Is there a tax revolt brewing in Manhasset? Over the last several weeks I attended three meetings, one involving the Manhasset Board of Education (Nov. 10) and the plan to float a huge bond proposal, the second, a free seminar sponsored by Daniel Gale Real Estate on the new Nassau County real estate tax assessments (Nov. 18) and a third which was a followup by concerned citizens taking place Nov. 24 to discuss what actions might be taken to regain citizens' control of the tax process.

The meetings were attended by large and vociferous numbers of citizens of Manhasset who voiced their displeasure at the prospects of out-of-control real estate taxes. I will not say too much about the first meeting with the school board as this was pretty well reported on in the Manhasset Press, especially letters to the editor. I will only say that I made a statement at the meeting on the issue of the Manhasset Board of Education's failure to work in a transparent manner, especially as to matters of finance. The board seems completely out of touch with its own constituency as it passes along annual budget increases several times the rate of inflation while now presenting the school bond that is even rejected by parents who have students in Manhasset schools. I have a feeling that the "fallback" position to this school bond will not be much lower if the results of the school budget vote are any guide (the voting down of the first school budget resulting in a reduction of less than 1 percent for the second vote).

The second meeting, apparently unreported by Manhasset Press as of the writing of this letter, took place on Tuesday, Nov. 18 at the Congregational Church of Manhasset on Northern Boulevard. This meeting was even better attended than the board of education meeting. According to one of the meeting sponsors over 250 attended. The mood of the audience was rather angry to say the least.

A real estate tax lawyer reviewed the reasons for this new reassessment, the fact that Nassau County was attempting an end run around a state law that limits annual tax increases, the recent court case that necessitated the new assessment and the process to file a timely appeal. It was pretty clear that this tax problem was as much a political issue as a financial one. Our county representatives appear to be trying to hide from the problem as evidenced by the fact that the real estate tax assessment letters were sent out after the recent local elections. Is this more than coincidence? I don't think so.

A petition was sent around to demand that Craig Johnson meet with his constituents to explain himself and his position regarding the new assessments, while another committee was formed to fight the bond issue and school budget increases. I attended a meeting of this committee on Nov. 24 with over 40 Manhasset citizens (my guess) in attendance. The general feeling was that the superintendent of the Manhasset schools, Dr. Bozzomo, and the school board have not been forthcoming with some of the real reasons for the high ongoing school budget increases, which appear to have kicked in with Dr. Bozzomo's arrival. It was noted that there has been no adequate explanation of how some of the monies for the previous bond issue were spent, and many at the meeting felt that a state audit was in order before any bond is approved. Sub-committees were then set up to research further into such issues as to comparisons to other schools (especially why they are doing better with less), a real examination of Manhasset school expenses (especially the role of teacher and administrator contract raises that appear to add much more to expenses than the school board appears to admit).

Perhaps Tom Suozzi had it right when he said that the only way to get the attention of Albany legislators is by voting several out of office. I think this would also be a good idea at the local level. Let's get rid of a member or two from the board of education as well as one or two of the local Nassau County Legislators. Perhaps the rest would then give more than lip service to their constituents.

John Frangos