This year, officials called it the "perfect storm." New York state slashed education aid. Amid a sagging economy, fixed costs, such as health insurance, retirement and Social Security, soared. Those two factors alone, in addition to costs that are expected to rise annually, such as teachers' salaries, new computers and books, pushed school budgets higher and higher.
To top it all off, Nassau County wound down its reassessment of all properties in 2002, and the new assessments will take effect this year. Some homeowners will see reductions in their assessments, lowering their taxes. Many, however, will be hit with increases.
In the end, local property owners will pay for it all with higher tax bills this October.
That, of course, is the bad news. The good news is that the Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District and its four component elementary districts -- Bellmore, Merrick, North Bellmore and North Merrick -- remain among the strongest school systems on Long Island and even in New York state. Students are achieving at incredible levels. Some 83 percent of the central district's class of 2002 graduated with Regents diplomas. Twenty-eight percent of the class members were named Advanced Placement scholars. Thirty-seven percent were admitted to the National Honor Society.
The elementary school systems consistently rank among the best-achieving districts on state-mandated tests, such as those that students must take in fourth grade.
Fantastic!
We must recognize that property taxes will rise this year. Bellmore-Merrick residents, though, should say yes to their local school district budgets. The schools are an investment not only in our children's education, but also in our homes. Having strong schools not only keeps area property values stable, but also adds to their worth.
Failure to pass the high school and elementary budgets could give the appearance that Bellmore-Merrick cares less about educating its children and more about preserving its bottom line, which could scare away potential home buyers.
With that said, we must note that we can't be sure by how much property taxes will rise next year. Only the Merrick School District has given a projected number. Officials there say the figure would be about $400 to $450 for an average home, in addition to the central district tax bill.
Education officials and residents who have followed the budget process closely have said that the total school tax bill for 2003-04 could rise, on average, by $800 to $1,000 in the Bellmore-Merrick area. That's a completely unofficial figure, but it's the best guesstimate we can give.
Neither the central district nor its component elementary districts have offered tax rates, which would enable us to more exactly predict the amount that taxes will rise in 2003-04. School officials say that the county's reassessment makes it nearly impossible to estimate by how much the average homeowner's tax bill will increase next year, so they don't want to give rates. But other districts, such as next-door-neighbor East Meadow, have given them, so it can be done.
Districts aren't required to offer tax rates to homeowners when they vote on the budget. When given, they are only tentative at this point, because the state sets the final rates for the upcoming academic year in August.
But districts usually provide projected figures, as a courtesy to property owners, if you will, and they should have done the same this year. It's only fair that homeowners know roughly what their tax bills will be when they vote on their school budgets.
Still, we don't see the lack of local tax rates as reason enough to vote against the school budgets.
We wouldn't want to see our children's education nor our home values suffer because school spending plans are shot down. The Herald endorses the Bellmore-Merrick Central High and its component elementary district budgets, but with one reservation: Tentative tax rates should have been made available to the public, even during this, the year of the "perfect storm."
