Long Island

VGNHEMPSG

School advocates said Wednesday that 90-percent-plus passing rates in statewide budget elections prove voters want to decide for themselves how education dollars are spent. 
Their main point: Maintaining local control is better than the 2 percent property-tax cap proposed by Gov. Andrew M. <a href="/topics/Andrew_Cuomo">Cuomo</a> to curb school spending. 
"We already have a democratic process for capping property taxes, and it works pretty well," said Richard Iannuzzi, president of the 600,000-member <a href="/topics/New_York_State_United_Teachers">New York State United Teachers</a> union. 
Iannuzzi, who taught in <a href="/topics/Central_Islip%2C_NY">Central Islip</a>, noted that school spending increases have slowed in recent years, both statewide and on Long Island. He called Cuomo's tax-cap plan "ill-conceived." 
Not surprisingly, the governor drew a different conclusion from Tuesday's vote. Island residents approved all but five of 124 district budgets -- a 96 percent passage rate. 
"I think the message is getting out," Cuomo said Wednesday. "We've reined in state spending. We now have to rein in local government and school spending. I think you saw that in a lot of these school district budgets." 
On the Island, the average budget will rise less than the 2.3 percent inflation rate next year, as districts trim staffs and unions agree to salary concessions. But taxes will increase nearly 4 percent to make up for cuts in state school aid. 
In the <a href="/topics/William_Floyd">William Floyd</a> district -- to cite the most dramatic example -- voters on Tuesday narrowly agreed to a 12.47 percent hike in next year's taxes. That's on top of an 8.53 percent increase this year. 
School advocates cite voters' action as evidence that they will accept higher taxes to save music classes, sports and other popular programs. Residents would resent any state attempt to dictate how much they can spend, advocates add. 
"Do they want to pay higher taxes? No, they don't," said Wendell Chu, superintendent of <a href="/topics/East_Islip%2C_NY">East Islip</a> schools. "But when they're given a choice of higher taxes or cuts in programs, they're voting against cuts in programs." 
Relatively few people actually voted, however. The 288,590 who participated on the Island on Tuesday represented less than 16 percent of voters in <a href="/topics/Nassau_County%2C_NY">Nassau</a> and <a href="/topics/Suffolk_County%2C_NY">Suffolk</a> counties, according to April 1 figures on registered voters from the state Board of Elections. 
Tax activists contend voters are discouraged by state rules that sharply limit the amount of money saved when school budgets are rejected. 
"Most people don't even want to bother anymore," said Fred Gorman of <a href="/topics/Nesconset%2C_NY">Nesconset</a>, organizer of a regional tax group, Long Islanders for Educational Reform. "You've got to listen to the governor -- he's absolutely right." 
Cuomo's proposed 2-percent limit would kick in during the 2012-13 school year. The only costs exempted from the cap would be for construction and legal settlements. The cap could be overridden by vote of the local governing board and a 60 percent majority in a local referendum. 
The <a href="/topics/U.S._Republican_Party">Republican</a>-led Senate has passed the governor's bill. The Assembly, controlled by <a href="/topics/U.S._Democratic_Party">Democrats</a>, has not taken it up, but has promised to introduce its own version soon. 
Some school officials such as Joseph Laria, who is <a href="/topics/Glen_Cove%2C_NY">Glen Cove</a>'s superintendent, think a cap might work, if exemptions are added for such costs as state-mandated pensions and health care. Laria notes that his colleagues managed to find savings when state fiscal pressures demanded it. 
"Isn't it interesting," he said, "that when our backs were to the wall, we all tightened our belts and made do with less, and people supported our budgets."

