Editorial

Get involved in the school budget process

Posted

Next year, more than $5.5 billion in taxpayer money will be spent educating students in Nassau County alone. That’s not chump change.

In the coming weeks and months, local school districts will be planning their 2016-17 budgets, deciding how to allocate their pieces of that very large pie. It’s our right to have a say in how that money will be spent. We’re the ones, after all, who send it to Albany — which sends some of it back in the form of state aid — and pay it directly to districts through property taxes.

In recent years, districts have had to make difficult decisions as financial pressures on schools mounted. Rising health insurance and pension costs, the implementation of the property tax cap and declining state aid have meant cuts in programs and staff, and in some cases, closed schools.

This year, state aid should be on the rise (as detailed in our accompanying editorial, "It's time to restore full state aid to schools") and many districts are likely to be able to start reversing those cuts. But it’s as important as ever for Board of Education trustees and administrators to hear from the public when planning next year’s budgets. School officials want to produce spending plans that will earn your support in May, which is why residents need to be involved in the process early.

District officials’ decisions on how to spend taxpayer money need to reflect the community’s needs and wants. Voters should also be informed when they go to the polls, so public participation in budget meetings is beneficial to both sides, as schools officials and residents can learn from each other.

Whether or not you have children in the schools, you have an investment in the public education system. Budget meetings are listed in your school calendar and on the district’s website. Get involved by making it a point to attend at least one meeting in your school district in the coming months.