By Anthony Rifilato
The Baldwin School District's 2006-07 budget passed by only five votes last week, the $99.8 million proposal proving to be more divisive than expected.
Because of the narrow margin, school officials initially said that the vote was too close to call even the day after the vote, and that they needed to tally 18 affidavit ballots with the state Board of Elections. In the end, 1,188 residents voted yes and 1,183 voted no.
The budget raises taxes next year by $350 on the average home in Baldwin, currently assessed at $397,600.
Nearly 85 percent of school budgets on Long Island - totaling more than $9 billion - passed May 16, following two years of budget rejections in the wake of the Roslyn scandal and rising taxes.
"They're exploiting our tax dollars, and a lot of people are having a hard time," said one resident who voted against the budget and asked not to be named. "Everybody is paying over $8,000 in taxes each year, and it keeps going up." School district officials and the Board of Education met last week to discuss the vote, and School Superintendent Robert Britto released a statement in response to the narrow margin. "While we are pleased the budget passed and believe it was a solid budget that kept costs down and added to the quality of the district's program for our students, we realize the close margin merits serious discussion and reflection," Britto said. "We will continue this dialogue and reach out to the community to better understand issues that may have played a role in the outcome."
School officials attributed the 6.2 percent budget increase to a slew of state-mandated expenses such as health insurance and state retirement contributions, as well as a new position for a state-mandated internal auditor.
In the months before the vote, school officials had discussed some additions to the budget, such as two full-time nurses and one part-time nurse for the district, as well as additional special education and Academic Intervention Services staff. The budget also includes a 3.5 percent boost in teachers' salaries. Despite the increases, school officials emphasized that the spending plan would maintain current programs such as full-day kindergarten and instructional programs.
Baldwin school officials said that if the budget had been defeated, the Board of Education could have been required to adopt a contingency budget, limiting expenditure increases to no more than 4 percent, in addition to the bond debt. The school board would have been forced to cut $2.1 million from the budget, making significant reductions to programs, staff and services.
School board member B.A. Schoen, who was re-elected to his three-year seat last week, said he wasn't too surprised that many people voted against the budget, saying that part of it had to do with the relentless coverage in the media of taxes and school costs. "I'm glad that it passed, but I'm disappointed that many people can come to a voting booth and vote against the budget, when nobody came to any budget meetings and made any suggestions about what the budget should be," Schoen said.
He added that Baldwin has the seventh lowest per-pupil spending in Nassau County, and that the board worked hard to maintain programs in the district. Despite Baldwin's low commercial tax base, the state mandates and other factors that impact the district and increase costs, Schoen acknowledged that people are tired of rising taxes in Nassau County.
"It's reflective of the very high taxes," he said. "A real positive is that everyone was reminded about how important their vote is. No matter how people feel, they can say, 'I'm glad I voted.'"
The results of the school board trustee race were clear on Wednesday. Schoen won with 1,269 votes, while fellow incumbent Mary Jo O'Hagan regained her seat with 1,541 votes. Challenger Stanley Gittleman received 966 votes.
Baldwin Public Library Board of Trustees incumbent Tony Tarantino was re-elected to his seat with 1,077 votes, narrowly defeating Ethell Smith, who garnered 984. Smith received strong support from employees who have been without a contract since 2004.
The 2006-07 library budget passed as well, also by a relatively slim margin. The $3.5 million fiscal plan received 1,260 yes votes and 1,039 no's.
Comments about this story? Baldwineditor@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 207
