Over the last two months the Roslyn Board of Education and Central Administration have held many meetings at which the 2002-03 school budget has been reviewed. Having attended many of these meetings, I have witnessed firsthand the effort the board and the administration have put into creating a budget that will give the most to our children in the most cost-effective way.

As we all know and as Dr. Tassone has mentioned in both the meetings and in his columns, the district faces numerous difficult budget challenges this year. This is the first year that we will start repaying the bond that we approved two years ago and insurance costs have soared as well. This is a problem faced by all of us. Together these costs amount to more than 40 percent of the budget increase alone.

Dr. Tassone and his staff have reached out to the community to discuss and explain the budget and have responded to the community's concerns by making several million dollars worth of budget reductions. We have been assured that none of these reductions will affect our children's education.

I feel confident that, after the combined efforts of the community, the board, Dr. Tassone and central administration, the budget is at a point where we can all feel comfortable supporting it.

As we have all experienced a downturn in the economy, we should invest in a sure thing, our children and our future.

Richard A. Levine