The staff and administration of the Roslyn Public Schools have been working for several months on the school budget for the 2003-04 school year. In March and April, the budget will be the subject of a series of discussions by the Board of Education at several public meetings.

While it's still too early to talk about the final shape of the 2003-04 budget, this already appears to be a less challenging budget year than last year. Our major budget focus is on maintaining our outstanding educational programs while containing costs and presenting a budget with a modest, single-digit increase.

New York State's fiscal problems and possible cuts in state aid to education have many districts concerned about their budgets for 2003-04. However, Roslyn receives so little aid from the state already (only about 3 percent of our budget) that a further reduction will have little impact. Moreover, while many other districts are facing a difficult season this year, Roslyn addressed some significant budget issues last year.

There are a number of factors that are contributing to an improved budget outlook for Roslyn in 2003-04. Most important is that the first payment on the bond, which was approved in 2000, came due in the current school year. While Roslyn will be making bond payments for a number of years to come, the large budget increase experienced in this first payment year is now behind us.

Careful planning in several areas will also help brighten this year's budget picture. Health care costs, for example, were a major part of last year's budget increase. While insurance premiums are expected to continue rising, the district's fiscal management of this issue will lessen the impact of any increase in 2003-04.

Another factor is the fiscal impact of rising enrollment, which has been an issue for many years. Over the last decade, our student population has increased by nearly 800 youngsters, the equivalent of an entire new school. Much of the budget impact of this change has long been anticipated through the expansion of facilities and hiring of additional staff. We are now well situated to accommodate our growing student population. A new mail-in census form will be sent to all residents soon, as the district continues to take a pro-active approach to addressing long-term budget needs.

One more positive budget factor is an unusually large number of administrative and teacher retirements this school year. While the departure of so many veteran educators in one year does represent a considerable loss of talent for the district, it will also yield savings in terms of salaries in 2003-04.

I don't want to suggest that we have no budget challenges or concerns. One of the big unknowns right now is the impact of the Nassau County reassessment program. Reassessment is "revenue neutral," which means that the school district will collect no more in school taxes than the amount authorized by the Board of Education in the annual tax levy.

In other words, the total amount of school taxes paid by property owners in the Roslyn School District will be unaffected by reassessment. However, the distribution of that amount among individual homeowners could change under the new assessment system, which is based on market values.

In the end, assessments are beyond the control of any school district. The Roslyn Board of Education and Central Administration will concentrate very hard in the coming months on the one part of the budget process that school districts can control: how much we spend. We will make every effort to provide outstanding educational opportunities for all students while maintaining strict fiscal discipline in these challenging times.

As always, we will also continue to provide information to residents on these and many other fiscal issues throughout the budget process. All residents are welcome to attend the Board's public budget review sessions, beginning on Thursday, March 13 at 8 p.m.