The Board of Education was faced with a very difficult decision in August of 1994. The superintendent, Sal Mugavero, had already announced his decision to leave. He had no need to be accountable to the taxpayers, as he would be retired and out-of-state. The board members, as a whole, felt the weight of any decision to raise the tax rate after the Board President Helen Lafferty's letter in that year's budget brochure had emphatically stated that the tax rate was "projected at 89 cents. This rate cannot go any higher."

While Mugavero advocated raising the tax rate to $2.16, the board looked at alternatives presented by administration and raised the tax rate to $1.50. Yes, the fund balance was depleted by this administration, but the board was forced into a corner by a departing administrator, a president's message to the public, and a shift in the adjusted basic proportions. Since that date, we have worked very hard to restore that fund balance to the legal limits, where it has been for the last two years.

At the public meeting where this decision took place, no blame was cast, even though the other board trustees had not been offered the opportunity to review Mrs. Lafferty's letter prior to publication. However, over the years, Mrs. Lafferty began to relentlessly attack any board action she didn't agree with and, at times, board members. It was only then that the tax rate fiasco of 1994 was raised as one of her actions that impacted the school district and the community.

While Mrs. Lafferty is very quick to correct anyone she disagrees with, she is extremely slow to admit any mistake she may have made. Now it's time to stop dredging up the past and the decisions that were made under varying circumstances. It's time to look forward, remembering the life lessons we have learned, and to expend our energies on upcoming needs rather than focusing on the past.

Let us all work together for the benefit of future generations of Hicksville's young people.

Richard H. Pfaender

Nancy Callari