By Stephanie Mariel Petrellese

Garden City residents were given an opportunity to ask questions and voice concerns on the proposed school budget at a May 11th public hearing that preceded the regular work session of the Garden City Board of Education.

The school budget vote will be held on Tuesday from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. in the high school gymnasium. For the first time this year students will also be given an opportunity to let their voices be heard. Computers will be set up for primary school students to vote for the snack they would like to enjoy during their upcoming Field Day. Students will be able to cast their vote after 3 p.m.

Only a few residents spoke at the hearing. Leo Stimmler said he sees beer bottles scattered around the Village on Sunday mornings and has read that drug use has risen among Long Island students. He asked if some of the staff development funds included in the budget could go toward helping students who may have alcohol and/or drug problems.

Superintendent of Schools Dr. Robert Feirsen responded that there are already programs in place at every grade level to help students make good choices. He especially likes the Committee for Children's Second Step program, which is described on their Web site as a violence prevention program which integrates social and emotional learning with academics. "Second Step is one of the programs that has validated data behind it to show it helps kids pursue healthy lifestyles," he said.

Another resident asked how the district discourages departments from going on spending sprees with any unused budgeted funds as the fiscal year comes to a close. The woman said departments may not want to see their money cut in subsequent budgets if some funding remains.

Dr. Feirsen explained that spending requests go through many rounds of approval and every purchase request must be explained. School Board President Colleen Foley said the school board trustees receive warrants and supporting material for every purchase.

Albert Chase, the district's assistant superintendent for business and finance, said most supply spending requests have a Feb. 15th cutoff date to avoid this issue. This year the district did make classroom furniture purchases after that date.

Dr. Feirsen took the opportunity during his budget summary to include the latest student achievement data from the English Language Arts exam administered to students in grades three through eight. In all grades, except sixth grade, students ranked in the top three when compared to 13 similar districts. In grade six, students ranked eighth.

School Board President Colleen Foley was very pleased. "It's great to see," she said. "I really have to applaud your hard work and the progress we've made...For me, it's been a long time coming."

Dr. Feirsen thanked the teachers for helping students achieve such a high level of success. He also acknowledged Dr. Teresa Prendergast for her efforts in analyzing several years of data and developing an improvement plan.

On April 21st, the Board of Education adopted a budget totaling $95,215,587. This is a budget to budget increase of .75 percent. Residents will face a tax levy increase (with STAR) of 1.57 percent and Chase has determined that taxpayers in class one, which consists of one-, two- and three-family homes and residential condominiums of three stories or less, will likely see an increase of 1.31 percent.

To determine your exact tax increase, visit the district's Web site, www.gardencity.k12.ny.us and click on the quick link "Property Tax Calculator." Through this site, residents can access Nassau County Dept. of Assessment's Web site, where they can type in their tax lot information and find out how much their tax will increase. The amount will not reflect STAR program discounts.

If the budget is defeated, state law has set the contingent budget increase at four percent or less. However, the proposed budget increase is less than four percent. A contingency budget must be less than a budget rejected by voters.

If the proposed budget is not approved, contingent budget regulations would require the school district to reduce its expenditures by $1,544,000. Programs that may be eliminated include after-school child care, continuing education and summer enrichment. Cuts may also be made in categories including non-emergency capital items, bus purchases, technology equipment, co-curricular and athletic programs and instructional and non-instructional staff.

In addition, if the district is in austerity, all community groups would be charged for all expenses associated with the use of facilities, including fields. The district would be called upon to develop a formula to be applied to all organizations.

Overall, a contingent budget would result in a budget-to-budget increase of .88 percent. The difference in cost to homeowners between the proposed budget and a contingent budget would be approximately $125 a year, or a little over $10 a month.

As reported in last week's issue of The Garden City News, Dr. Feirsen is unhappy with the recent approval by lawmakers of a $1.5-billion payroll tax. The tax, 34 cents per every $100 in salaries, is part of a $2.9-billion bailout package for the MTA and will be imposed on businesses, not-for-profits and other employers in the 12 counties served by the MTA. It will cost the district approximately $160,000 to $180,000. Since the 2009-10 school budget has already been adopted by the Board of Education, any expenditure will have to come out of revenues that already have been allocated.