By Scott Brinton
Dr. Henry Kiernan, the Central District superintendent, said he has seen three state aid packages for Bellmore-Merrick. In his executive budget, Gov. Eliot Spitzer proposed returning $16.2 million in aid to the Central District. The Democratic-controlled Assembly put $16.4 million in its budget, and the Republican-controlled Senate proposed $18.6 million.
Unsure what the district's aid package will be come April or May, Kiernan said at a March 21 budget review session, "We're going with the governor's proposal at this point."
After it collects income taxes, the state returns part of the money to school districts in the form of education aid. The aid dollars offset districts' operating budgets, reducing local property taxes.
Over the years, Long Island school districts -- particularly solidly middle-class districts -- have had less and less of their budgets funded by education aid. Cynthia Regal, Bellmore-Merrick's assistant superintendent for business, said that state aid accounted for 20 percent of the Central District's budget in 1999. This year, the governor's proposal would bring that figure down to 14 percent.
Regal said the Central District is proposing a $113 million spending plan for 2007-08, up from its current $107.2 million. Next year's proposed budget would represent a 5.39 percent increase in spending, she said. The instructional budget, she said, is set to increase from $83 million to $88 million.
Regal noted that Bellmore-Merrick's per-pupil spending -- the amount it spends to educate each child -- is among the lowest in Nassau County, at roughly $10,200. By comparison, she said, North Shore districts like Manhasset spend nearly $16,000 per student.
Kiernan also raised the example of the Three Village School District in Suffolk County. He said that Three Village spends a little more than $11,000 per child. He mentioned that district because, he said, its goals and standards, particularly in science research, are similar to Bellmore-Merrick's. Both have established science-research programs, and both annually produce a crop of Intel semifinalists.
Regal said that Bellmore-Merrick's tax levy -- the amount of money it must raise in taxes to meet expenses -- would rise next school year from $82.5 million to $87 million, a 5.5 percent increase. District officials did not offer a proposed tax rate, which would allow residents to calculate their individual tax bills for next year.
Regal said the district would have to limit expenses to no more than $111,682 in 2007-08 if Central's proposed budget failed to pass a public vote. That would represent a decrease in spending of roughly $1.37 million.
Under a contingency budget, Regal said, the district would likely have to reduce expenditures on new equipment, including SmartBoards, which are interactive, computer-controlled "chalkboards." The district would also have to eliminate summer school, community use of buildings and a business internship program for Calhoun seniors.
Kiernan said the district's proposed budget includes funding for an eighth-grade pre-engineering program called "Project Lead the Way." If the spending plan passes, Bellmore-Merrick would become the only school on Long Island with the program.
The tentative budget also includes money for four additional teachers at Calhoun and Mepham high schools and three new teachers for the Meadowbrook Alternative Program. Regal also said the district would like to hire an orchestra teacher, to be shared by Calhoun and Mepham.
The district plans to put a $3 million capital improvement proposal up for a vote on the May ballot. Half of the total would be funded by state aid. Among the projects included in the proposal are:
€Extra security cameras at the district's five schools.
€Entry buzzers.
€Repair of public announcement systems.
€Renovation of girls' locker rooms.
€Circuit upgrades.
€Air-conditioning in the guidance suites.
€New seating for Calhoun's Little Theater.
€Acid neutralization tanks at each of the high schools. These would allow the district to dispose of laboratory chemicals in a more environmentally sound manner than its current leaching fields, officials said.
The budget will be put to a public vote on Tuesday, May 15. The Central District budget is separate from those proposed by the local elementary districts -- Bellmore, Merrick, North Bellmore or North Merrick.
A number of parents who attended the March 21 meeting asked why the district had not included synthetic-turf fields on its list of capital projects.
(See "Playing hardball over synthetic fields," page 2.)
Comments about this story? SBrinton@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 203.
