Valley Stream Central High School District adopts 2010-11 budget
Spending up less than 1 percent, tax levy to raise 2.99 percent
The Valley Stream Central High School Board of Education adopted its 2010-11 budget of $100.7 million on April 6, cutting $1.4 million in staff and services. The plan would increase spending less than 1 percent over the current budget, and has a tax levy increase of 2.99 percent.
Residents of District 13 would likely see their high school taxes go down, while residents of Districts 24 and 30 should expect increases.
Two school board members, Cristobal Stewart and Tony Iadevaio, voted against the plan. “I am still against this budget the way it stands,” Iadevaio said, referring to cuts in special education funding.
Stewart agreed. “I have already voiced my opposition to the cuts to special education,” he said, “and my position has not changed.”
According to Dr. Bill Heidenreich, assistant superintendent for personnel, the proposed budget would eliminate two full-time special education teachers and one part-time teacher. Heidenreich explained that the state determines the ratio of special education students to teachers.
The 2010-11 spending plan would remove special education teachers from ninth and 10th grade English inclusion classes, as well as from ninth grade social studies, where they would be replaced by teaching assistants. “The reason we selected those [classes] is because they don’t culminate in a Regents exam,” Heidenreich said.
Valley Stream resident Carmen Morales spoke out against the special education cuts, saying that the district spends less on special ed. programs than other central high school districts, like Bellmore-Merrick and Sewanhaka. “We need to stop taking away from our disabled students,” Morales said, noting that Valley Stream spends 11 percent of its budget on special education, while Bellmore-Merrick and Sewanhaka each spend about 15 percent.
Superintendent Dr. Marc Bernstein explained that the district does not compile a budget with a target percentage for any program. He noted that the tax levy increases in Bellmore-Merrick and Sewanhaka are higher than in Valley Stream. “If there was more money available,” Bernstein said, “the recommendations would be different.”
