Heller Still Working to Solve Issue that Schmitt Should Try Helping On

NASSAU'S FAIR SHARE OF STATE AID

While leaders in Albany are negotiating the nuances of the New York State budget, efforts are being made on Long Island to influence those in the position of power regarding the state-aid formula for education.
Since December 2005, Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi has had numerous meetings with school board officials to resolve the difficult task of controlling the rise in real property taxes, specifically school taxes. On March 9, at a press conference held by Suozzi and attended by most of the 56 school districts in Nassau County, a letter was signed off on demanding that Albany change the state-aid formula for education to include regional costs in the analysis. By doing so, the leaders indicated that Nassau County would receive significant increases in state aid for education that would result in the lowering of taxes, or at least keeping them in check.
On March 24, the Long Island Association (LIA), the region's largest business and civic organization, released a statement prepared by their Education Committee concerning the critical issue of state aid. In this statement it was noted that "unless the regional cost factor is applied to the education aid wealth formula, the result remains unfair" as to the disbursement of state aid for education. The committee indicated that Long Island has 17 percent of the students in the state and receives only 12.8 percent of the share of state aid.
Within local school districts, communities are rising up in a lobbying campaign to ensure that the state-aid formula is changed. One such community that is leading this effort is in the Plainedge School District, where an organization called the Plainedge Tax Relief Association (PTRA) was created. That organization has galvanized the community to write letters to their state legislators and the legislative leaders, and during the final week of the budget process, a phone-a-thon has been organized. All residents in the community have been sent a list of legislators to contact to obtain the fair share of state aid, for Plainedge as well as for the rest of Nassau County.
In Albany, Assemb. Joseph Saladino (R-Massapequa) has proposed a bill, A07702, that would include the regional cost approach in the state-aid formula analysis. Saladino has indicated that he is pushing for a companion bill in the State Senate and that he would be requesting that his minority leadership support this effort.
With the intent of passing a budget on time for the second straight year, by April 1, 2006, all parties are aware that this is the final week to have an effect on this year's budget. This is best described by Phil Toscano, co-chairman of PTRA: "We need tax relief from Albany this year. We cannot fail, because the stakes are too high—that is the future of our children's education."
Craig Heller
Craig Heller, an attorney, is co-chairman of PTRA.