I often wonder what the reaction of the typical Levittowner would be if they learned that their supercharged 350 HP - 4 bbl Ram Charged chariot, upon which they've already made payments of $12,038, turned out to be a lemon. The yelling and screaming, I suspect, would probably be heard all the way to the Montauk Lighthouse and back. Well, $12,038 is exactly how much money Levittown taxpayers paid for their children's mediocre education, during the 1998-1999 school year, and the silence has been deafening.

Newsday's Real Estate Section, in its Community of Interest Page, profiled the Levittown community on Feb. 16. The article also cited selective statistics, based upon NYS Department of Education's latest available 1998-1999 data, about Levittown schools and those of six neighboring school districts. Levittown, once again, scored in the bottom half of virtually every measurable item of student achievement even though it spent more money, per pupil, than any of the neighboring districts.

One criterion, used by parents and educators, to measure the quality of a school district's educational program is to analyze the percentage of graduates who aspire to a four-year college education. Unfortunately, in this criterion, Levittown ranked dead last among the seven school districts cited in the article. The 46 percent of Levittown graduates headed off to a four year college program pales, for example, when compared with Island Trees 64 percent or Wantagh's 65 percent. Of course, none of these neighboring districts contain one of the worst performing high schools in Nassau County.

Why, I wonder, does the Levittown School District, with the highest pupil spending rate and conversely the highest tax rate per $100/assessed valuation, fail to motivate so many of its graduates to pursue a four year college program? Is it because Levittown's curriculum fails to prepare a majority of its students for the rigors of a four-year program? Or, possibly, as our administrations like to claim, Levittown graduates prefer to seek a more affordable quality education at a nearby two year community college? It sounds nice; but, is unfortunately not true.

Nassau Community College, known affectionately by Levittown students as Turnpike Tech or the place where they will spend their fifth year of high school, is an excellent educational institution whose mission has been tarnished (somewhat) by its open admissions policy. NCC, sad to say, offers more non-credit remedial English language and mathematics courses to its' entering freshman class than comparable three credit core offerings. It's no secret that a large number of Levittown graduates fill many of the seats in these remedial classes.

It's no wonder that the Long Island Multiple Listing Service, using a well respected outside rating agency, continues to rank Levittown schools in the bottom half of their New York State school rankings.