Education

LISKUL19

School advocates: Results rebut guv plan

School District Budget voting

Long Island's school districts are saddled with $3.7 billion in long-term debt, the price of years of borrowing for construction and improvements ranging from solar panels and upgraded ventilation systems to science labs, refurbished auditoriums and updated athletic fields. 
While the state picks up part of the tab -- in some cases, the majority of it -- property owners, too, are on the hook for this fixed cost, which is plugged into district budgets already straining under dramatic cuts in state aid and the expense of government mandates. 
School budgets that residents in most of the Island's 124 districts will be asked to approve Tuesday include principal and interest due annually on bonds -- indebtedness that over the past decade was encouraged by state policies. 
Debt service on the Island's school district bonds last year totaled $468.9 million, up from $146.1 million in 1990, according to the state Department of Education. 
&nbsp; 
Footing the bill 
As with any IOU, the piper must be paid. 
"The thing you have to consider is, what is the alternative?" said Wendell Chu, superintendent of the <a href="/topics/East_Islip%2C_NY">East Islip</a> school district. "This type of debt that's being picked up is generally for capital projects that are not easy to include in regular budgets." 
The annual debt service is a small piece of a school district's overall spending, which also includes state aid. Last year, debt service ate up 4.5 percent of total expenditures in the Island's districts -- up from 3.1 percent in 2000 and 3.8 percent in 1990. 
In the 1990 fiscal year, <a href="/topics/Nassau_County%2C_NY">Nassau</a> and <a href="/topics/Suffolk_County%2C_NY">Suffolk</a> school districts had a combined $542.6 million in outstanding bonds, according to data provided by the state comptroller's office. By 2010, those bonded debt obligations had grown to $3.7 billion. Adjusted for inflation, that's a 309 percent increase. 
Consider <a href="/topics/Syosset%2C_NY">Syosset</a> as one example. When children were dismissed from <a href="/topics/Syosset%2C_NY">Syosset</a>'s schools in the summer of 1990, paying off the district's long-term debt bonds would have taken about $7 from the pocket of every man, woman and child in the district. In 2010, the payoff was $1,389 per person. The district's bonded indebtedness grew in that time from $225,000 to $47.5 million. 
Increased debt by itself doesn't necessarily mean that school districts are borrowing too much -- indeed, as Long Island became wealthier, it could afford more. Overall school spending grew from $3.89 billion in 1990 to $10.37 billion last year, a 60 percent increase after adjusting for inflation. 
"Just to focus on increases in the amount of debt is just a partial view," said Kate Hackett, an analyst at Standard &amp; Poor's. "You have to look at the growth in the economy. It's a very strong economy out in Long Island." 
&nbsp; 
Outpacing inflation rate 
Still, borrowing by many districts has outpaced inflation. The state's growing obligation to fund a portion of school construction and renovation over the past decade prompted changes in law this year that will bring to the fore the trade-off between construction and other costs, such as hiring teachers. 
"New York State has done a number of things over the years to encourage school construction, and some projects were sorely needed and others may have been done because the state's reimbursement was so generous that it was hard to say no," said Morris Peters, spokesman for the state Division of Budget. "The problem with that is it drives up state expenses for school construction." 
In the 1990-91 school year, New York paid school districts throughout the state $380 million for building aid. Twenty years later, that figure had risen to $2.49 billion, an increase of 295 percent in inflation-adjusted dollars. The amount of aid available for eligible projects is largely determined by a district's wealth, with the state paying a greater portion of poorer districts' costs. 
&nbsp; 
The borrowing boom 
Borrowing really took off in the new millennium, fueled by a confluence of factors that created fertile ground for debt. Part of it was simply cyclical need. Many Long Island schools were built in the 1950s and required renovation, or more classrooms were needed in growing districts. Enrollment increased during the 1990s and through 2005, driven by a number of factors, including offering full-day kindergarten in more districts and expanded curriculums. Falling interest rates in the 1990s and 2000s made borrowing cheaper, and rising wealth and property values made more money available. 
Observers point to state policy changes that encouraged borrowing: a temporary state increase in building aid, imposition of a payment schedule that spread reimbursement over fixed time periods, and a grant program that prompted sale of more bonds. 
Starting in 1998, the state temporarily increased building aid available to all school districts, prompting many to go out with bond referendums. 
Chu said that state incentives spurred districts to make needed investments in their facilities. 
"That incentive caused a lot of school districts to do those projects -- projects that they may have decided to put off for a later point in time or might have even enhanced projects to allow them to do better things," he said. 
Then, in 2002 the state changed the way it reimbursed school districts so that it paid them over 15, 20 or 30 years, depending upon the type of project, which discouraged pay-as-you-go spending. 
"Governor Pataki, when times were tougher, turned around immediately and stretched out the repayments over the life of the project," said John Bierwirth, superintendent of the <a href="/topics/Herricks%2C_NY">Herricks</a> school district. "In a relatively short period of time, the state was one moment encouraging construction and in the next moment encouraging people to go into debt." 
Finally, a program called EXCEL encouraged districts sell more bonds, though that cost generally fell more on state taxpayers than individual districts. The borrowing bonanza prompted state lawmakers to change the system this year. The 2011-12 budget capped growth in school aid, including building aid. That means as more funds are approved for districts' capital projects, less money will be available for other things. 
"This dynamic has existed for a long time -- of expense-based aid growing as a percentage of the total," Peters said. "Going forward, as we're constraining school-aid growth, that problem is going to essentially be compounded, and this will focus a little more attention on the issue."

