget, saying that, for the most part, the numbers remained stagnant while costs continue to rise. Student enrollment, for example, is increasing in many districts, straining budgets.
Rockville Centre Superintendent William Johnson addressed the crowd at the Brookside School in North Merrick, at which 44 school districts and a half-dozen elected officials were represented.
"Local school districts are under increased pressure to cope with growing environmental and fixed costs," said Johnson. "We need adequate funding. The education of our children must retain a high level."
For 2002-2003, several districts even saw decreases in school-aid dollars, even though they are spending more to provide remedial programs to help students meet the new state standards.
Alicemarie Bresnihan, president of the Nassau-Suffolk School Boards Association, said, "New state mandates and the disappearance of promised aid have set up this year's crisis-management mode."
Pataki's 2002-2003 executive budget calls for a .04-percent increase in state education dollars, for a total of $14.2 billion. The governor's largest initiative in the education budget was to combine 13 school-aid categories into one, called flex aid.
The idea behind flex aid is to provide districts with the ability to decide what their local education priorities are and target aid dollars toward those efforts, without state interference.
Johnson called the flex aid goal admirable. He, however, said there simply isn't enough new money in the category to help much. Flex aid must go to pay for a myriad of costs, including BOCES (Boards of Cooperative Educational Services) and special education in both private and public schools.
At the same time, Gov. Pataki has proposed spreading out building-aid reimbursements for capital projects over their "useful life" - typically 15, 20 or 30 years. Right now, many districts such as Bellmore-Merrick Central pay for ongoing revamp projects through a capital-reserve fund, which they budget for annually. The districts then receive their building-aid reimbursements the next year.
The governor's proposal, if it meets legislative approval, would force school districts to bond projects, as they would no longer receive up-front payments for the renovation work, say many school officials.
The governor says the plan would save the state $140 million in its first year and help fill a $6.8-billion deficit over the next two years in its annual $120-billion budget.
Education officials, however, strongly opposed the proposal last Friday.
Bresnihan said, "While the state has been trying to rein in building aid with assumed amortization schemes and manipulations in building aid, it continues to cost its taxpayers millions of dollars in construction costs."
Elected officials said they are seeking education aid for districts, but since Sept. 11, the state coffers have run low.
"There is a shrinking pie, and the slices are getting less and less," said Assemblyman Robert Barra (R-Lynbrook).
Referring to the upcoming state budget negotiations between the governor and the Legislature, Barra said, "We're in the first inning right now, but we'll get through this, and in the end we will prevail and have a budget we can live with."
Sen. Carl Marcellino (R-Syosset) emphasized that Long Island legislators, both Republicans and Democrats, are fighting hard in Albany to get school-aid dollars for their home districts. "We will bring back every penny and dime we can," said Marcellino. "Rest assured we understand our job, and we know what you want us to do."
Assemblyman David Sidikman (D-Old Bethpage) said, "The governor's budget gives zero growth for school aid. This is unacceptable. We weren't happy last year with the bare-bones budget, and I feel very sad in saying we didn't get the help last year. We will not come home from Albany without an increase to our top priority, our children."
Long Island's state lawmakers, however, face a tough obstacle -- upstate legislators view Long Island as wealthy and thus less in need of state education dollars, Marcellino said.
Mitch Pally, vice president of government affairs for the Long Island Association, the region's biggest business and civic group, said that simply obtaining school aid is not enough.
Long Island legislators must push for a regional cost index in 2002-2003 executive budget, which would provide more money for Island districts where costs are higher than upstate.
The state Senate and Assembly will make their own budget recommendations over the next few weeks in Albany. The state budget, which traditionally has not been completed on time, is due April 1.
