Taxpayers Give School Budgets The Axe In Garden State
Could the overwhelming defeat of school budgets in New Jersey be a forboding forecast for Long Island's vote, set for May 18?
Voters just across the river defeated a record number of school budgets -- 59% failed -- many in districts where education was long considered sacrosanct.
Already faced with the highest property tax burden in the nation (followed closely by Westchester and Nassau counties in New York), New Jersey homeowners are saying "no more" to the raiding of their bank accounts.
No longer only a matter of school district largess and excess, to many voters, it's a question of economic survival.
Folks are out of work, or barely clinging to jobs, unable to make ends meet. They're losing their homes, unable to put food on the table, facing stacks of bills that remain unpaid. The tree is bare.
Here on Long Island, administrators and school boards alike are duly concerned. And well they should be.
The tax revolt in Jersey -- more like a tax revulsion -- should come as no surprise, however. It's simple economics. We can no longer afford to keep digging deeper and deeper into our almost empty pockets to finance eduction.
Bottom line: It's the property tax, stupid!
The regressive means of funding education -- whether in New Jersey or here on Long Island -- is being rejected by voters, even in districts previously considered safe. A strong message of enough, already, is being sent, not only to school boards (most of which try their utmost to trim, cut, and save within the constraints of contractual obligations, unfunded mandates, rising costs in pensions, insurance, and transportation, and demands of "more, more, more" from the likes of teachers' unions), but to State Legislators as well -- the ultimate arbiters (should they choose to act at all) in the property tax debacle.
And it's not necessarily the increase in school budgets that worries voters, but rather, the rise in the tax rate, particularly nasty this year given the drastic cuts in aid to education likely to come from Albany. While, for instance, a district's 2010-11 budget may increase but 3.69% over the previous year, the resulting increase in the tax levy (what residents actually pay) could be as high as 9.40%. Tax levy increases in the range of 10% may be the norm on Long Island this year, rather than an aberration.
To put it bluntly, such tax burden upon Long Island's struggling homeowners cannot be sustained!
The State pays less, the taxpayer pays more. The equation is that simple, and that painful.
Opposition to local school budgets is already mounting, and the call to vote "no" is going out across Long Island.
A flyer being distributed in Elmont and Franklin Square spells it out in dollars and cents, and could well portend the way of next month's vote:
SUPPORT THE SCHOOL BUDGET TAX REVOLT
● NEW YORK STATE IS FACING AN $8.2 BILLION DOLLAR DEFICIT.
● UNEMPLOYMENT IS AT 9.7% AND PEOPLE ARE LOSING THEIR HOMES.
● THE INFLATION RATE FOR THE PREVIOUS YEAR IS -0.5%.
SO WHAT DO THE SCHOOL DISTRICTS DO?
● GIVE SCHOOL DISTRICT SUPERINTENDENTS WHO MAKE OVER $250,000/YEAR A 5% RAISE.
● GIVE PRINCIPALS, TEACHERS, AND OTHER SCHOOL EMPLOYEES RAISES.
● INCREASE SPENDING 3.7% (over $5 MILLION DOLLARS), WHICH INCREASES YOUR TAXES 4.2%.
● USE CASH RESERVES TO HIDE THE REAL INCREASE, WITHOUT WHICH, THE TAX INCREASE WOULD BE OVER 7% .
THIS MEANS ANOTHER SIMILIAR TAX INCREASE IS LIKELY NEXT YEAR.
● ISSUE THE USUAL THREATS TO OUR CHILDREN THAT THEY WILL CUT AFTER SCHOOL PROGRAMS IF WE DON'T GIVE THEM WHAT THEY WANT.
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH, NO MORE TAX INCREASES!!!
● SCHOOL SPENDING EXCEEDS THE RATE OF INFLATION YEAR AFTER YEAR AND IS OUT OF CONTROL.
● THE EMPLOYEES OF THE SCHOOL DISTRICTS RECEIVE GENEROUS PAY AND BENEFIT PACKAGES PAID BY THE TAXPAYER AND PUBLIC DEBT.
● IT IS TIME FOR OUR SCHOOL EMPLOYEES TO MAKE SOME SACRIFICES, THE TAXPAYER HAS GIVEN MORE THAN THEIR FAIR SHARE.
VOTE TUESDAY MAY 18, 2010
CALL YOUR LOCAL SCHOOL FOR YOUR POLLING LOCATION
A call for "shared sacrifices across the board?" Surely, this is not the rant of unhinged extremists, but the reasoned voice of parents, grandparents, professionals and blue collar workers who have had it with being taxed to debt.
