Roslyn taxpayers had better be prepared for another school tax hike this year. Mr. Helme, the current district superintendent, has submitted his proposed budget for 2005-06 of $83,475,279, an increase of almost 7 percent that would mean an approximate tax rate hike of at least 8.63 percent (final rates determined by the Nassau County Assessor's Office). There is also an additional supplemental budget being proposed of $5 million for capital improvements.

Despite a modest increase in total school enrollment for next year of less than 100 students, the budget continues to grow exponentially. Think about it: $83 million to educate 3450 children.

The board of education must now evaluate the budget proposal and determine what changes, if any, it will make before submitting a final budget to the taxpayers for a vote. Most of the funding for the school district comes directly from its residents who have the power to accept or reject the budget. But now is an opportunity for any and all residents to communicate directly to the board (e-mail address: roslynsd@roslynschools.org) about whether another increase in school taxes is appropriate. The budget for the schools has doubled in the past decade going from $40 million to now over $80 million while salaries and income for many have not matched that meteoric rise. Many in the community, including seniors, are feeling the burden of skyrocketing taxes.

Examining the budget line by line, one can see that there continues to be a blank check mentality and that cost containment is not apparent. For example, making the summer program and adult education self-sustaining, as they are in all other school districts, is not included in the superintendent's budget. There are many programs that have been in existence for many years and have never been evaluated to determine their efficacy or efficiency (e.g. parent/child, foreign language in the elementary school) and that have simply become part of the budget, continuing to grow over time.

It is time to ask the board of education to do more with less. The notion that the more money we throw at the schools, the better our children's education will be is simply fallacious. We need to make the administrators and educators accountable for the dollars being spent and demand that fluff be removed, even if it means fewer field trips, athletic teams and clubs. The operative word is fewer and the focus is not on the curriculum but on additional staff, furniture, computers, and co-curricular activities.

I am aware that hard choices are necessary. But there needs to be a limit on this spending, a cap. Not all of us have unlimited resources and many of us do not want our children emerging from the schools feeling entitled to absolutely everything. Maybe it is high time for a reality check.

Lea Dann