At the Glen Cove Board of Education meeting of Monday, Feb. 4, Superintendent of Schools Dr. Larry Aronstein presented the first draft of the proposed 2008-2009 school budget. When introducing the superintendent, board president Richard Tortorici made it very clear, using an assorted number of synonyms, that the presentation was a first draft. The administration has just begun the long and tedious process of creating a budget that will be fiscally sound and Monday's presentation does not by any means reflect what the board and administration expect to have on the ballot on Tuesday, May 20.

Dr. Aronstein began with a list of objectives of the budget: to improve student performance across the grades, to implement NCLB (No Child Left Behind) mandates, to provide a safe environment for students, to maintain long -erm financial stability and to provide a range of extracurricular activities.

The school population remains "flat," said the superintendent; all grade levels have remained within a few students of the year before for a number of years. What continues to rise, he said, is the cost of unfunded mandated items. This puts a burden on local taxpayers.

At the present time, the 2008-2009 proposed budget stands at $67,710,065, a 3.38 percent budget-to-budget increase from last year. This translates to an estimated projected 5.43 percent tax levy increase. State aid has remained the same as last year, although the superintendent emphasized that this, too, can change.

According to Assistant to the Superintendent for Business Kevin Wurtz, there are a number of strategies available for use in the budgetary process, and as the administration continues to crunch numbers and nip, tuck and tweak, more information will be presented to the public.

An audience member expressed concern with the fact that, while costs continue to rise, state aid to education does not. Mr. Tortorici suggested that community members contact their elected state officials addressing the issue.

The top state official is, of course, New York State Governor Eliot Spitzer. Residents may write to the governor at Eliot Spitzer, State Capitol, Albany, NY 12224 or call him at 518-474-8390. To reach Gov. Spitzer by email, visit www.ny.gov/governor and click on the Contact the Governor link on the left-hand bar.

State Senator Carl Marcellino may be reached at his district office at 250 Townsend Square_, Oyster Bay, NY 11771_, by phone at 922-1811 or by email at marcelli@senate.state.ny.us.

State Assemblyman Charles Lavine's district office is at 70 Glen Street, Glen Cove 11542, his phone number is 676-0050 and his email address is lavinec@assembly.state.ny.us.

The next Glen Cove Board of Education meeting will be held on Feb. 25 at 7:30 p.m. at Robert M. Finley Middle School.