Not surprisingly, the unfolding embezzlement scandal at the Roslyn School District has received enormous attention beyond the Roslyn area.

Not only has the scandal been reported in both local television news programs and the big city daily newspapers, it is also on the minds of educators all across the island.

For instance, the superintendent of the Sewanhaka district, while seeing his district's budget barely survive a revote, singled out the Roslyn scandal as a pernicious influence on voters everywhere in Nassau County. Indeed, budgets in both the neighboring East Williston and North Shore districts were defeated in the June 16 re-votes.

More "suspicious transactions" continued to be discovered by Nassau County investigators. According to published reports, school district funds were used by Dr. Frank A. Tassone to pay the landlord at his Upper East Side apartment. They were also used to pay a physician, who, among other services, specializes in weight loss programs.

More specifically, $19,462.12 was paid to the Helmsley-Spear firm between August 2001 and August 2002. In addition, investigators are looking at $56,645 in payments made by Dr. Tassone to Dr. Steven Lamm, a Manhattan internist.

Now, politicians who represent the Roslyn area in Albany are getting involved in the scandal.

State Senator Michael Balboni (R-Mineola), Assemblyman Tom DiNapoli (D-Great Neck) and Assemblyman David Sidikman (D-Old Bethpage) recently unveiled legislation to provide greater scrutiny of what they termed "school officials' finances," an obvious reference to the Roslyn situation.

"We need to restore the community's justifiably shaken confidence, and put back the ABCs in education - accountability, believability and conscience," Balboni said. "The general public will benefit from increased scrutiny of the private financial activities of individuals entrusted with public funds."

A bill sponsored by Balboni and DiNapoli:

* Allows the courts to seek restitution from individuals convicted of stealing from a school district;

* Requires the state Comptroller to audit every school district at least once every three years; and

* Requires school officials to disclose potential conflicts of interest when a vendor or purchase agreement is being considered.

"As the size and complexity of school districts grows, there is a greater need for checks and balances to ensure that public funds are being spent in a responsible, diligent and prudent fashion," DiNapoli said.

Balboni and Sidikman also sponsored a bill requiring school officials to complete annual financial disclosure statements similar to those required of state and municipal elected officials. The statements will be filed with the local town or city clerk, and be available for public review.

"It's a shame that the dishonesty of a few unscrupulous individuals makes it necessary for this legislation to exist, but these bills will help ensure that what happened in the Roslyn school district will never happen again," Sidikman said.

In a widening probe, Nassau County investigators are reviewing $7.8 million worth of suspicious financial transactions that have come to light in recent weeks in the Roslyn School District.

To date, the district's chief financial officer has been accused of embezzling more than $1 million, and the superintendent reportedly steered $800,000 in contracts to a business with the same address as his home. Both officials have since resigned from the district, as has the vice president of the Roslyn School Board.

"The emerging picture of greed and dishonesty displayed by former officials of the Roslyn School District is nothing short of a moral and fiscal outrage," Balboni claimed.

"The people of Roslyn were betrayed by those with whom they entrusted their children and their money," he continued. "Those responsible must be held accountable."