Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi joined with numerous school board members across the county in a grassroots campaign to obtain more aid from New York State to fund education.

Nassau County Executive Thomas Suozzi, who is in the midst of a campaign for governor, has identified school taxes as the No. 1 problem facing Nassau County residents. The county executive would have little trouble finding taxpayers to agree with him. Indeed, school taxes have become the center of attention as numerous residents have repeatedly said that the community cannot afford to pay anymore.

The county executive points out that Nassau schools receive only 17 percent of school funding from state aid while the state average is 37 percent. In addition, Suozzi pointed out that while Nassau County has 7.45 percent of the students in the state, it receives only 3.89 percent.

"This inequity must end," Suozzi said. "Our taxpayers are being crushed by their property taxes."

The reason Nassau receives less state aid than the state average is Nassau high property values. Nassau homeowners may be living in houses worth $400,000 to $500,000, but the only way they see the benefit in living in a high valued home is if the home is sold. Many planned on staying in the county and hope their children and grandchildren can stay here as well. However, the trend of increasing property taxes make that less and less likely each year.

Many community members purchased their homes years ago, paying under $50,000 for their home. These same members would never be able to purchase their homes now. However, the state, in allocating state aid, are treating them as wealthy, critics of the state aid allocation believe.

Elmont School Board member Pam Monteverde said the Elmont district gets good representation from Assemblyman Tom Alfano. However, she is also joining in the effort to try to get more state aid to Nassau County Districts. Monteverde acknowledges that she is "property rich but income poor." It is those that are in the same predicament as Monteverde who are feeling the effects of escalating property taxes without the benefit of state aid to offset some of the increases.

In local districts, costs are almost certain to go up every year. Even contingency budgets, which are budgets boards of education are required to pass when the public fails a budget proposal, represent a 4 percent increase over the previous year's budget. With increases in spending such as salaries and benefits mandated by contracts, many feel state aid should increase proportionally. However, according to the 2006-2007 executive budget proposal out of New York State, Elmont would receive $78,968 less in state aid than it did in 2005-2006; the West Hempstead School District would receive $175,139 less than it did in 2005-2006 and the Franklin Square School District would receive $4,515 more.

Suozzi, who is the central political figure in this campaign for more state aid, which is also an issue for his run for governor, is asking for all those involved in education to lobby for more state aid as a way of controlling the increasing costs of school taxes. "We can't continue in this way. It's got to begin now," he said.

At a recent press conference, numerous school board members signed a letter that will be sent to Governor George Pataki and state legislators in Albany. The letter asks state legislators to ensure that Nassau residents receive a proportionate return of state income tax dollars and asks state legislators to develop a regional cost factor as part of the formula Albany uses to gauge school aid. "We need a state aid formula that more accurately and fairly returns what we on Long Island give to the state," the letter states.