By Mary Malloy
Under the budget agreement reached last weekend, according to Sen. Dean Skelos (R-Rockville Centre), the Rockville Centre school district will receive nearly $7.5 million in school funding from the state in 2007-08. This is an increase of $1.2 million, or 19.8 percent, over the district's aid in the current budget.
In the newest figures released by Spitzer on Sunday, the state is using a new aid formula based on need, while implementing new accountability measures and expanding the number of charter schools. "There has never been a better budget for education," Spitzer said. "We are providing ample resources, targeting them where they are needed most and insisting on accountability."
The budget provides a statewide increase in education aid of $1.76 billion.
"The governor's [tentative] budget plan slashed Long Island's share of school aid and eliminated our property tax rebate checks," Skelos explained. "We refused to pass a budget that discriminated against Long Island - and we won."
Thanks to last week's down-to-the-wire deal-making, Long Island schools now stand to receive $115 million more than they would have under the governor's initial plan, and most homeowners will receive rebate checks twice as large as those they received last fall, according to Skelos. "These historic state school aid increases will protect homeowners from higher property taxes and ensure that our children have the resources they need to succeed in the classroom," the senator said.
In a letter addressed to Spitzer, Skelos and almost two dozen Long Island legislators wrote that escalating property taxes have imposed an undue burden on Long Island families. "To stabilize school property taxes," the letter read, "the 2007-08 New York state budget must preserve Long Island's traditional share of state education aid and provide property tax relief for every homeowner."
With the help of the Long Island Association, the legislators appealed to the governor for an aid allotment formula that more accurately reflected Nassau and Suffolk counties' share of the total student enrollment in New York state, which is 16.7 percent. The proposed Executive Budget had reduced the two counties' share of new state school aid to 8.16 percent. It also would have eliminated the rebate check program that provided Long Island with 27 percent of its property tax savings.
"Long Island families need real property tax relief," said Skelos. "This is a critical, bipartisan priority for Nassau and Suffolk county legislators."
"We owe a debt of gratitude to Dean Skelos," said Rockville Centre schools Superintendent Dr. William Johnson. "He did what he said he would do, which was to hold fast and stay the course, to make sure that Long Island did get its fair share."
Judy Rattner and Danny Teigman contributed to this story. Comments about it? MMalloy@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 202.
