By now, I am sure most of all Island Trees residents have received the most recent missive dated May 23, 2007 from the Island Trees Administrative offices. Its salutation states "Dear Residents" and it closes with "sincerely," Island Trees Board of Ed. yet it is unsigned. It seems no board member wished to put his or her name to this missive. The reason is simple. The board did not write that letter. This came to light at the June 27 school board meeting at Gallow. I asked the board president to state the net increase or decrease in the general fund balance. He refused to because he did not know. He is the CFO in charge of oversight of the budget. I asked him why he made statements in the May 23 letter regarding the fund balance. He told me he didn't write the letter. The superintendent interjected and stated that he (the supt.) had written the letter. The Board of Education owes the community of Island Trees an apology for allowing this to happen. They allowed their state mandated authority to be usurped. Rather than chastising the superintendent for this, the board has just extended his contract through the 2012 fiscal year. The current contract was not due to expire until 2009. I handed out approximately 1,700 newsletters to my neighbors during my campaign for board of trustee for the Island Trees School District. In that letter, I made many bold statements. I stand by every word in that newsletter and the handout I handed out on the day of the election. First, to be sure, the Island Trees School District had a net asset loss of $1,790,726. This is a fact. Now, while the administration may want to downplay this, let me state exactly how our external auditors define the statement of net assets on page 6 of the financial statement dated June 30, 2006. I have this document because I "FOIL" requested it from the district. That is a process using my rights under the New York State Freedom of Information Law. If you want a copy, you will probably have to do the same or contact me personally. The statement of net assets presents information on all of the district's assets and liabilities, with the difference between the two reported as net assets. Increase or decreases in net assets may serve as a useful indicator whether the financial position of the district is improving or deteriorating. We had a net asset loss of $1.7 million, thus our position is deteriorating. The administration next moves on to assert that the real leading barometer, (I used barometer at the debate, but that's OK-imitation is flattery) for a school district's health is the general fund operation compared to its total fund balance. Well, get out the digitalis and hold onto your seats. As reported on page 3 of this same financial statement, our general fund balance decreased by $457,802. As reported on page 32 of this document, actual expenditures and other uses for the 2006 budget year were $45,388,986. Actual revenues for the 2006 budget year were $44,931,184. That is a negative difference of $457,802. Please don't hate the messenger. The final portion of the missive I wish to address is the paragraph dealing with their lack of interest in addressing other misleading statements. Let me address it. The editor of the Levittown Tribune is in possession of copies of all the documents I referenced in my newsletter. We have a business office which approved claim forms for payments week after week and month after month for payments to a catering company to deliver food to our Island Trees Memorial Middle School. Checks list the reason for payment as an instructional expense (state test scoring).

As a member of the Levittown Property Owner's Association, I invite any member of the administration or school board to have a civil debate with me over these very important matters at the next LPOA meeting. I will not participate in the debate on school grounds. And I certainly won't attend one sponsored by the UTIT, the board of ed., any of the PTAs, the Levittown Fire Department or even the Island Trees Little League, a league where I devoted years of my life. All these organizations were thanked by my opponent in his letter to the editor June 1, 2007 for their unsolicited support. There you have it. I attended Meet the Candidates night thinking it would be a legitimate debate. The organization which sponsored the debate supported my opponent. So much for fair and balanced. If you check elections law in the state of New York, you will find that these organizations have no business involving themselves with electioneering, whether they supported me or my opponent. There needs to be a sea change in the manner by which school elections are run. By next year, I promise all Island Trees residents that I will do what I can to assure that the budget letter goes out on time, that no administrator interferes with the election, that board members are not electioneering, all proper markers are displayed at the site of the election, the elections inspector actually counts and announces the vote results, and that not a single child is forced to wear an election button. If it's all about the children, explain the catered food scandal. Thousand of dollars were spent paying for Reuben sandwiches, etc. for handsomely paid district employees. Thank you.

Brian M. Kelty

(Editor's note: The following is a letter released from the Island Trees Board of Education on Island Trees Public School letterhead on May 23.)

Over the past several weeks, information regarding district finances has been disseminated throughout our school district that casts unwarranted aspersions on the good standing of Island Trees Union Free School District.

We are very concerned about this and wish to convey that this information is taken out of context. An example of this is the implication that the district "lost $1,790,726." In accordance with Governmental Accounting Standards Board Policy #34 as of June 30, 2006, the district reported a decrease in net assets of $1,790,726. This is mainly due to the requirement that the district depreciates its capital assets (buildings, improvements & equipment) over their estimated useful life. This measurement is analogous to the depreciation of a new car once you roll it off the dealer's lot. It has nothing to do with actual cash funds.

The barometer for a school district's financial health is the result of its General Fund operations compared to budget and its total fund balance. Please be advised that as of June 30, 2006, the district took in $740,825 more in revenue than estimated and spent $1,515,319 less than anticipated, resulting in a net positive change of $2,256,144. The District has never experienced deficit spending. It is planning of this nature that has enabled the Board to keep school tax levy increases among the lowest in Nassau County!

It is not our intention to address all the misleading statements that have been disseminated. It is important to know that the Island Trees School District is in excellent financial condition. It is also important to know that the district has a tremendous amount of financial oversight. Three different CPA firms provide oversight as external auditors, internal auditors and claims auditors respectively. A committee of the school board also serves as an audit committee, reviewing each and every invoice and disbursement every month.

If you have any questions, please feel free to call James Parla, superintendent of schools; Salvatore Carambia, assistant superintendent for finance and administration; or Peter Ray, president, board of education. They may be reached at 520-2100.

Island Trees Board of Education