By STUART KLATZ
Election Day in the Long Beach School District has now been pushed back from May 20 to June 3.
The override puts into effect a plan that includes proposed increases in the state income tax for the wealthy and the state sales tax Ñ moves that potentially mean that more aid will be available from Albany for local school districts. Schools had faced severe cuts in revenue from the state under Pataki's proposed budget plan.
It passed unanimously in the Senate, which consists of a majority of Republicans, noted Long Beach's superintendent of schools, Ron Friedman. Since Governor Pataki is a Republican, the move comes as quite a surprise.
As a result of the override, the Long Beach City School District budget hearing will now be held on Tuesday, May 20. On Tuesday, May 27, a regular Board of Education meeting is slated. The vote for school and library trustees and budgets have been pushed back until Tuesday, June 3. Candidates can now file until Wednesday, May 14 at 5 p.m.
Friedman said that regardless of what the Legislature eventually does with aid to schools, there would not be an increase in spending in Long Beach over what is currently being proposed. Any additional aid, he said, would go towards reducing the burden on taxpayers.
Pataki responded to the news with a vow to fight to restore his spending plan. He threatened to use his veto power to prevent the new budget from becoming law. One announced Long Beach school board candidate, Jannine Laskas-Gillespie, believes that the back and forth clashes are counterproductive to the needs of the state.
The Legislature and the governor need to agree upon a number that finally addresses this issue, she said. There are senior citizens and other people in need who are living on fixed incomes, and they need a solution.
Former school board trustee Roy Lester, who intends to compete for a seat this June 3, said he fears that the Legislature and the governor are getting involved in a wrestling match for power, with schools and taxpayers caught in between. I'm pleased that the Legislature is restoring the cuts made by the governor, but I'm surprised that they would do this without consulting the school districts, he said. The situation is reaching an absurd point, and now people will be paying more in sales tax.
Lester went on to point out that the state government could have planned better for the deficit in years when there was a surplus.
A third school board candidate, Frank Alvarado, believes it's good that the Legislature is trying to put more money back into education. The more funds the government provides for our schools, the less we have to make up on our own, he said.
