On last Saturday, March 1, the cold weather did not deter many Massapequa residents in joining 1,500 other Long Islanders in gathering at Ellsworth W. Allen Park in Farmingdale to protest what participants believe is New York State's unfair distribution of the state's educational funding.

The rally included parents, students, senior citizens, educators, politicians, civic groups, labor organizations and PTA members.

Guest speakers included State Senators Charles Fuschillo, Carl Marcellino, Dean Skelos, Craig Johnson, John Flanagan, Caesar Trunzo, Kenneth LaValle and Kemp Hannon, along with Long Island Federation of Labor leader John D'Urso, Diane Hettrich from the New York State United Teachers, Matt Crossen from the Long Island Association, Gracemarie Rozea from Nassau Region PTA, and three Half Hollow Hills students: Zuha Gazi, Craig Workman, and Joseph Gaspard, all active in their respective PTSAs.

Throughout the day, voices were heard loud and clear, with participants, chanting "Fair Share, Fair Share, Fair Share" in response to the question, "What do we want from Governor Spitzer?" The audience members hoped they were loud enough to be heard in the governor's office in Albany. Signs were held high which read "Don't Cut Long Island's School Aid," "We are tired of being New York State's ATM," and "SOS-Save our Schools."

According to Leslie Dowell, a Massapequa resident and community activist who attended the event, a point raised was that while Long Island has 17 percent of the state's students, it is scheduled to receive only 8.2 percent of the aid, down 13 percent from last year.

"We must continue to lobby the governor to keep High Tax Aid intact, and fight for Regional Cost Adjustments, and obtain funding for the overwhelming unfunded mandates," Ms. Dowell said. "In Massapequa for example, residents send Albany much more in income taxes than they receive back in the form of educational state aid.

"The general sentiment was that we are not attempting to take distributions away from New York City and Upstate New York schools where the majority of educational dollars are continually allocated, but that Long Island taxpayers can no longer stand by quietly as our school taxes soar out of control, with less educational aid each year," Ms. Dowell continued.

As another Massapequa parent stated: "We can't afford to continue to live in our homes, or have any prospect of our children, born and raised in these communities, of ever being able to afford to stay here and raise their families. We will have ghost towns all over Long Island."

The main message of the event, Ms. Dowell concluded was: We need and deserve our fair share.