Local lawmakers worked into the early morning hours this weekend to finish the 2007-08 State Budget on time. Spending for Long Island school districts was a key element of the final budget numbers.

"[Governor Eliot Spitzer's] budget would have wreaked havoc on our schools, our children's education and most importantly it would have forced property taxes sky-high," said Assemblyman Joseph Saladino (R.-Massapequa.) "We refused to take the financially unfair treatment and slowed the budget process to force a greater share of state school aid. I am happy to have stood tall with our senators, especially Chuck Fuschillo and Kemp Hannon. We delivered record amounts of state aid, taxpayer rebate checks, additional aid to healthcare and we did it quickly enough to achieve an on-time budget."

Pressure from local lawmakers helped to push Governor Spitzer to add upwards of $500 million in additional aid for Nassau County school districts, Assemblyman Saladino said. The governor's initial budget proposal would have shortchanged Long Island school districts and not provided direct property tax relief to homeowners, Saladino added. However, state legislators managed to negotiate additional funding for Long Island schools as part of the $1.75 billion increase in school funding and restored property tax relief by adding rebate checks to property owners.

Long Island school districts have long been shortchanged when it comes to their share of state education funding while New York City Schools continue to receive far more, Assemblyman Saladino noted. This deficiency has forced local government to pass the cost of fully funding education on to local property owners and taxpayers, he added. The 2007-08 executive budget would have increased educational funding for the 11 schools in the 12th Assembly District by an average of 3.92 percent from last year. The finished budget represents an average increase of 12.16 percent for Long Island school districts. As a whole, Nassau County schools will now receive an additional $50 million more than the governor's initial education fund proposal.

Increased education funding, in the form of High Tax Aid, will add the following amount to local districts:

• Massapequa: $1,228,694

• Plainedge: $527,446

"This budget spends $8.3 billion more than last year's budget, with New York City schools and programs receiving the lion's share of increases," said Assemblyman Saladino. "The Long Island Republican delegation fought to get our fair share. I hope in the future that the governor will provide our region with a more equitable portion of the resources. Taxpayers are already overburdened and deserve what is fair."

"By bringing home more for Long Island schools we are helping to minimize property tax burdens," stated Assemblyman Saladino. "This has been a tough fight, but I am optimistic that these efforts will result in lower school taxes and a furthering of education for our children, homeowners, and schools. And, it is an on-time budget that is icing on the cake."