A Word From The Publisher

Those residents who are interested in commenting on the proposal by Tom Suozzi to cap property taxes might be interested in attending a hearing on Tuesday, September 9th at 12:30 p.m. in the Nassau County Legislative Building, 1550 Franklin Avenue. The hearing will focus on special education and relief from mandates for school districts. Public comment will be allowed.

The tax cap, which was proposed by Gov. David Paterson, would cap a district's property tax increase at 4%, or 120% of the consumer price index. According to the original proposal, in exchange for the cap, school districts that kept their increases below the cap could forgo the annual school budget vote. School boards which wanted an increase over the cap could still place it before the public, but 55 percent of the voters would have to agree to override the cap.

As opponents of the caps pointed out, some districts have burdensome expenses in terms of special education costs, or transportation. This latest round of discussions is meant to address some of these issues.

We still think the proposal is a blunt instrument in dealing with rising property tax costs. The mechanism for keeping school spending in line already exists in that boards are elected and the voters ultimately control spending. If school property taxes are rising quickly on Long Island, it's because most voters feel the schools need the funds.

We should be wary of giving away local control of our school districts -- and giving away the ability to fund our schools as we wish is giving away that control.

Meg Morgan Norris

Publisher