Quality of Long Island schools is at risk

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo is telling school districts to dip into reserves to make up for the reduced school aid he is proposing in his budget [“You’ve got the money,” News, Feb. 9].

In the accompanying charts of available school reserves, it should be noted that my school district, Kings Park, does not have sufficient reserves to match the proposed cuts. Further, the governor fails to account for increases in school district contributions to the state’s teachers retirement fund, contractual wage increases, increases in fuel prices, utilities costs and insurance premiums which all school districts must meet in the incoming year. These increased expenditures, along with making up for the proposed cuts, can only be met by reduced educational quality for our children.

The governor is also proposing a cap on school taxes (a desirable thing), while still studying a corresponding cap on state mandates. To avoid a severe impact on educational standards, income cannot be limited without also limiting expenditures.

President Barack Obama bemoaned the fact that American educational standards are falling behind those of many industrialized nations. It appears that Gov. Cuomo is intent on making New York the leader in the decline of American education.

Dan Matarazzo
Kings Park

Gov. Cuomo is conveniently leaving out important facts that are affecting school districts’ budgets for next year. Left out are the increased expenses schools face from the State Education Department. State Ed was overjoyed to get $700 million in federal Race to the Top funds, and is using that money to create a teacher evaluation system. Even though there is grant money available to the districts for this task, the costs may far outstrip the grants.

The proposed $3.14 million cut to Comsewogue in state aid is only a part of a very murky picture, and the reserve funds will not cover all of that.

I believe the governor’s office and the media have an obligation to be honest about the state of our education system.

Alexandra Gordon
Port Jefferson Station

More statistics continue to come out concerning the failure of our system to adequately educate more children. Instead of putting most of the responsibility on the education system and teachers, I suggest a large majority of parents should be ashamed of the job they are doing.

Immigrants come to this country from cultures that attach more importance to education than any other aspect of life. Their parents instill this value in their children, and their culture maintains a tradition where the elderly and teachers are revered.

Many of us send our kids to school to have someone else teach them values, discipline and love of reading and learning. We put TVs in their rooms so they can admire seriously flawed people in the media.

Imagine a scene where the family sits in the living room reading, watching TV together or just talking with each other. Unimaginable.

Richard Graziano
Brightwaters

A recent Newsday story about college-ready diplomas mentioned a stunning statistic. Statewide figures show that 40.8 percent of regular students in the Class of 2009 were considered “college and career ready,” though 76.8 percent graduated on time after four years of high school \[“State considers issuing ‘college ready’ diplomas,” News, Feb. 9\]. Forty percent?

Here’s my question: Where is the outrage from parents? Considering the money we spend on Long Island for schools, the silence is deafening. Let there be a report of a single bedbug in a school and parents are read to burn the school down. But these truly dismal and troubling statistics about children who will be our future leaders and scientists one day raises barely a ripple.

No wonder the United States ranks so far down in international test scores of high school students. Apathy rules.

Michael Grant
Centereach