By:Jonann Brady
In a meeting attended by school staff, administrators, PTA members and a sprinkling of community members, the board was told again and again by audience members that it had constructed a solid, fiscally sound budget and that losing by six votes was not a mandate from the citizens. The last time a West Hempstead school budget failed was 13 years ago, in 1991.
Eliciting applause from the crowd, Rosalie Norton, the president-elect of the West Hempstead Civic Association, said, This was a good budget. When you cut it, you say it-s a bloated budget, and that-s sending the wrong message.
Board and audience members alike bemoaned the low voter turnout, and said they could have done more to get people to the polls. Many in the crowd said that the district needed to do a better job of articulating the consequences if the budget fails a second time.
If that were the case, the district would be forced to operate on a contingency budget, meaning that about $2 million would have to be excised from the current budget. This would necessitate cuts to programs such as full-day kindergarten, a nine-period day, textbooks, sports and extracurricular activities.
When Superintendent Carol Eisenberg was asked if there were any lines that could be trimmed, she said, Every line in this budget represents a need.
Board members also said that parents who send their children to private schools need to understand that a contingency budget would hurt them by affecting textbook allocations and staff such as school nurses.
Others said that operating on a contingency budget would have a detrimental effect on the district -- and a snowball effect on the town -- by lowering property values.
Seth Bykofsky, a member of the West Hempstead Civic Association, said that cutting the budget would send the wrong message, convincing residents to vote down the budget every year with the knowledge that cuts would be made. You-re doomed every year," Bykofsky said. "They-ll smell blood. He went on to say, I guarantee you [the budget] will pass. The good people of West Hempstead will not let it go down.
The failure of the West Hempstead budget reflected a trend across Nassau County, where fully one-third of school budgets were rejected. As board member Pamela Lotito said, There was misdirected anger at school budgets because of the economy. It-s the only place [voters] can pull the lever.
Board and audience members said that not enough parents had come out to the polls, and asked where the people were who voted against the budget. Where are all these people who are angry about the budget? asked Trocchia.
Board members, however, conceded that resubmitting the budget as is would be a gamble. Board member Martin Kaye said that reducing it for cosmetic reasons would be a mistake. We need to publicize the heck out of it, said Kaye.
The board will hold a public hearing on the budget on June 10, and the re-vote is scheduled for Thursday, June 17. Voter registration will take place at the district office until June 15.
