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MSD looks at final budget numbers; adoption set for Thursday, March 29 The Massapequa Public Schools has a slogan: integrity, values and success. In order to maintain those three principles, district officials are proposing a 6.8 percent budget increase for the 2007/08 school year with many of the increases attributed to unfunded state mandates. Massapequa school officials have been unveiling the district's tentative budget to the public over the past month. The school board is expected to officially adopt it March 29 and it is to go before voters May 15. The tentative $156.6 million proposal would carry a 6.8 percent increase over the current operating budget of $146.6 million. The property tax increases for Massapequa residents will be determined when Nassau County Assessor Harvey Levinson releases the updated tax rates for 2007/08 based on new reassessment of homes. Last year the average tax increase in Massapequa was 5.5 percent, according to district officials. That translate into a rate of $508.51 per $100 of assessed value, without the STAR or other exemptions. Assistant Superintendent for Business Al Adcock said during a presentation of the instructional portion of the tentative budget on March 8 that the primary reason for the increase is to fund federal initiatives under the "No Child Left Behind Act," which now requires testing in grades three through eight. Adcock estimates the cost of hiring substitute teach- ers to grade the three through eight standardized tests will cost between $250,000 and $300,000. He said other mandates out of the district's control that must be included in the budget are increased costs for retirement contributions, health benefits and expenses for internal auditors now required by the state. "There is a lot of money that is part of the budget that it mandates," said Massapequa school board president Arlene Martin. In an effort to continue what district officials describe as the academic and enrichment success of the Massapequa Public School, the $156.6 million budget will also include funding to expand the district's school-wide enrichment program, add additional college level courses and two new middle school sports teams, increasing the athletic budget by 7.3 percent. There would also be a 4.1 percent increase for all the district's educational programs, including 1.33 percent more for special education services. Currently special education instructional costs are $17,050,441 and would go to $19,856,398, if approved by the board March 29. Adock also said that while state and federal mandates have driven up the budget, the percentage of state aid has declined. State aid in 1970 covered 51 percent of its operating budget. That dropped to 39 percent in 1980, 27 percent in 1990 and 13.8 percent in 2007. Part of the problem is the state aid formula, which is based on property values and does not take into account regional costs. With high property values and a high cost of living, Long Islanders lose out in the process. While Long Island schools and elected officials continue to lobby for a more equitable state aid distribution system, some of that has been addressed in Albany by the STAR program, which helps to offset some of the costs of real property taxes on Long Island but is not considered aid to education. Under New York Governor Eliot Spitzer's proposed budget, unveiled in early February, Massapequa would receive 21. 5 million in school aid from Albany, a 2.16 percent increase from last year, but district officials are hoping local state legislators will be able to deliver even more as they lobby on behalf of their districts. "We still need to petition the state for aid," said Adock, in pointing to the need to make Long Island's case in Albany. In the public comments portion of the March 8 meeting, parents had plenty to say on what should be added to the district's budget when it goes for adoption on March 29. Debby Austin said the girls' locker rooms at Berner Middle School are in terrible shape and should be replaced instead of painted. "They are rusted. They (the students) can't get the doors open," said Austin. "I think we're doing the girls a disservice." District officials said they might be able to allocate some of the $64,000 in Excel funds available for maintenance repairs to replace the lockers and they will look into it. In the event voters reject the proposed budget, the district could bring it to another vote. If that were also defeated, it would be forced to operate on a contingency budget, increasing the current budget by no more than 4 percent. That would force the district to cut $2.2 million in program reductions, $608,238 in equipment cuts and 18 staff members, said Adcock. A contingency budget, which would mean roughly $4.1 million in cuts overall, would mean a savings of $15 a month for the average Massapequa homeowner according to Adock.
A public hearing on the budget is scheduled for May 3 with the budget vote taking place on May 15 from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
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