The annual school budget process is getting under way, as the Massapequa School District conducts the first of a series of meetings on the 2001-2002 budget.

Meetings have been scheduled for the months of February, March, April, and May, and the series commenced on Thursday, Feb. 8 with a presentation on the General Support portion of the budget. According to Superintendent of Schools Dr. Lawrence Pereira, upcoming meetings will focus on the staffing and operations portions of the budget, and community input will be sought throughout the budget process - up until the public vote on May 15.

The following is the schedule of remaining budget meetings: Budget Discussion #2 - March 8, 8 p.m. in the board room, Budget Discussion # 3 - March 22, 8 p.m. in the board room, Budget Adoption - April 19, 8 p.m. in the board room, Budget Hearing - May 3, 7 p.m., Massapequa High School auditorium, Budget Vote - 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. at local school polling sites.

The Massapequa community approved a budget last year that raised the school tax levy by about 14 percent, an increase which the superintendent said has enabled the district to begin to pull out of significant debt and begin an urgently needed textbook replacement program. The significant tax increases supported by the community over the last couple of years has also allowed the district to increase per-pupil spending, and to jump from the rank of 38 out of 40 school districts in per-pupil spending, to number 28 out of 40. Now, as this year's budget process gets under way, Dr. Pereira noted that school officials are aiming to keep this year's school tax increase at or below the average of Nassau County school district increases.

"We have a quality school district. It's recognized to be one of the finest in Nassau County, and we're doing everything we can to keep it as a quality school district," said Dr. Pereira.

"At the same time, I'm very aware of the financial commitment the community has made in the last several years, and so I would like them to keep in mind that we are really working diligently to keep our expenditures to the absolute minimum, while we improve student performance."

As the district works to keep spending down, officials are faced with the challenge of rapidly increasing enrollment. "We are one of the most rapidly growing school districts in Nassau County. We expect at least another 225 students next year," said Pereira. He attributed the rapid growth to an influx of families into the district due its reputation for high quality schools and relatively low school taxes.

Pereira added that in designing the budget, school officials' priorities are improving student performance and maintaining favorable class sizes.