LIBOND13

School debt soars on Long Island

lirally

<a href="http://www.newsday.com/topics/Carle_Place%2C_NY">CARLE PLACE</a> 
Vote Approved, 725-407 
Budget $45,526,824, a 1.97% increase, 1.84% school and 0.13% sewer tax 
Tax levy $40,190,324, a 3% increase 
Average home Increase 2.92% to $6,669.97 
Proposition Rejected, 542-537, to modify public school transportation eligibility for grades K-2 pupils to 1/2-mile limit, and for grades 3-6 pupils to 3/4-mile limit. 
School board Incumbents Barry Dennis and John DiFrisco ran unopposed for three-year terms.

News

VGCARL15

Carle Place School District

<a href="http://www.newsday.com/topics/East_Williston%2C_NY">EAST WILLISTON</a> 
Vote Approved, 831-450 
Budget $51,445,099, a 1.9% increase 
Tax levy $48,133,087, a 3.56% increase 
Average home Assessed at $2,371 will increase 2.79 percent to $15,646 
School board Incumbent Mark Kamberg ran unopposed for a three-year term.

VGEWIL15

East Williston School district

<a href="http://www.newsday.com/topics/Great_Neck%2C_NY">GREAT NECK</a> 
Vote Approved, 1,338-316 
Budget $193,324,596, a 1.99% increase 
Tax levy $182,231,882, a 1.99% increase 
Average home District declined to estimate the tax increase, saying assessment information it had received was subject to change. 
School board Incumbents <a href="http://www.newsday.com/topics/Lawrence%2C_NY">Lawrence</a> R. Gross and Susan Miner-Healy ran unopposed for three-year terms.

VGGREA15

Great Neck School District

<a href="/topics/Herricks%2C_NY">HERRICKS</a> 
Vote Approved 2,387-1,678 
Budget $98,997,770, a 2.55% increase 
Tax levy $86,929,401, a 3.78% increase 
Average home District officials said they could not provide an estimate of school taxes that would be paid on the average single-family home, citing unavailable assessment information from <a href="/topics/Nassau_County%2C_NY">Nassau</a> County. 
School board Jim Gounaris (2,422) defeated Jonai Singh (1,607) and incumbent Christine Turner ran unopposed for three-year terms.

VGHERR15

Herricks School District

<a href="http://www.newsday.com/topics/Manhasset%2C_NY">MANHASSET</a> 
Vote Approved, 1,479-940 
Budget $85,592,098, a 2.49% increase 
Tax levy $76,089,738, a 2.79% increase 
Averagehome Assessed at $1,144,800 will increase 2.59% to $11,344 
Proposition Approved, 1,351-808, spending of $2,405,725 on running track and field reconstruction and storm drainage at <a href="http://www.newsday.com/topics/Manhasset%2C_NY">Manhasset</a> Middle/High School, exterior wall reconstruction at <a href="/topics/Munsey_Park%2C_NY">Munsey Park</a> Elementary School and generator replacement at Shelter Rock Elementary School. 
School board Incumbent Patricia Aitken ran unopposed.

