Because this is the time of year when residents receive their school tax statement, it is also a time when the school district receives calls from homeowners about their tax bills. I would like to take this opportunity to clear up some of the common misunderstandings about the complicated process that determines the amount on your tax bill.

At the beginning of the process is the school budget. It takes several months for the budget to progress from initial administrative and staff input to the final budget that is presented to the voters of the community on the third Tuesday in May each year. Believe it or not, work is already under way in the Roslyn Public Schools to put together the school budget for 2003-04.

In all of the literature published last spring about the school budget for the current school year, we detailed the major reasons why the budget increased more than it does in a typical year. These reasons included the first payment on the bond for work being completed throughout the district, and especially at the Roslyn Middle School (where we just cut the ribbon last week on the newly renovated and expanded facility); continued overall growth in enrollment of three percent or more each year; and dramatically higher insurance costs, particularly in the aftermath of the 9/11 tragedy. The voters approved the budget last spring by a margin of more than 3-2.

The next step in the process comes during the summer, when the Nassau County Department of Assessment determines tax rates for the four different classes of property in the county. (Single family homes are in Class I.) Often, the actual amount of a homeowner's increase may not be the same as the amount of the school budget increase.

The school district has no control whatsoever over this process, which can be influenced by a number of factors. For instance, if the overall assessed valuation in the school district declines as a result of challenges by homeowners to their assessed valuations, the tax rate for all property owners will rise. If the county, using complicated formulas, determines that homeowners should pay a slightly higher proportion of the taxes this year compared to commercial or other property owners, the tax rate will again rise more than the amount of the school budget. In Roslyn, where Class I homeowners pay a relatively high proportion of the total property taxes (about 70 percent, compared with 55 percent in Great Neck, for example), even a slight change in this proportion can have a significant impact on your tax bill.

That is indeed what appears to have happened this year, which accounts for the discrepancy between the amount of the school budget increase, which was 10.69 percent, and the actual tax increase, which is several percentage points higher than that.

There were some additional complicating factors this year. All Nassau County property owners received a letter last summer informing them of the new taxable value on their properties, based on the county's reassessment of all taxable property. However, the new assessment system has not yet gone into effect. Many homeowners who were informed that their assessment would go down were surprised to find their taxes rising instead.

In addition, the amount of New York State's School Tax Reduction Program (STAR), which provides tax relief directly to homeowners, was not listed on the tax bills that were prepared by the Town of North Hempstead. This led many homeowners to believe that they did not receive a STAR reduction this year, but this is not the case. The town has informed the school district that although the dollar amount of the STAR reduction was not listed, it was in fact calculated into the tax bills.

Any resident who continues to have questions about their tax bill is welcome to call the office of the assistant superintendent for business (625-6307). If you have a question that can best be answered by town or county officials, we will do our best to direct you to appropriate individuals.