Even as school board members have taken an unprecedented coordinated effort to appeal to Albany for fairness in school funding. They are appealing to members of their community to get involved in the grassroots letter-writing campaign. For more information and for the coordinator's number in your school district, either contact a school board member or call Kathy at 571-4260.

In an unprecedented collaboration between Nassau County's many school boards, school officials launched a countywide letter-writing campaign to request that state lawmakers ensure Nassau schools get their fair share of aid. This unified campaign is a key part of Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi's ongoing drive to correct the inequities in state aid.

School board members, along with the Long Island Association, business and civic groups and senior citizens, joined with Suozzi to highlight and protest the fact that Nassau schools receive only 17 percent of funding from state aid while the state average is 37 percent. The national average for school funding is 57 percent. Furthermore, while Nassau County has 7.45 percent of the students in the state, it receives only 3.89 percent of the total state aid.

"This is the first time the school boards of Nassau County have come together to speak with one voice about the problems we all share," Suozzi said. "No matter what district we're in - whether we're on the South Shore or North Shore, whether we live in a wealthy district or a struggling one - Nassau County taxpayers send much more money to Albany than we get back in aid. I am confident that with all these smart, dedicated and diverse folks tackling this tough issue together, we'll be able to make real change for the taxpayers of Nassau County." He added, "This inequity must end. Our taxpayers are being crushed by their property taxes."

School officials from most of Nassau County's 56 school boards have been meeting regularly in working groups since the November launch of Suozzi's initiative, hammering out a multifaceted plan to rein in taxes. The letter-writing campaign marks the first phase of that plan. The school officials are also exploring sharing goods and services among districts and identifying alternate sources of revenue.

"As Nassau County school board members, we are working in unprecedented collaboration out of deep concern about the future of our schools because our property tax burden has become unsustainable," the letter begins. "We have come to the point where our residents can no longer withstand the financial crisis this has created."

The letter asks state legislators to consider two key tasks when devising their plan of action to correct funding inequities. The first is to make sure that Nassau residents receive a proportionate return of state income tax dollars. Long Island taxpayers send $3 billion more to Albany every year than they get in return.

The second task for legislators is to revise the regional cost factor, the formula Albany uses to gauge school aid. The state currently uses property values to determine the amount local districts receive. But soaring property values in Nassau County means property wealth no longer reflects a homeowner's ability to pay property taxes.

"As individual school districts, we are already grappling with cost containment, finding increased efficiencies and alternate sources of revenue," the letter says. "But we recognize there are structural problems we all face that put our residents at a clear financial disadvantage. We need a state aid formula that more accurately and fairly returns what we on Long Island give to the state."

The letter, signed by school board officials, will be sent to Albany. Individual school communities, senior citizens organizations, businesses and civic groups will each be launching their own letter-writing campaigns to communicate the shared concern and desire for action from Albany in this year's budget.