Last May, the Franklin Square School District proposed 2005-2006 budget failed on the first try. The May before, the West Hempstead School District and the Sewanhaka Central High School District saw their proposed 2004-2005 budgets go down on the first try. Failing school budgets have become common for Long Island School Districts whose residents are clearly sending a message that they cannot pay annual increasing school taxes.

Yet, each year, school taxes are sure to rise as contractual expenses continue to go up. In cases when school boards try as best they can to hold the line on taxes, residents may find their assessments increasing and therefore are required to pay additional taxes.

Each May, when residents go to the polls to vote on a school budget, it is their only chance to make a statement. Taxpayers do not vote on the state budget, nor their town budget, nor even their village budget if they happen to live in an incorporated area. The school budget is the only budget voted on and some of the time becomes a casualty of the taxpayers' unhappiness with ever increasing taxes.

Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi, the day after being re-elected to another term, announced the biggest issue facing Nassau residents is school taxes. "It is a very thorny problem. There is no easy solution," he said. "We have to start building a consensus that this is the number one problem we face on Long Island. We can't do it with individual communities fighting their individual school boards. There's always been a battle between the local communities and the local school boards."

Battles between local school boards and taxpayers usually come over the perception among residents that school district spending is out of control. Some taxpayers take aim at salaries and wonder why school districts are shelling out six-figure salaries to educators. Consider that in 2004-2005, the Elmont School District had 11 administrators making over $100,000; Franklin Square had four; West Hempstead had 18 and the Sewanhaka Central High School District had 18.

Rumors persist that Suozzi will be announcing a run for state governor in the upcoming months and the issue of school taxes is one that he can tackle to appeal to Long Island voters. Suozzi admits that school taxes are a state issue that does fall under his jurisdiction as county executive. But he also says he is a problem solver and this problem is one that isn't going away. "The school taxes are too high and the people can't take it anymore," said Suozzi.

But while spending may be one issue, Suozzi believes the answer to getting a handle on high school taxes is the aid Nassau school districts receive from New York State. "School aid here in Nassau County is far below the statewide average. We only get 17 percent of our school funding here in Nassau County from the state through state aid," said Suozzi. "Whereas the state average is 37 percent of school funding comes from state aid. We are shortchanged here in Nassau County because we believe a large part of the school aid formula is based on property values and we have very high property values in Nassau County."

Consider that 16.6 percent of school funding in 2002 in Nassau County came from state aid while in Westchester, 19.3 percent came from state aid. Yet, the average household income in 2002 in Nassau County was $110,429 while in Westchester, it was $122,833.

In December 2004, Nassau Comptroller Howard Weitzman wrote a letter to New York State Assembly members and senators from Nassau County regarding school taxes and state aid in Nassau County. The letter pointed out that residents are paying a much greater share of their incomes to local taxes, which are mostly school taxes.

In studying school taxes, Weitzman said one of the reasons school taxes are so high in the county is because state aid is kept down due to high property values. But, said Weitzman, "What people don't know is that 70 percent of the people who live in Nassau County can't afford to buy their own houses back. We're paying taxes based on low school aid because our houses are worth so much but we can't afford to buy them. It's clear this system has to be changed."

Suozzi said the first step in the process of controlling school taxes is calling a meeting of the school board presidents of all school districts in Nassau County on Wednesday, Dec. 7 at the assembly hall at police headquarters to start building a consensus.