Bellmore-Merrick officials may cut summer school

Amid widespread uncertainty over school financing, Bellmore-Merrick officials have announced they are eliminating most summer school classes but might restore them if they obtain enough state financial aid.

In a letter to parents last week, the high school district said it would be unable to offer summer classes to students in grades 7-11. The reason cited was Gov. David A. Paterson's recent proposal to cut $2.1 million in district aid, to help close a state budget deficit.

But in a phone interview Monday, Diane Seaman, president of Bellmore-Merrick's school board, said the decision might be rescinded, depending on what happens to the governor's plan.

Many lawmakers have predicted that most, if not all, of the governor's cuts will be restored as the state heads toward November elections.

"I don't think anything is definite," Seaman said.

The district's letter says summer classes will continue to be offered for any 12th-grader needing credits to graduate in August. It adds that other students seeking to make up courses or exams failed during the regular school year might have to pay tuition to take summer courses in another district.

"Please share this information with your children and encourage them to work hard so that the second semester is a successful one," the letter states.

Last year, Bellmore-Merrick's summer school enrolled about 250 teens, at a cost of about $170,000.

As districts across Long Island plan next year's budgets, many are discussing potential reductions in staffing and student services. Typically, though, budgets are revised several times before final versions are submitted to voters in May.

The shape of those revisions depends largely on the size of the aid package adopted by the State Legislature. Under law, aid is supposed to be approved by April 1, along with the rest of the state budget. But such agreements are often delayed.

Paterson's proposed aid cuts would hit every district on Long Island, and cost the region $172.6 million overall. But last winter the governor initially proposed $157 million in cuts for the Island, and lawmakers ultimately boosted assistance a bit through use of federal stimulus money.