The Levittown Board of Education, PTA members and other members of the community waited anxiously last Wednesday to hear the results of the second school district budget vote.

Nobody seemed sure what the results of the second budget vote would be, and each time the results from another polling place came in everyone strained to see how much of a difference there was between the yes and no votes.

The final results of the vote were 2,184 in favor of the budget and only 1,755 opposed to it, a difference of 429 votes. While this may not seem like a large gap, it is a greater difference than there was in the May Budget vote when 1,564 people voted for the budget and 1,798 voted against it, only a difference of 234.

More voters turned out the second time around, with a total of 577 more votes cast.

The work of the PTA is one reason that more voters came out. According to the new PTA Council President Lisa Vanderburg, PTA members called residents and reminded them of the day of the budget vote and asked them to take the time to vote, but did not tell them how to vote.

The work of the PTA members was appreciated by the board of education. School Board President Michael Moriarity, after the results were tallied, stated, "On behalf of the board, I want to thank everyone who worked to get this budget passed, especially the ladies of the PTA, who, for the last few days have really gotten sore ears and have done a lot of talking."

According to Vanderburg, "The PTA Council, the Executive Board of the PTA Council, endorsed the new budget and we're very happy that it passed."

The PTA is active in the budget process from the very beginning, before it even comes up for a first vote. They have a representative who sits on the Citizen's Advisory Committee for the Budget and the PTA tries to go through where the raises come from and how those changes affect the students. "I think our role basically is that we try to see that it's fair and that our students are going to benefit by it, because that's our ultimate concern."

Speaking for herself rather than for the Council, Vanderburg said, "I think that a school district that doesn't have a budget, that's on contingency, really isn't any good for anybody, especially the kids. I think the PTA's role is to make sure that we work hand in hand with the board of education and the school district to make sure that our kids are getting the most and the best education they can for those dollars."

Dr. Herman Sirois, superintendent of the Levittown School District, said, "On behalf of the district we thank all of the voters for passing the budget. It makes a big difference to the quality of education that we can provide the students and in the long run it eases our tax burden because we don't build in the deficits that occur when budgets are not passed."

The budget that the voters passed is $99,453,314. The estimated tax rate increase under the new budget is $5.92 per 100 assessed valuation. This was brought down from $6.15 per 100 that was estimated with the first budget, which was $200,000 more.

Sirois has stated that he does not believe that the budget increase, from last year, was that much compared to the increases in other local districts but that the high tax rate is what causes residents to vote down a budget. He said this high tax rate is caused by the tax structure of the area because the houses in Levittown are assessed at a lower value.

When asked why he believes the second budget passed when the first one failed, Sirois said, "When a school budget is defeated, people are aware of it, people take a closer look at what was in the budget, why there was an increase...I think they begin to understand why the increases are there and what the money is going for and really how little leeway there is in our budget." According to Sirois, the school district has a history of defeating high increases on the first vote.

With the second budget passing, the district will now see some of the new programs that they would not have had under a contingency budget. One thing that is back with the budget passage is a combination of preventative maintenance and capital improvements. This program includes repairing the windows in some of the buildings and a new track at Division Avenue High School. Sirois said that the addition of capital improvements and preventative maintenance would help the district to avoid a high bond a few years down the road.

Another facet of the budget that has been returned is smaller class sizes in the elementary schools. In the primary grades, 1-3, maximum class size has been reduced from 28 to 27 and in grades 4-5 maximum class size has been reduced from 29 to 28.

Also included in the budget that passed are additional resources to help students meet the new state educational standards, including reading resources and remedial services in all grades. Training for inclusion teachers is also a part of this budget.

There is money in the budget for musical instruments, equipment and accountability. There will now be a clerk who keeps track of all the music equipment, how long they are taking to get repaired, how well they are being repaired, and keeping track of whether or not the company that has the repair bid is fulfilling every aspect of their jobs.

Included in the budget is also additional technical support in the computer department for the networks in the buildings. With this addition, the district hopes to cut down the time that it takes to fix any computer problems that may arise.

Under the passed budget the district will not have to charge Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, youth groups, and other organizations for the use of the district's buildings or rooms in those buildings. Under a contingency budget the district had to be stricter about collecting the fees for those uses.

According to Sirois, "These are the things that make a difference between a passed budget and a failed budget."

Vanderburg also believes that a passed budget is better for the district. "I think that some of the things that were not going to be in the budget if it failed, as far as extra services to our kids, yeah I think the kids are better off. I think it affects any homeowner, whether you are on contingency budget or a passed budget, but I think, being a parent myself, I think it's important to have a budget that's passed," she said.

Sirois concluded, "The board is delighted. They worked very hard on this budget and they believe in it and they are delighted that the voters saw the wisdom of that and, even though we all recognize that no one likes a tax increase, in the long run it's really in the best interest of the district so it will serve the students and the community well to have a passed budget now and in the years coming up too."