For the last several years, the Island Trees School District placed money in its yearly school budget to fund capital improvements. Historically, school districts always received state aid on the projects in the following year's budget (for Island trees, state aid averaged approximately 58 percent of the cost of the projects) and that state aid was used as seed money for the projects in the next year's budget.

In the 2002-2003 school budget, the board of education placed $550,000 in the "capital line of the budget" to replace the J. Fred Sparke School roof and install a folding wall in the high school to create two teaching stations. Based on past financial support from state aid, the district anticipated receiving approximately 58 percent of $550,000 back or $319,000 to be applied as income in the 2003-2004 budget.

Unfortunately, Governor Pataki and the Legislators passed new legislation changing the aid formula. Instead of receiving 58 percent of the $550,000 as revenue from capital projects, Island trees would receive only 48 percent of the cost of the projects, and the state aid revenue would not be in the 2003-2004 school year but spread out over a 20-year period.

Instead of receiving 58 percent of the $550,000 or $319,000 in 2003-2004, the taxpayers of Island trees would now only receive $13,200 per year for 20 years. The members of the Island Trees Board of Education realized that it would be a very poor "financial decision" to go forward with the budgeted capital projects.

The new legislation has now forced districts to save up their capital projects and periodically go out for "bond issues" instead of funding capital improvements out of current budgets. While this new legislation has helped Governor Pataki with his state budget, he has burdened local taxpayers with the additional costs for bonding.

The Island Trees School District is going forward with the $3.5 million bond issue that was passed by the residents on Dec. 11, 2001. Those projects include: replacement of asbestos floor tile and hallway ceilings in the Michael F. Stokes School and the J. Fred Sparke School, replacement of the Karopczyc School roof, renovation of the high school auditorium and the replacement of the high school track and tennis courts.