Herald Community Newspapers
Vote yes on the school budget
On Tuesday, Rockville Centre School District residents will vote on the district's proposed 2007-08 school budget. The Herald strongly encourages voters to approve the plan.
The budget totals just under $85 million, which is $4.2 million, or 5.25 percent, larger than the current spending plan. In workshops and hearings that began in January, it was carefully discussed, its components scrutinized line by line by the Board of Education, the administration and members of the public. This year the budget was presented for the first time in a more user-friendly format, conforming with state accounting requirements.
We commend the efforts of the board and the school district to make the budget and its adoption process as transparent as possible. We also applaud district residents who took the time to read and question items they noticed in the budget. The result of these sessions is that voters can go to the polls to approve a spending plan that we think is pro-child and pro-education. It allocates every dollar possible to maintaining the district's excellent instructional programs, while judiciously reintroducing a foreign language program that is long overdue, and budgeting for extra staff as Covert's enrollment increases and special education needs at the middle school increase as well.
We believe that all involved took very seriously the need to hold the line on large increases, and struck a good balance. We also recognize the efforts of our local legislators, championed by RVC's Dean Skelos, to make sure Long Island gets its fair share. This year they restored much-needed state aid, with Rockville Centre schools in line to receive nearly $7.5 million from the state in 2007-08. That's an increase of $1.2 million, or 19.8 percent, over state funding in the current budget. This financial shot in the arm is being used by the district to reduce the tax levy increase.
There are a number of items in the budget that the district can do little or nothing about: retirement contributions, health insurance, utility and transportation costs and, to some extent, debt service. And unfunded state mandates continue. The district has added money to its business administration line to hire an internal auditor who will institute state-recommended procedural accounting and bookkeeping changes.
There are other items, however, that we can do something about. The district's legal fees are up 27 percent this year. Litigation is partly responsible for the increase, including the recent suit involving the RVC Quality of Life Council and the Board of Education regarding the gift of turf and lights at the high school. We strongly believe that school district residents should think long and hard before they sue the administration or the school board. Litigation has a direct impact on the bottom line and ultimately on our taxes as well, and should be used only as a last resort, after all efforts to compromise are exhausted.
We recognize that reasonable people can disagree, and sometimes require outside intervention to solve disputes. But after listening to questions and comments at some of the board meetings, we'd suggest that people tone down their arguments and restore respect and civility to every discussion, which will improve the chances of compromise.
If voters approve the budget, the current estimate is that the average household would see a tax increase of approximately $300 a year, before the STAR rebate, based on an average home value of $678,000. We urge residents to vote for this budget.
Cordova for school board
It has been some time since school district voters have had the chance to choose between two highly qualified candidates for an open seat on the Board of Education. It is evident that both Doreen Cordova and Mary Koppinger are passionate about issues affecting the education of our children. They are both clearly committed to doing what they think is right. But in our view, Cordova is the better choice.
We believe Cordova would bring a longer and more reasoned perspective to the board. We like her background as a revenue manager and her work as an advocate for children with disabilities. She would bring to the board knowledge of the law and familiarity with issues it deals with regularly. Cordova says she loves to learn and that she tenaciously seeks answers when she doesn't have them, exploring all sides of an issue to reach a fair decision.
It's clear that she wants to do everything she can to preserve the high quality of education in Rockville Centre. As an empty-nester herself, and someone who has had to closely watch her household finances, Cordova is aware of the need for fiscal discipline and to keep tax increases to a minimum. She will have the time to fully devote herself to the work ahead.
Koppinger is deeply involved with several PTA groups. She knows the issues in the district like the back of her hand, and demonstrates her deep dedication to education on a daily basis. Yet despite assurances that she supports the budget and the acceptance of the gift of turf and lights, and that she is an independent thinker, it has been difficult to discern what she actually believes about the issues the district faces.
We feel more confident that Cordova will work for the good of all children in the district. For these reasons, we urge district voters to elect Cordova. She will be a distinct asset to the school board and the administration.
Approve the library budget
The proposed library budget comes in at just over $2.9 million, an increase of 4.86 percent, or nearly $133,000, over the current budget of just under $2.8 million. It is described by library director Maureen Chiofalo as in line with the school district's proposed increase, and contractual salary and health insurance obligations account for a major portion of the increase.
Library board President Bill Murray has characterized the budget as relatively small. It has no debt, and gets no appreciable state aid.
Voters should approve this reasonable budget. We also hope the library board can get past all of the infrastructure issues it has dealt with, including the roof, air conditioning, heating and fire systems, and get to the projects it says are priorities, such as employee salaries and new programs.
Re-elect Wexler to library board
Voters should not hesitate to re-elect April Wexler to another three-year term on the library Board of Trustees. Wexler, a capable and hard-working board member, is running unopposed for one of two open seats. She deserves to be re-elected so she can get on with the fine work of implementing library and staff program improvements, and see to the resolution of building infrastructure issues that continue to draw resources from the library. While we are disappointed that there are no other candidates for the board, we are confident in Wexler's abilities and enthusiastically endorse her re-election.
