December 17, 2009

Dear Residents,

The New York State Legislature and Governor Paterson have recently been engaged in talks aimed at closing the state’s sizable budget deficit.  Even if there is no midyear reduction in state aid for the current school year, as proposed earlier by the Governor, there is still mention of delaying state aid payments to school districts or even withholding a portion of state aid payments. The situation is fluid and has the potential to be extremely disruptive to our children’s education. If state aid payments are delayed, North Babylon UFSD will have to borrow money and incur at least $85,000 in interest on such loans in order to maintain the necessary cash flow. 

North Babylon Board of Education Trustee, Audrey Jacullo and I serve on the R.E.F.I.T. (Reform Educational Financing Inequities Today) Board of Directors. R.E.F.I.T. is a consortium of school districts that have joined together to secure a fair and equitable share of New York State aid to education for their communities. To this end, Mrs. Jacullo and I recently traveled to Albany with other members of the R.E.F.I.T. Board of Directors. There we met with legislators to let them know our concerns. We also expressed our expectation that they will raise their collective voices in opposition to the Governor’s proposed delay and/or withholding of state aid payments to school districts.

This is the most difficult time in recent memory to construct a school budget, given the current instability in national, state and local economies. As we begin preparation of the proposed budget for the 2010-11 school year, we are ever mindful of the need to provide the very best education possible for the children we serve while being sensitive to the concerns of the taxpayers in this community.

On behalf of the North Babylon Board of Education, I wish to extend to you and your loved ones best wishes for a New Year filled with peace, health and happiness.

Sincerely,

Robert Aloise, Ed.D.