By:Tom Jordan
With Election Day, May 15, right around the corner, there is really only one difficult decision for Rockville Centre voters: whether to pass the proposed $58.5-million school budget. The mid-May vote will also decide the makeup of local boards, but Meg Koch and Michael Schenker are running unopposed for the school board and library board, respectively, leaving little to debate.
The proposed school budget contains a $4.2 million increase over last year, representing a 7.9 percent bump from the current $54.2 educational plan.
It is difficult to ask taxpayers to support a 7.9 percent increase in expenditures when we already have such a fine educational system, said Keith Gaskell, school board member. But the state is requiring more of our students and we have to prepare them accordingly.
A big reason for the increase is a $24-million rise in contractual obligations to the district's teachers, including salary, Social Security and health insurance. The board also plans to hire additional teachers and provide more funding to staff development.
Other contributors to the budget rise are increases in the district's special education program, Project GREAT and the implementation of full-day kindergarten.
The board openly discussed all aspects of extending the kindergarten program
