Members of the Farmingdale School Board and district administrators gathered in the board room at Howitt Middle School last Friday for a press conference regarding the proposed budget for the 2002-2003 school year. All present agreed that the proposed budget is conservative; maintaining continuous student programs without hitting the community with a high tax increase.

"What we've worked so hard to do is to put together a budget that maintains our program," said Superintendent of Schools Dr. Roberta Gerold, noting that the board began work on the 2002-2003 budget last fall. "It's very basic, allows the [programs] that the community wanted to be in place and in essence maintains the programs we have."

Assistant Superintendent for Business John Lorentz noted that the board realized back when the state adopted the bare bones last summer that the way school budgets would have to be prepared would change dramatically. Lorentz noted that the board knew that state aid and requirements are going to be divergent.

"[We knew] the state is going to continue to impose upon the public school system higher standards, more strict reviews of those standards and the inclusion within our programs to bring students up to a level of performance as deemed by the state," he said.

"We got together early in the process, (last fall) and decided to establish some parameters from the very beginning," he said, noting that the first was to maintain programs to the best of their ability. Lorentz added that the district used this year as a model as to what programs they wanted to include in the upcoming budget, but added a cap to that figure.

"We capped all of our discretionary areas - equipment, supplies and contracted services - at two percent," he said, noting that the two percent increase is almost one third less than the current consumer price index, which is 2.8 percent.

Lorentz added that another item included in the budget is all the debt services associated with the capital construction included in the bond referendum.

"[We did not want to] delay any of that progress because we made a commitment to the community that we would have these buildings ready as soon as possible and we've maintained that, as you can see by the construction going on all over the [district,]" Lorentz said, noting that the construction at the elementary schools is complete and by this time next year the district believes that a large portion of the work at Howitt will be finished.

"The other piece is that we know that we have a major transition coming up in our schools, the creation of a grade six, seven, eight middle school," he said. "It's not an easy [transition] for teachers, students and parents to deal with, so in preparation for the transition (coming in September 2003) the board directed us to include a transition team within our budget.

"So given the parameters that we've had of maintaining class size as best we can, maintaining the programs with that two percent cap, [the creation of] a transition team and the debt service associated with the $38 million bond referendum, our proposed budget is $100,857,346," Lorentz said. "That is an increase of about $7.3 million or 7.8 percent, but given the parameters we were dealt, we've been successful in coming up with a budget that has a very conservative approach but has met all the parameters that have been established by the board of education. We've met all the new state standards, we've met our promise to the community about the bond referendum and have included the transition team, which is essential."

School officials noted that the last few years, as well as they predict the years ahead will be, have been very difficult because all the mandates passed down from the state have been unfunded. Some of those mandates include allowing all students to use special graphing calculators on certain tests, taking attendance during all nine periods of the school day and may, in the near future, include the necessity of seat belts on all school buses. All these programs that the state has been enforcing on public school districts have been unfunded and the districts continue to be faced with the responsibility of instating these programs. Therefore, the funding for many, if not most of these programs, lies on the shoulders of local taxpayers.

"We don't disagree with the value of the standards," Dr. Gerold said. "We do take argument with the regulatory systems that come with them." The superintendent noted that the district believes the standards are good but feel they should have more flexibility. "We take argument with the schedule of the assessments, not the assessments themselves. The mandates are good, the assessments are good...but they should give us more flexibility."

"When the state sends us these unfunded mandates, they should at least [provide] a transition period into that," Board of Education President Anthony Vitale said. "The state tells us we have to do this [and] pay for it - that's the unfair part. If the state can't afford it, then the taxpayers have to pick it up. [The state should] at least help us get into it and get started. Public education now has become privately funded."

"The taxpayers have been paying the educational program on Long Island for the past several years, because the state has turned its back on its young citizens." said Board Trustee Dr. Phil Acinapuro. "They have come up with the moneys that are needed to run decent programs."

"It's a shame that we have to go out to the public and we have to give them a number, and we have to live by that number," Vitale said, noting that school district's have to live with whatever budget the state comes up with. "And they still don't have a budget."

"Until the budget is approved and even after, the state can review its commitments and amend them," Lorentz said. Board members agreed, saying that it's very dangerous that the state gets away with that. "It used to be that we would anticipate that our legislators would be able to negotiate with the governor to increase the funding to education. We saw that did not happen last year and it hurt many school districts," Lorentz said.

"They're using the kids of New York State as a political football," Dr. Acinapuro said. "We often hear 'the children are our future.' This board of education feels that we are the future to our children's future. This is why we are objecting to what the state is doing to our kids.

"The worst part of it all is that Farmingdale is the only district that has raised its voice throughout the years," he added. "You go to a meeting and legislators say it's quiet so they believe that they're doing their jobs."

"The only way that people can really raise their opinions to their legislators is through what Farmingdale has been doing, this year especially: the letter writing campaign to the community, which not only brings the names and addresses of the community up to Albany, but it informs that community as to what is going on," Board Trustee Tina Diamond said. She added that Farmingdale has done two letter writing campaigns and has met with all local elected officials regarding education funding.

"The most important aspect of this whole thing is seven people on the board of education alone cannot fight that problem," Diamond noted. "The community must stand behind it. They will listen to more people than the voice of a few." Board members said that residents are encouraged to write to local elected officials to voice their comments and concerns.

"Every one of our legislators said that they hear from Farmingdale all the time," Dr. Gerold said. "Then they said that Farmingdale is only one area and everyone else is quiet. Farmingdale can't be the voice for all of Nassau County."