By Anthony Rifilato
The board recently adopted a $99.8 million budget for the 2006-07 school year, a $5.8 million increase over last year. The school district says that because the tax burden has been shifted by the state legislature from utilities and commercial properties to single-family homeowners, there will be a tax increase of about $354 (exclusive of STAR) for the average assessed home in Baldwin next year, which is currently $397,600.
But state officials dispute this, saying that the legislature did not shift the tax burden to single-family homeowners. A spokesperson for State Senator Dean Skelos (R-Rockville Centre) said that increased home prices are responsible for the shift.
"The state legislature has acted to reduce the shift by 80 percent this year alone," said Skelos spokesman Tom Dunham.
While that debate continues, all three candidates said that they are committed to fighting to keep school taxes low, addressing current issues in the district and maintaining programs for students. Voters will turn out to vote for or against the candidates as well as the school budget on May 16 at Baldwin High School. Following are profiles of the three contenders.
Stanley Gittleman
Challenger Stanley Gittleman says he is running for the board because he would like to introduce new initiatives to combat rising property taxes and teen violence.
A New York city Social Studies teacher for 34 years, Gittleman - who is retired - said that if elected, he could affect change by reaching out to the community and students alike.
Gittleman, a Baldwin resident since 1971, says he would like to create a community-based plan to reduce school property taxes.
"Our tax payers are hurting because the percentage of state aid to finance our school budget keeps declining," Gittleman said. "I will advocate that our students and the community be shown that there are fairer tax alternatives to the property tax."
For instance, Gittleman said he would like to see state lawmakers close corporate tax loopholes, reinstitute a stock transfer tax and reinstate the income tax on the top one percent of wage earners.
"What's happening in Baldwin is the proportion of state aid is going down," said Gittleman, adding that even though education aid for Baldwin was increased for the next school year, it is out of line with the needs of the district.
"The idea is, if the state has more money, they can provide more aid," Gittleman said. "The next step is to learn what action citizens could and should take to correct these injustices. The goal of this is a community-based campaign to increase state aid to education."
Gittleman is currently a member of the Executive Board of the Baldwin Educational Assembly, and his wife, Helen, is assistant director of the Baldwin Public Library.
Gittleman also said he would like to implement research-based programs to reduce violent student behavior and substance abuse, and while he said the board already has seemingly effective tools to deal with these issues, Gittleman believes there is a missing ingredient, mainly that irascible or irate students are not taught how to calm themselves.
Gittleman says that school violence is increasing in Baldwin, and that he would call for more programs that address the issue to be used in the district.
"The board of education already has many character educational programs already in place," said Gittleman, adding that current programs are not working. "What's missing is that with their programs kids are not taught to calm themselves when they're upset."
As a board member, Gittleman said he could be effective in addressing other issues that could arise in the district, like the increasing number of bomb threats in the high school and a call by parents to add more full time nurses to some schools.
"We want to have a nurse available when needed by children in the district," said Gittleman. "Is it really necessary to have a nurse in every school? We need to look into how many times a day a nurse is needed. I want nurses available. If you need a nurse at all schools, by all means they should have them."
Mary Jo O'Hagan
Mary Jo O'Hagan has worked on the board for 12 years and is its longest serving member. O'Hagan is currently vice-president of the board, and said that when she was first elected in 1994, she quickly realized that Baldwin schools are impacted by laws and mandates on the federal and state level, affecting everything from property taxes to what students are being taught in the classroom.
"So many of the issues that we face are driven outside of the school district," said O'Hagan, referring to what she said are severely under-funded mandates like the federal No Child Left Behind Act. "You need to go to the state and federal government to get relief from mandates and to get funding for mandates."
O'Hagan said she has been doing just that by serving on the executive board of the Nassau Suffolk School Boards Association, the Federal Relations Network and the National School Boards Association. As a board member, O'Hagan travels to Washington D.C. and Albany to lobby on behalf of Baldwin schools.
"NCLB has a huge set of regulations with no funding," said O'Hagan. "There was a promise that there would be funding available by the president and members of congress. It never materialized."
