On Friday, March 20, representatives from many Nassau County school districts went to Brookside School in Bellmore to lobby legislators in hopes of getting more state aid for their districts.

Ten out of 11 assemblypeople from Nassau County were present at this program. Kathleen Murray, who represents Levittown, Marc Herbst, who represents Levittown UFSD, Island Trees UFSD, Seaford UFSD, Wantagh UFSD, and Donna Ferrara, who represents East Meadow UFSD and Levittown UFSD, were all present for this important event. Also present were representatives from Levittown, Island Trees, and East Meadow PTAs as well as the superintendents of each of these districts. The president of the Levittown PTA Council reported that they had at least four representatives from each of the 10 PTAs. Island Trees had representatives from both the PTAs and the schools.

Nancy Thaler, legislative chairperson for Nassau District PTA spoke about the community's needs and how Nassau County needed to get its fair share. She reminded the legislators that when the schools are successful then real estate reflects it and the communities thrive. She stressed how important state aid is for each community. "It is in times of economic hardship that we are tested most vigorously. Financial burden on a community, much like the financial burden on an individual family adds stress that often results in divisiveness and if unchecked can eventually cause irreparable damage to the family or community dynamic." She adds "That is why it is so important to keep the delicate balance within our community and fight arduously for our fair share." Thaler quoted figures stating that since 1986 downstate aid has cumulatively decreased by four percent while upstate aid has increased by 44 percent. She also stated that Nassau tax rates have increased by 74 percent while upstate taxes are down by 30 percent. She questioned the assemblypeople about how this could be fair. Thaler says that the PTAs and schools were there to give the legislators the encouragement they need to continue to fight for every dollar.

Marilee Coughlin, co-president of the Bellmore-Merrick PTA Coordinating Council spoke about the costs of the higher standards that the state is requiring. The implementation of the new standards is going to require extra money, which the state, in many instances, is not providing. In cases where the state is providing money for these changes it is still not enough for many districts. She added that Nassau County taxpayers are already at their limit and that "we look to you, our legislators, who like ourselves want only the best for our children, to help us meet these financial demands."

The superintendent of the Levittown School District, Dr. Herman Sirois went into the background of the quality, costs, and state aid in Nassau County Schools. He spoke of many erroneous beliefs that people had about Long Island schools and went on to tell the assemblypeople that "we feel that you need to go up to Albany with a more compelling story" and that "we have taken it on as our task to give you the ammunition to tell that story." He stressed that the most compelling story is always the truth. One truth that Sirois spoke of was that Nassau County schools are cost effective. He adds that "Nassau schools have, more than any other governmental unit, contained costs." He illustrated this fact by explaining that over the last five years, while Nassau County government have increased their spending by 59 percent and upstate schools have increased their spending by 23 percent, Nassau County schools have only increased their spending by 18 percent, which is only 1 percent above the cost of living increase. According to Sirois, "State aid to upstate school districts has kept up with the cost of living of 16 percent over the past five years while state aid to Nassau school districts has decreased by 12 percent over the same period of time." He added that the districts have to look at how this affects tax rates. Over the past 10 years, upstate school districts have been able to decrease their tax rates by 30 percent while Nassau County has had to increase their tax rate by 74 percent. Sirois says, "36 percent of every dollar that we have had to increase taxes in Nassau County is a direct result of cuts to state aid. Another 17 percent are the results of unfunded mandates, the typical one being the change in the transportation aid ratio." By these figures less than half of the tax rate increase is a result of actual school spending in Nassau County.

Robert Feirsen, the Parent Involvement Chairperson for Nassau District PTA, and the principal of W.T. Clarke Middle School in East Meadow spoke about the implications of Governor Pataki's proposed budget. With no new monies allocated for the schools he says that the work falls on the schools. According to Feirsen, "the bottom line is that we will all still face major struggles to pass school budgets that address the needs of our students."

Stephen Witt, president of Nassau-Suffolk Boards Association addressed the problems that districts face because of the STAR program and Donna Sabella, the district director of the Nassau PTA stressed that the money allocated for the STAR program is not state aid to education. She also urged everyone, including the legislators to work together for Nassau County schools. She told the assemblypeople "You've heard the facts. Now let's go to work."

Following the presentation of these representatives from local organizations each of the assemblymembers had a chance to address those present.

Assemblywoman Kate Murray said, "Your presence here today certainly demonstrates the deep feeling you have for the education of our children and I certainly join in that deep passion." She assured everybody that she will continue in the efforts of Charlie O'Shea to be an advocate for the children. She added that the concerns that everybody brought to the table showed that the assembly has much more work to do.

Assemblyman Marc Herbst explained the difficulties in bringing downstate issues up to Albany. He said that they will do their best to bring the concerns up to Albany despite the problem of the perception of Long Islanders. He added that "You provided us with some facts and figures that of course we will bring back and discuss and debate as we continue to look at the budget." He also explained that there are not only problems between upstate and downstate but from district to district. Neighboring districts believe that the other district is getting too much while they are not getting enough. He said that while this is a problem, the major problem is the regional differences. He stressed that there should be regional costs in the formulas for the budget. This is an issue that many people discussed and Herbst made a point of addressing.

Assemblywoman Donna Ferrara also addressed the problem of funding formulas and the problems of the new requirements of the Regents. She also discussed a couple of budget reforms that were placed in the governor's budget that need more funding and bear thinking about such as a more flexible school district calendar, including July and August into the 180 school days.

Those present were also reminded by Assemblyman David Sidikman that the governor's proposed budget was not the final budget. It is just a starting point. He added that the representatives are proud of the schools, the children, the PTAs, and all those who are involved in the educational process.

The major concern of the assemblymembers present was to inform everyone that the issues that they discussed during the hearing will be addressed up in Albany. While nobody could make any guarantees that more money would be allocated to the Nassau County schools, the assurance was there that the Nassau County assemblymembers would do their best to get the Long Island schools their "fair share."