4 LI districts lose chunk of $60M in state aid

In his latest shot at school district spending, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo last week vetoed legislation that would have restored almost $60 million in state aid to five districts, including four on Long Island.

The bills sought to bail out districts that had missed filing deadlines for state reimbursement of construction costs.

"I understand the impact of disapproving these bills on local school districts," Cuomo said in his veto message. "However, approving these and similar bills before me would have a total fiscal impact on the state of nearly $60 million."

The biggest hit was to Central Islip, which had sought to recover $42 million. Cuomo also vetoed bills requesting aid restoration for districts in Smithtown, Rocky Point, Babylon and upstate Fredonia.

"It's not fair to place this financial burden on the backs of Central Islip taxpayers who are already paying too much," said Assemb. Phil Ramos (D-Brentwood).

Central Islip school officials did not say how they would cover the lost aid, but in a statement said the veto "will jeopardize the district's capacity to sustain educational programs to students in coming years."

Smithtown Superintendent Edward Ehmann, who called the penalty "out of proportion," said the district would have to dip into its reserve funds to cover the $3 million shortfall caused by the veto. The veto also jeopardizes future state payments for ongoing construction, Ehmann said.

Babylon sought $100,000, officials said. Rocky Point's figure was not available.

Cuomo vetoed the bills because they contained no appropriations to cover the costs, spokesman Josh Vlasto said, adding that previous governors have vetoed similar bills when the Legislature passed them separate from the state budget.

State Sen. John Flanagan (R-East Northport) acknowledged that Gov. David A. Paterson had vetoed similar bills. But he said most such bills were routinely signed by past governors.

"It's an extraordinary disappointment," said Flanagan, chairman of the Senate Education Committee. He said he would seek restoration of the lost funds in next year's state budget.

The Democratic governor's vetoes received support from Republican Assemb. Michael Fitzpatrick of St. James, who sponsored the Smithtown bill.

"We've become accustomed to saying, 'We made a mistake, let's send it up to the state to correct our mistake,' " he said. "They're not going to do that anymore . . . This is the new reality."

With Yancey Roy, Nicholas Spangler and Patrick Whittle