O'Hagan also said that the district has expanded its academic and extra-curricular programs, while maintaining a low rate of per pupil spending and a "well-run, prudently managed school district."
"As an incumbent, you run on your record," said O'Hagan. "We are in the forefront in many areas: one of the top 100 districts in the nation for the study of music and ranked number 404 in the nation based on our AP program. This is where I put my emphasis, and I feel I have made a contribution."
Some of the current issues O'Hagan has had to tackle as a board member include the recent $99.8 million budget that was adopted recently. Baldwin received additional state aid for the next school year - $21.2 million - and O'Hagan said the board is committed to using the additional funds for lowering the tax levy to 5.02 percent.
"We always say that if there's extra money it goes towards the levy," said O'Hagan. "Without state aid, the actual impact would have been higher. That's always what looms over every conversation."
The budget also includes the addition of two full-time nurses and a part-time nurse. Hundreds of parents had signed a petition calling for more nurses, although O'Hagan and other board members say it was already being addressed prior to the petition.
"It was a legitimate concern," said O'Hagan. "When we looked at it, by adding a couple of nurses, we could eliminate a couple of nurse's aides, which was an offset. It was a way to give everybody access to nursing care."
There have also been a slate of new administrators in the district, including School Superintendent Dr. Robert Britto, and O'Hagan said the transition has been smooth. As a board member, O'Hagan said that it is important to make that switch seamless.
"I feel it has gone very well," O'Hagan said.
When issues arise in the district, whether it's a controversial personnel matter or the recent bomb threats in the district, O'Hagan said that the board has worked well together in addressing the issues.
"The chemistry is very good," O'Hagan said. "In all the time I've been on the board, members have changed but the chemistry is still there. Consistency is very important."
B.A. Schoen
B.A. Schoen, 58, is a longtime Baldwin resident and has been a board member for 10 years. Schoen, a graduate of Moorhead State University, has been a vocal advocate for funding reforms in New York state, and as a liaison to the New York State School Boards Association, Schoen has fought to stave off cuts to state education aid and address increased mandates. As a board member, Schoen say's that he has the experience to help guide the district in the years to come.
"It's easy to say, 'I can do that,'" Schoen said, explaining that the job of a board member is not easy. "Then when you face the reality of it, it's very different. But if you're doing well and serving a good purpose, it's not tiring, it's rewarding."
Schoen, who is also a Nassau County referee and former wrestling coach, is also a member of Reform Financing Inequities Today (REFIT), a non-profit organization that lobbies for state education funding reforms. Schoen has regularly pressed for more state aid for schools in property-poor, high-tax districts like Baldwin.
"REFIT has always maintained that they want a state-wide solution," said Schoen.
Recently, lawmakers allocated $21.2 million in state aid for Baldwin.
"It's the first time that tax increases are not as high as the spending increases," said Schoen, adding that local representatives in Albany have been receptive to Baldwin's concerns. "That's due to our legislators."
Schoen said that as a board member, he and others do their best to reign in costs that they can control, such as adding or cutting programs, and maintaining current ones. Schoen supported a request to add a new football team at the middle school, but the proposal was ultimately not included in next year's budget.
"I didn't think it was a lot of money," said Schoen. "But they [the board] want to let the public know that we watch everything. We have a tight budget, but if it were to be defeated, we wouldn't be able to add things like more nurses."
There are also a slew of rising health insurance and retirement costs - among others - that are outside of the board's control, Schoen said.
"I have to concentrate on what I can control," said Schoen. "We have a hard working board. We do our homework and work well together."
Elsewhere, Schoen said that the board has been working diligently with school administrators to address the ongoing bomb threats and to help implement new procedures at the middle school and high school.
"We have a rash of them and it bothers me," said Schoen. "If there are kids scribbling things, we have no choice, we have to respond. When you're young, you make mistakes. But it [the threats] will have serious consequences when the perpetrators are caught."
Schoen acknowledged that it hasn't been the easiest year for students, staff and families in the district. Aside from a few lockdowns and series of bomb threats, two Baldwin High School students were killed in tragic accidents during the school year.
"It gives you pause to think about what's important," said Schoen. "Our kids are our product here. That's what we do, we raise kids, and our kids are great."
