Regarding the defeat of the Franklin Square school budget, 97 percent of it was mandated. Only 3 percent of the budget is what was actually voted on. It was to be used for after-school and summer programs. These are always held as bargaining chips for passage of the full budget.

Voting on only 3 percent of the budget is a farce, but the real insult is the budget re-vote. What is the constitutionality of a re-vote? Does this mean we can vote for the president twice if we don't like the first election results?

The educational system on Long Island is a good one, but how it is paid for needs serious reform. The recent failures to pass budgets show this. School boards, when negotiating contracts, need to address the ability of taxpayers to pay for increases in teacher and administrator salaries that go far beyond the cost-of-living. It is time for our elected officials to act, otherwise the percentage of failed budgets will continue in proportion to ever increasing school budgets.

Christopher L.P. Gioia