More than 1,000 rally against school cuts

More than 1,000 students, parents and teachers rallied Sunday in the William Floyd High School auditorium to urge a panel of lawmakers to restore the governor's proposed cuts to state education aid.

With signs and banners that read "Save Our Future," the crowd cheered, at times rising to their feet, as speakers from the school community pleaded to save extracurricular programs -- all of which could be on the chopping block as the district wrestles with a deep deficit.

"The proud community that once stood will fall because we are cutting in all the wrong places," said James Evans, 17, of Mastic Beach, president of student government.

The William Floyd school district, which has 9,500 students, stands to lose about $9 million in state money should Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo's proposed budget cuts stand. Faced with a $10 billion deficit, Cuomo wants to cut $1.5 billion from school spending, with Long Island schools losing up to $250 million.

Cuomo has accused some districts statewide of overspending. He has cited districts on the Island and elsewhere that pay superintendents more than $200,000 annually.

Six state legislators, including Sen. Kenneth LaValle (R-Port Jefferson), chairman of the Higher Education Committee, and Assemb. Fred Thiele Jr. (I-Sag Harbor), a member of the education committee, sat on the auditorium stage and vowed to help bring back some of the funding.

"We're going to fight to the death, or we're going to die trying anyway," Thiele said.

School district officials said they may need to cut more than $20 million in student programs and staffing from the 2011-2012 operating budget. The cuts factored in a tax levy of 2 percent, the proposed state budget cuts, the use of $8 million in reserves and fund balance and the rollover budget from last year.

"All of sports is gone, all of our music would be gone," said Anne Marie Caliendo, assistant superintendent for business. "Even if everything lined up for us, we would still have to cut so much more than our community deserves."

About 150 school employees, about half of whom are teachers, could be laid off this year, school officials said. William Floyd is among several Long Island school districts that have discussed layoffs this year. Others include Center Moriches, Herricks, Amityville and Sachem.

Those job cuts would be on top of the 140 positions William Floyd slashed last year.

School officials said the rally put human faces on budget cuts. "Our community always rallies when the chips are down," said school board president Robert Vecchio.