Since the Board of Education adopted a school budget for the 2003-04 school year on April 10, budget politics in Albany have somewhat overshadowed the efforts of schools across the state to communicate effectively with their communities about their school budget proposals.

The ongoing budget battles in the state capital reached a dramatic turning point on April 29, when the New York State Senate overrode Governor Pataki's veto of a bill extending the date of the annual school budget vote by two weeks. Since the Assembly overrode the governor's veto the day before, the two-week delay became law. Voters across the state will now cast their votes on their local school budgets on Tuesday, June 3, instead of the original date of May 20.

For the last few years, all school districts in the state have been required to hold their budget votes on the same day. Until this year, that day has been the third Tuesday in May. In theory, that date was supposed to provide districts with sufficient time to finalize their budgets following New York's adoption of the state budget by the legal deadline of April 1.

However, we all know that the state has missed its own budget deadline for the last 19 years in a row. Districts have complained vociferously for years that they never know how much state aid they will receive until well after their own budgets are adopted. School districts' revenue estimates for the coming year are therefore always based on guesswork.

In the past, districts were able to decide on the date of their budget vote and thereby maintain control of their own calendars and budget cycles. The uniform voting date (sometimes called "Super Tuesday") has never been very popular, but at least educators could count on it being the same every year.

The certainty of Super Tuesday has now fallen victim to the state's worst fiscal crisis in a generation. Legislators have finally responded to districts' complaints about the perennially late state budget, but their response does not include meeting their deadline. Instead, schools have been presented with a new mandate to delay school district budget votes for two weeks while the budget battles in Albany continue.

Fortunately, the state's fiscal problems have little impact on the Roslyn Public Schools. Unfortunately, the reason is because we receive so little state aid in the first place. State aid accounts for only about three percent of Roslyn's revenues. Reductions or additions to our state aid are so small that they have a minimal impact on our budget.

However, other districts across the state, including many on Long Island, have much more at stake in the current budget crisis. One upstate school board actually adopted a resolution a few weeks ago that it would not approve a school budget until the state adopted its budget. This action is illegal, and the Roslyn Board of Education does not support it, but we certainly sympathize with the predicament and understand the frustration of districts that are facing potentially devastating cuts in state aid this year.

We are moving forward with plans to hold our school budget vote on Tuesday, June 3 in the Roslyn High School gymnasium. An issue of the Scope newsletter with comprehensive budget information will be mailed to all residents shortly. Whatever happens in Albany, we remain focused on the task of meeting the educational needs of Roslyn's youngsters.