VGMANH15

Manhasset School District

<a href="http://www.newsday.com/topics/Mineola%2C_NY">MINEOLA</a> 
Vote Approved, 1,633-1,194 
Budget $84,221,638, a 5.11% increase 
Tax levy $74,798,377, a 2.37% increase 
Average home Assessed at $1,009 will pay about $5,975 
School board Incumbents Terence Hale (1,647) and William Hornberger (1,662) won against Veronica Levitan and Joseph Manopella for three-year terms.

VGMINE15

Mineola School District

N. HYDE PARK-G. CITY PARK 
Vote Approved, 1,163-796 
Budget $33,527,125, a 2.97% increase 
Tax levy $27,361,847, a 5.29% increase 
Average home School tax paid would rise from $2,706.49 to $2,846.04, a 5.16% increase 
School board Incumbents Alan Cooper and Patricia Rudd ran unopposed for three-year terms; Frank Miranda ran unopposed for a two-year term to complete the unexpired term of Annette Giarratani.

VGNEWH15

New Hyde Park-Garden City Park School District

VOTING 
7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesday at North Shore High School gymnasium, Glen Head. 
&nbsp; 
THE BUDGET The district is proposing a budget of $88,861,064 for 2011- 12, up 2.78 percent from the current $86,455,773. The local tax levy would rise to $81,647,654, up 3.95 percent from the current levy of $78,547,918. Should the proposed budget be defeated, the district's contingency budget would be $87,827,371 and the contingency tax levy would be $80,613,961. 
An average single-family home with an assessed valuation of $1,702 would see a 1.27 percent tax increase, rising from an average $8,718 this year to $8,829 in 2011-12. 
Teachers will receive a contract raise of 3.5 percent, with one-third receiving a 2.29 percent step increase. No teachers or staff would be laid off, and there would be no cuts in programs or services under the proposed budget. 
A referendum seeks to authorize the district to spend up to $3.1 million from a previously established capital reserve fund to renovate North Shore High School's track and install artificial turf, including incidental costs. The district says the expenditure, if approved, would not increase the tax rate. 
District website: 
northshore.k12.ny.us 
&nbsp; 
THE CANDIDATESIncumbent Amy Beyer and two challengers, Paul J. Echausse and Thomas P. Knierim, are vying for two at-large seats on the board, each carrying a three-year term. Mary Kolkhorst is not seeking re-election. 
&nbsp; 
Amy Beyer 
BACKGROUND:Beyer, 49, co-owner with her husband, John, of a moving storage company and an 18-year district resident, is seeking her fourth term. She has been a member of the board since 2002 and is a former president and vice president. Beyer earned a bachelor's degree from the University at Albany in 1982. She and her husband have two children, a daughter who graduated from the district's high school and now is in college, and a son at North Shore High School. She is active in <a href="/topics/Autism_Speaks">Autism Speaks</a>. 
ISSUES:Beyer says the most important issue "is our ability to continue to provide quality educational and extracurricular programs for our students if a tax cap is imposed without mandate relief." While she said she has worked with others since 2005 to address "costly mandates" and share services, those efforts don't reduce costs enough to make up for cuts in state aid or the effects of a property tax cap. At her urging, she said, the board formed a committee, which includes local residents, to draft legislation to help districts control costs. "It is my hope that this committee will partner with other local communities so that we may stand together in numbers to demand the necessary change." 
&nbsp; 
Paul J. Echausse 
BACKGROUND:Echausse, 50, is an investment manager who has lived in the district for 16 years. This is his second bid for the school board. He and his wife, Beth, have four children, three of whom are in college. The fourth attends a parochial high school. Three of the children attended district schools through the eighth grade, and the oldest graduated from North Shore High School. Echausse graduated from <a href="/topics/Fordham_University">Fordham University</a> in 1983 and received a master's in business administration from <a href="/topics/New_York_University">New York University</a>'s <a href="/topics/New_York_University_Stern_School_of_Business">Stern School of Business</a> in 1989 and a law degree from Fordham in 1993. He is on the board of trustees of the Catholic Youth Organization of Nassau-Suffolk, is a former head of St. Boniface CYO Boys Basketball Travel Program, and is a former basketball and lacrosse coach. 
ISSUES: "With the prospect of a tax cap forthcoming, I believe we need to engage in a comparative analysis of best-performing school districts and introduce best practices within North Shore," Echausse says. Noting the tax cap in <a href="/topics/Massachusetts">Massachusetts</a>, he says he wants to examine three school districts there to "learn from their experience transitioning their districts through the tax-cap period and the management of a school district under those conditions." 
&nbsp; 
Thomas P. Knierim 
BACKGROUND:Knierim, 47, a commercial banker, has lived in the district eight years. He and his wife, Elizabeth, have three children, all of whom attend the district's elementary school. He earned a bachelor's degree from <a href="/topics/Oberlin_College">Oberlin College</a> in 1985 and a master's degree from <a href="/topics/Hunter_College">Hunter College</a> in 1989. He is coach of Sea Cliff Junior Baseball, leader of entrepreneurial education workshops for Workshop in Business Opportunities, and a former alternate member of the Sea Cliff Zoning Board of Appeals. 
ISSUES:Knierim said North Shore, like other districts, is facing "unprecedented financial challenges" because of state aid cuts and the proposed property tax cap, rising pension costs and other expenses that are "outside the district's control." He said North Shore has done an "excellent job" in maintaining quality education and "strong fiscal discipline," which he wants to continue. He said the district is saving $1 million in transportation costs through its new bus facility. "I would look to raise additional revenues through shared use of the facility, as well as finding other areas of the budget where we can cut costs and share services with other districts," he said.