Hard to argue with the facts, notwithstanding our innate desire to see every budget pass, a "YES" vote at the fingertip of each voter. Truth is, we, as individual taxpayers, as homeowners, as a community, as New Yorkers, can no longer afford to pay and pay some more.
It's not the children Long Islanders are pissed at -- though they will be the ones to suffer the most -- it's those damned property taxes. [Translate that into a "NO" vote for your sitting State Legislator in November, and you may just have something!]
While our anger may well be misdirected, and the outcome of our rath unintended, can we really blame Long Islanders for following New Jersey's lead in sending school budgets back to the drawing board?
We care about our kids, and want the best for them, particularly when it comes to their education. But, as one Nassau County community activist told The Community Alliance, "We're nurturing ourselves into bankruptcy!"
Mad as hell are the taxpayers of Long Island. Who can blame them?
This flyer is on the money. Why do the schools always have to threaten our children's education if the budgets don't pass? Why can't the superintendents, administrators and teachers take a pay cut for once, and keep the programs as they are?
ReplyDeleteIt's reprehensible and shameful that our school employees use our kids as swords during this budget negotiation process. Are these school employees really that committed to our children's education if they're willing to "throw them under the bus" so quickly if the budget doesn't pass? Or are they committed to filling their wallets at our children's expense?
We should demand that the school employees make salary concessions first, prior to reducing the programs. How about someone in Albany getting to work on drafting that legislation!
I'm probably less sanguine about my local school board than others, in part because I think school boards should be judged not just on the basis of what they've done, but because, and maybe especially, on the basis of what they HAVE NOT done. "If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem" and in that regard, what I haven't seen is a lot of leadership relative to the need to strike a better balance between the need for educational quality vs. the current fiscal and economic reality most taxpayers are now facing. Maybe this is just specific to my own district but that's how I see it.
ReplyDeleteStill, as you note, the bigger problem is Albany, which is a disaster.
It won't be at all surprising if the upcoming school budget votes result in a ratio of voter rejections comparable if not in excess of New Jersey's. On the other hand, because the system is so utterly broken, in so many ways, we'll go through the usual routine of re-submitted budgets that are barely changed and "austerity" budgets which are austere only to the extent that they cut items like extracurricular activities and sports. Meantime, property taxes will be going up anyhow. To hell with the taxpayer.
I can't think of anybody who currently represents me in Albany who I think deserves re-election. And as the campaign season starts, I think every voter should impose a huge burden of proof on their representatives when it comes to justifying why there should even be any consideration of returning them to office.
Just to the east of Elmont and Franklin Square, in West Hempstead, in addition to a nearly 10% increase in the tax levy, certain shortsighted residents are trying to ram a $680,000 busing referendum down taxpayers' throats.
ReplyDeleteImagine that, adding nearly three-quarters of a million dollars in the first year alone to the burden of homewoners so that the few who live close enough to school to walk can be bussed?
Is it any wonder obesity is such a problem in America?
One wonders if these folks ever heard of the novel alternative to bus transportation for those who cannot, or will not walk to school -- the car pool!
Editorial
ReplyDeleteWhat Are They Doing?
So tell us again why we are paying their salaries? New York’s Legislature was supposed to approve a state budget before April 1. Nearly a month later, the leaders still can’t come up with a plan to close a $9.2 billion deficit. Meanwhile, the other 210 senators and Assembly members are mostly sitting on their hands.
No real progress on desperately needed ethics reform. No real progress, period. So tell us again why we bothered electing them?
Nobody wants a flawed, slapdash budget. But as each day passes, the limbo worsens for millions of New Yorkers. Here is just some of what is happening:
¶School boards across the state are putting together budgets that are supposed to go to their local voters on May 18. If boards don’t know how much state funds will be cut, they won’t know how much more to ask voters for. And in these times, no board would dare to ask for one dollar more than it could justify with hard numbers — numbers the boards won’t have until Albany acts.
All of this makes planning for next year nearly impossible. How many teachers will have to be laid off? How many advanced classes dropped or after-school programs closed?
The New York State School Boards Association is estimating that 20,000 teachers or school workers will lose their jobs, based on Gov. David Paterson’s proposed budget. These people also need fair warning, so they can start looking for work.
¶Emergency spending bills that are passed each week cover only the barest essentials. Among the many things on hold are state funds for building or repairing roads, bridges and about 500 construction projects, mostly outside New York City. Spring and summer are the seasons for repairs, especially upstate. And some contractors are being warned that they might not get paid any time soon if they do the work now.
