Editorial: Taxpayers prepare

There’s nothing surprising about a school administrator complaining that Albany and its unfunded mandates, its tests conducted in vacuums and now its 2-percent tax cap are making life hard. If they could listen in to the moaning at every school board meeting across the state, taxpayers from Buffalo to Montauk would hear a very loud chorus singing that tune as budget time rolls around.

Here on Shelter Island, the numbers recited by Superintendent Michael Hynes seem to make the case that he is no Chicken Little with his warning that there’s a real challenge at hand: barring any surprises in revenues from state aid or rule changes that result in reduced costs, the School Board has to make serious cuts in programs and staffing, or both, to keep the 2012-2013 budget from exceeding the state’s new 2-percent cap.

The School Board and its former superintendent did a good job last year coming up with a lean budget that raised spending only .97 percent. This year, according to Dr. Hynes, fixed costs, which the board cannot cut, will force a 4.5 percent increase in spending if no other cuts were made and no new revenues found. He blamed the squeeze on contracted salary increases, health insurance and fuel bills, none of which the board can reduce.

To keep a lid on spending last year, the board cut the librarian’s job and reduced a few other positions from full-time to part-time. The librarian has since returned to a part-time job.

This time, as Dr. Hynes tells it, even harsher cuts will be required to keep the budget and its associated tax rate within limits. Push is coming to shove. That may not be a bad thing for taxpayers, many of whom need a break from ever-rising bills. The question is will the upcoming cuts be a bad thing for the students at the Shelter Island School.

The answer to that question always will be a matter of opinion and conjecture. The issue gets right to the heart of the crisis in education in America. Our kids are falling behind students elsewhere in the world. The fault lies not so much with the schools as with a culture that celebrates mindless consumerism and shortcuts to short-term rewards. A decline in the stability and cultural influence of the basic unit of every community — the family — is also a factor.

Those trends make the schools more important than ever across the country as the resource of last resort, not only for educating American children but teaching them ethics, morals and community values — things they used to learn at home and through the popular culture.

If cutbacks mean eliminating basic courses of study, extracurricular activities and athletic programs, the Shelter Island School and its students definitely would be hit hard.

Should the board present taxpayers with a budget in May that exceeds the 2-percent tax cap and risk failing to get the required 60-percent “yes” vote at the polls? If that proposal were to fail, the board would have to present a new proposal that met the 2-percent limit on a tax increase. As Dr. Hynes has warned, that would mean cutting more than four percent or more than $400,000 from the current budget. That is a very big hit in one year.

What to do? This year, especially, taxpayers should stay informed and get involved in the annual budget process. The School Board has scheduled budget sessions for February 13 and 29 and March 12, all at 6:30 p.m. Go if you care about the kids.