School taxes are rising at an alarming rate and some homeowners will be hit with a hike of $450 or more in their school tax bill this year. This added burden may cause an increase in illegal rentals by forcing more residents to rent parts of their homes so they can afford to stay in our community.

Since this is an election year for Albany politicians, the state will pour more money into public schools even though New York State's finances are in a recession. But with the state facing a $9 billion budget deficit and tax collections $1.7 billion lower than expected, legislators will not be able to keep subsidizing high spending public schools.

Teacher salaries, which have now reached $100,000 for a 10-month school year, must be frozen. The starting pay of $49,898 for Franklin Square teachers with a master's degree together with 7 percent annual pay raises, is outrageous when compared to the full-year pay in the business sector.

Teachers must be required to pay for the higher cost of health benefits, as do employees of business firms. There has to be a cap on hiring of teachers and administrators.

In the school budget Franklin Square residents will be asked to approve on May 21, pupil transportation costs will shoot up by a whopping 31.55 percent or $279,153. In the past six years, the Franklin Square School District transportation costs have nearly doubled to over $1 million with no explanation to taxpayers.

A detailed investigation is needed of these skyrocketing transportation costs. Why hasn't the school board obtained competitive bids from bus firms to reduce costs?

Richard Andujar