Seaford’s goal: restore programs

Seaford School District leaders are looking to reverse a years-long trend of budget cuts, which has led to increased class sizes and fewer opportunities for students. The district will hold its first budget presentation next week, as the Board of Education works to adopt a spending plan by early April.

“We’re not going to be in a position this year to bring back everything all at once,” Superintendent Brian Conboy said. “We’re looking to begin the restoration of some of these programs if we can.”

There are still many unanswered questions, because Gov. Andrew Cuomo has not yet released preliminary state aid numbers for school districts, an uncharacteristic delay that has left administrators making best guesses about next year’s revenue. Conboy said it is like operating with a blindfold, and that Cuomo’s decision to withhold the information in order to advance his own agenda is immoral. “I can’t emphasize enough how poor a decision this is by the governor,” he said.

Cuomo is seeking reforms in the teacher evaluation process, known as the Annual Professional Performance Review. The evaluation system, which now partially ties teacher ratings to student test results, was approved two years ago. Conboy said that Cuomo played a big part in its implementation, but when he didn’t get the results he wanted, he washed his hands of it, blaming everyone else.

“He’s actually holding the children hostage because the schools cannot prepare their budgets accurately,” said State Assemblyman David McDonough (R-Merrick), whose district includes Seaford. “That means that the schools have to operate based on the figures they had from last year.”

McDonough said that in his 14 years in the State Legislature, preliminary numbers for school districts have always been released within hours of the governor’s budget address. While those figures were not final, they were starting points.