Tax cap forces deep East Rockaway school cuts

The East Rockaway Junior High School sports program is just one of the potential casualties of the district’s attempt to balance its 2012-13 budget. A preliminary version of the spending plan was presented to the public on March 8 in the third of four budget agenda meetings.

“We have to deal with it,” said Superintendent Roseanne Melucci, acknowledging that there is a lot of “anger, disappointment, denial and resentment” directed at some of the proposed cuts. “We’re in a difficult situation. There were some hard choices, but we’ll get through this, and East Rockaway public schools will move forward.”

According to the preliminary plan, junior high sports would be replaced by intramural competition, three elementary classes would be eliminated, one of two elementary school librarians would be let go, monitor hours would be reduced at all buildings, club activity would be reduced district-wide, and the popular Greenkill trip, a nature retreat for sixth-graders, now in its second decade, would be cut.

“This is not a surprise,” said Melucci. “With the tax levy cap, we knew it was coming. In the past few years, we’ve safeguarded our fund balances and reserves.” She added that the district has been fortunate in the last two budget cycles to preserve many of its programs through limited cuts, retirements and last-minute revenue.

The state-mandated tax levy cap went into effect last June, and, allowing for adjustments, East Rockaway’s cap is 2.26 percent.

“There are state and federal mandates,” said Marcy Tannenbaum, the district’s director of finance and operations. “With the state academic standards, no increase in state aid, losing a stimulus package, [being] impacted by bargaining unions … we now have a brand new factor bearing down on us: the 2 percent tax levy cap.”

Tannenbaum said that $1.4 million had to be cut from the initial budget plan for it to conform to the guidelines and mandates. Next year, she explained, the district will no longer receive the Education Job Fund; health insurance rates are expected to rise by 10 percent; an $18,000 sewer tax will be shifted to the schools; and the county will try to make the school district responsible for paying residents’ tax grievance “wins.”