Superintendent: state aid ‘woefully inadequate’

The East Meadow School District is slated to receive $36.74 million in state aid in Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s recently proposed 2014-15 budget, about $387,000 more than it received this year, a 1.07 percent increase.

Despite the increase, Superintendent Louis DeAngelo said it is not enough to help the district meet even its current expenses. “We are very concerned,” DeAngelo said. “The amount that has been put forth by the government is woefully inadequate.”

Since Cuomo instituted a 2 percent tax levy cap in 2011, districts across the state have been faced with tough financial decisions, forced to cut staff or programs, or both, to stay within the cap — or proposing to exceed it, which requires supermajority voter approval.

The East Meadow district has not yet needed to exceed the cap, and last year it passed a budget that managed to avoid cutting staff or programs. In fact, the district set the 2013-14 tax levy well below what was allowed under the state tax-cap legislation in order to relieve the financial burden on residents.

This year, however, may be different. DeAngelo noted that receiving the full amount of proposed state aid is contingent on the district’s eligibility for certain programs. The total that is allotted, he said, is rarely seen, which is the case for most districts.

Additionally, state law requires districts to abide by a formula for the cap that uses either the 2 percent figure or the consumer price index — whichever is lower. This year, the CPI is approximately 1.46 percent, further limiting what districts can collect from taxpayers.

Taking into account teacher retirement costs, health benefits and other contractual agreements, DeAngelo said, the cap would be very restricting. “Just keeping everything as usual,” he said, “it’s impossible for us to meet with the 1.46 [percent formula].”
The superintendent said he remained hopeful that East Meadow’s state representatives will fight to get the district more aid.

Assemblyman Tom McKevitt, who represents and lives in East Meadow, said the district’s allotment of state aid is “a number I’m very unhappy with.