Next Tuesday, May 20, voters throughout the state will go to the polls to vote on their local school budgets and to elect trustees to their boards of education. It's an important day for education in New York and I urge all of Roslyn's eligible voters to participate.

As I have written previously, I am very pleased that the proposed budget for 2008-09 includes a number of exciting curriculum innovations that I believe will be of great benefit to Roslyn's children. There are also capital improvement projects that will continue our long-term efforts to enhance the learning environment for children and preserve the community's investment in its school facilities. In addition to the school budget, voters will also decide on Proposition 3, which would authorize the Board of Education to expend $1.5 million from the Capital Reserve Fund for these projects. Because these funds were previously put into reserve just for this purpose, approval of Proposition 3 will involve no tax increase.

As I have also explained, the Summer Academic Program, alternative program for Roslyn High School, expanded foreign language offering beginning in grade 6, professional development in elementary literacy and differentiated instruction, and all of the other curriculum, capital and technology initiatives, are included in a budget-to-budget increase of 4.60 percent. This is only a fraction higher than the cost of a "roll-over" budget that would have contained no new programs at all. This has been accomplished through a comprehensive review of how we do business, which has yielded a number of cost-saving and revenue-enhancing measures, including refinancing of existing debt obligations and re-examining contracts for services in order to bring in more state aid.

All residents have been mailed a copy of the 2008-09 budget newsletter. One piece of information has been updated since the newsletter went to print, and it's good news for taxpayers. The Nassau County Department of Assessment provided updated data on May 2 that enabled us to change the estimate of next year's tax increase to 5.66 percent, which is lower than the estimate in the newsletter. A revised newsletter can be read at www.roslynschools.org, along with a great deal of additional budget information.

One of the most useful pages on the website is the "tax calculator," which enables residents to figure out how much their taxes this year may differ from what they will pay next year. Because of the many variables involved in determining assessed valuations, adjusted base proportions, equalization rates, tax rates and so on (mostly factors which are beyond the district's control), most residents will find that their taxes will not change by the exact amount of the estimate. Some will be higher than the estimate, some will be lower. The tax calculator takes some of the guesswork out of this process. All you need to know is your assessed valuation for the current year and for next year. If you don't know your assessed valuation, the tax calculator contains a link to the Department of Assessment where you can find that information in just a few minutes. (Please remember: tax projections are always based on the most current information available to the school district.)

Please take advantage of the extensive budget information that is available at www.roslynschools.org. And exercise your right to vote on May 20.