LI Life

VGNSHO15

North Shore School District

<a href="http://www.newsday.com/topics/Port_Washington%2C_NY">PORT WASHINGTON</a> 
Vote Approved, 3,064-1,847 
Budget $130,861,023, an increase of 2.9% 
Tax levy $121,047,435, an increase of 3.95% 
Average home Assessed at $2,041 would pay $10,764, up 3.9% 
School board Alan Baer and William Hohauser ran unopposed for three-year terms.

VGPTWA15

Port Washington School District

<a href="http://www.newsday.com/topics/Roslyn%2C_NY">ROSLYN</a> 
Vote Approved, 879-372 
Budget $97,634,983, up 1.90% 
Tax levy $87,625,097, a 1.93% increase 
Average home Assessed at $1,758 will increase 1.56% to $12,170.35 
Propositions Approved, 909-307, to spend $3.5 million from the district's capital reserve fund; approved, 861-334, authorizes board to establish a separate $5-million capital reserve fund for replacement items, renovations and facility upgrades. 
School board Incumbents Meryl Waxman Ben-Levy and Clifford Saffron ran unopposed for three-year terms.

VGROSL15

Roslyn School District

SEWANHAKA 
Vote Approved, 4,628-3,028 
Budget $162,257,334, a 3.81% increase 
Tax levy $126,769,528, a 5.18% increase 
Average home Not available 
School board Trustees are not elected. Two trustees are appointed to the school board from each of four elementary school districts.

VGSEWA15

Sewanhaka Central High School District

<a href="http://www.newsday.com/topics/Westbury%2C_NY">WESTBURY</a> 
Vote Rejected, 683-642 
Budget $109,707,104, a 4.19% increase 
Tax levy $73,414,826, a 5.51% increase 
Average home $8,924, a 7.2% increase 
School board Incumbent Karin B. Campbell (727) and Laura Pierce (765) defeated Stan Ercolano (643) for two seats with three-year terms.

VGWBRY15

Westbury School District

North Hempstead school districts

Newsday

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