As an English teacher, I urge my students to steer clear of clichés like the plague but sometimes clichés just say it better than some mangled metaphor or strained simile. The adage, "You get what you pay for" falls into that category.

The voting on the Farmingdale school budget is coming up on May 18 and it's time for all of us to ask if we are getting what we are paying for - or whether we are paying too much.

As a teacher and as Farmingdale resident I think the situation is a bit of both. We are getting tremendous value for our tax dollars. Our children get excellent educations. The bright are encouraged to do even better and those who fall behind are given individualized attention and concern to help them catch up. The percentage of students going on to further education grows every year. And the results are easily seen on our state assessments where Farmingdale's scores are going up, up and up.

All this is happening at a time when the amount Farmingdale spends per pupil is 27th out of 42 reporting Nassau school districts. Teachers in Farmingdale are far from the highest paid in our region. Our building maintenance and construction programs are lower than many other area districts. All these things considered, we in Farmingdale are getting a great deal for our tax dollars.

That's why I am voting yes on the school budget on May 18 and why I think you should, too.

But let me tell you also about some ways in which I think Farmingdale is being shortchanged. Old-timers in Farmingdale remember when the State of New York paid nearly 50 percent of our local school costs. As recently as 1988 state aid to the Farmingdale School District was nearly 30 percent (29.44 to be exact) of our budget. The projected amount for 2004? Only a paltry 15.71 percent!

Who gets to make up for the decline in state aid from 30 to 15 percent of our budget? You do. It's all right there in your - and our - tax bills. Aren't you tired of being the State's cash cow, getting back only 26 cents for every tax dollar you send to Albany?

That means that Farmingdale residents can't afford many of the "extras" that are the pride and joy of so many other suburban school districts - we are too busy paying for the basics with local property taxes. I think it is phenomenal what we are doing with the fiscal resources that we have. Imagine what we could do if the state took some of the pressure of the local property tax.

We are working closely with the administration and our local legislators to increase the percentage of our budget that is funded with state aid and we are hopeful that we will succeed, if not this year then soon. But those changes won't come in time to affect the budget up for a vote on May 18.

That's when our residents have to remember that they are getting a lot of educational bang for their tax buck, that education represents our best hope for the future, for our children and for our community. And it's also a time to remember that our children only go through the school system once. There are no "do overs." Please join with me in giving all of our children the education they need and deserve.