By Nicole Falco
Districts are facing decreases in state aid, unprecedented increases in state-mandated costs and the aftermath of the recent Nassau County reassessments, which has resulted in a shifting of the tax burden from commercial property owners to homeowners.
State Assemblyman Bob Barra and Scott Cushing, chief of staff for Assemblyman Tom Alfano, were on the hot seat at the Valley Stream Council of PTAs' seventh annual Legislative Breakfast March 15. Barra and Cushing addressed school officials, parents and residents' questions and concerns regarding the governor's dismal forecast for state aid to schools.
Barra, who was also representing state Senator Dean Skelos, and Cushing were joined by county Legislator John Ciotti, town Councilman James Darcy as well as representatives of United States Sen. Hillary Clinton and Rep. Carolyn McCarthy. All gathered in Cafeteria B of Memorial Junior High School, but Barra and Cushing did most of the talking.
Saying he was "appalled" by the decreases in state aid to schools in the governor's initial budget proposal, Barra said, "We will not vote for a budget unless it has enough funding for our children, because we have to invest in our future."
Barra and Cushing, speaking on Alfano's behalf, said they would fight to make sure state aid to schools would be restored to at least match the aid schools received last year.
Barra said the Legislature would be reviewing the governor's $90 billion budget in detail to find more money for schools, and that he would support borrowing if necessary. "In a budget of $90 billion, there has to be some wiggle room," he said. "I don't mind borrowing money to pay for education. ... We borrow for everything else, why not for the kids?"
At this point, flat state aid would be welcomed amid the current talk of decreases. If the governor's aid proposal were passed today, the high school district would face a $750,000 decrease from last year's state aid of about $10 million. District 13 is slated to receive approximately $5.6 million, a decrease of more than $1 million. Districts 24 and 30 are each expected to receive approximately $250,000 less than last year. District 24 will get slightly more than $2 million, and District 30 almost $2.6 million.
The state has attributed decreases to the abysmal economy in the wake of Sept. 11, 2001, and the receding stock market.
Districts across the state may have trouble swaying taxpayers to vote for approval of their budgets when residents cast their school-budget votes May 20.
If the public were to vote down a district's budget twice, a contingency budget would be in effect for the 2003-04 school year. This would set limits on budget-to-budget increases, almost guaranteeing a reverse of the progress districts have made through program initiatives, including academic-intervention services and reduced class sizes.
"There would unfortunately be real casualties that undo the progress we have made," said District 13 and high school district Trustee Dr. Frank Chiachiere, speaking at the breakfast for all four Valley Stream school boards.
Speaking for school administrators, Lawrence McGoldrick, District 30 superintendent of schools, said, "Programs would be lost and I fear they'll never return."
With each district struggling to maintain initiatives while keeping tax increases low, the fate of the high school district's budget may rest in District 13 taxpayers' hands.
Unlike District 24 and particularly District 30, District 13, the largest of the three, derives the majority of its tax revenue from single-family homeowners. Because the tax burden has been shifted from commercial properties to single-family homes and its homes have been reassessed at higher values, District 13 will experience a disproportionate impact at the high school level.
The high school district's proposed budget calls for a 6.4 percent increase, but the average homeowner in District 13 will see a 29.2 percent increase in their high-school tax bill compared with a 1.7 percent decrease in District 24 and a 5.7 percent decrease in District 30.
"How will the average person manage to stay in this area with increases like this?" asked Ike Tress, a District 13 resident and regular attendee of school board meetings who has been following the situation closely.
Further compounding the problem are proposed cuts in tax-limitation aid, which would help offset the burden in District 13 and districts with similar circumstances. Barra and Cushing both said their offices would work toward getting District 13 aid to help balance the disproportionate increase.
"There's not going to be any agreement, at least on my side, until tax-limitation aid is addressed," Barra said.
Looking at other ways to reduce homeowners' burdens in District 13, Cushing mentioned the idea of petitioning the state to offer District 13 compensation for Valley Stream State Park. Although the park takes up a significant portion of that district, it is not on the tax rolls.
"The state definitely has an obligation to do something to level the playing field," Cushing said.
Meredith Brosnan, assistant superintendent for District 13, said the district has been in constant contact with Alfano's office regarding the disproportionate burden in District 13 at the high-school level.
"We'd like to see the [almost] 30 percent increase phased in over five years," Brosnan said. "This is a unique offshoot of the reassessment that nobody foresaw. If [District 13] houses are really worth more, than in the long run we should pay our fair share, but not all at once."
McGoldrick expressed his concern -- a concern shared by many in the room -- that the state must think about the long term. "I think we will be deluding ourselves if we think we can get what we want this year and it will all go back to the way it was [next year]," he said.