¶About $500 million in federal funds for the needy is stuck in Albany until there is an official budget, according to the Human Services Council, an umbrella group for nonprofit organizations. The money is needed right now for crucial programs, including helping people hang on to their homes, providing services for the elderly and helping victims of domestic violence. Any money that is not allocated by Oct. 1 disappears back to Washington.
These are increasingly urgent problems. Albany’s politicians clearly feel no urgency or responsibility. Each blames the others. You should blame them all.
First the Democrats: The Democratic governor and legislative leaders appear to have agreed on how to shave $6 billion from the deficit but not the last $3 billion. The only ones working hard are the lobbyists.
Instead of finding sensible ways to cut spending, John Sampson, the Senate’s Democratic leader, apparently wants to add an additional $300 million to the deficit by giving more unaffordable breaks on property taxes. Mr. Sampson and crew are also proposing some of the shadiest borrowing schemes in years, rather than finding ways to raise revenue, like taxing soda or allowing wine to be sold in grocery stores.
Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and his crew want to restore too many of the governor’s cuts and are also listening to the soda industry and liquor store lobbyists.
And the Republicans: They don’t want more taxes, even on cigarettes. They don’t want borrowing, even carefully packaged borrowing as part of a sensible budget reform proposed by Lt. Gov. Richard Ravitch. Basically, they want to be able to go to the voters and complain about the Democrats.
The only good news in all this is that New York’s voters are finally fed up. If you’re honest, have good ideas and are willing to work for a living, now is the time to run. Too much time has already been wasted.
Copyright 2010 The New York Times Company
TEN LEGISLATIVE IDEAS TO REDUCE SCHOOL TAXES
ReplyDeletehttp://www.lischooltax.com/LIFERpg6.html
Check out the NYS Property Tax Report Card:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.emsc.nysed.gov/mgtserv/propertytax/
Watch for 2010-11 to be the most taxing year ever!
I am a retired NYC school teacher, and even I agree that the excesses of both teachers and administrators on LI are too much of a burden.
ReplyDeleteCuts should come from the top down, not the other way around. Administrators, teachers, etc. need to give back, not to continually scream, "gimme, gimme, gimme."
When budgets go down, cut salaries and benefits, not programs and instruction.
We had one Chancellor and school board in NYC, and somehow, it works. We don't need 124 districts, with their legion of administrators and outrageous price tags, here on Long Island.
You are correct. This system is bankrupting us!
I am amazed that there aren't thousands of comments on this blog, LIers all, shaking their heads and emptying their pockets, but still voting to send the same folks back to Albany who gave us this mess in the first place.
ReplyDeleteSend a message to Albany. Send your State legislator home for good in November!
Brentwood teachers are taking a pay cut to save jobs, trim the budget by some $11 million, and help out struggling taxpayers.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.newsday.com/long-island/education/brentwood-s-teacher-union-li-s-biggest-oks-pay-cuts-1.1882550
Bravo!
What about the rest of the teachers and administrators in the other 123 LI school districts?
Have they no shame?
E-gads! Just read in Newsday:
ReplyDelete"On the Island, many voters are being asked to weigh steep budget requests. West Hempstead's proposed $54.5 million budget would boost expenses 3.69 percent and taxes 9.4 percent. William Floyd's $200 million plan would raise spending 2.75 percent and taxes 8.53 percent. Wyandanch's $57 million budget would hike spending 3.4 percent and taxes 13.94 percent."
Who could afford to pay such tax increases? Not I!
I created the flier that is being passed around the Sewanhaka School District.
ReplyDeleteThe sad fact is sometimes you have to take a few steps backward before you can move forward. I determined that this was the only viable choice I had. I talked with many people who have dealt with this problem over 10 years ago, by writing letters to their elected representatives and voicing their concerns at PTA meetings.
The problem, as I see it, is not enough people are aware that at the same time the highly paid bosses and teachers (not all) are getting raises, school activities are being cut. No presentation I saw, showed that the superintendents of schools were getting non-contractual increases or that reserves were being used to mask the real increase in expenditures. I saw no evidence that the school districts were willing to consolidate administrative responsibilities which could save millions of dollars.
I have two children in Washington Street School (6 and 8 years old) and they are helping me with the flier distribution. I explained to them why this is necessary, and that if I am successful some of your school programs may be cut.
I hope that this is not the case, and the school employees do the right thing.
Also, I was able to find the proposed budget for the New Hyde Park Elementary School, and it showed that the janitor budget is being increased. Can't be sure, but maybe they are getting a raise too.
Education is not just academics, it is also morality and respect for others, even when you have more power than them. The school employees should demonstrate this by action, not only with words in the classroom.