Wyandanch schools mull region's biggest tax hike

Long Island's poorest school district is mulling the region's biggest tax hike - a proposed 9.83 percent levy increase stemming from a $2.4 million shortfall in state aid that never materialized.

Wednesday night, a divided Wyandanch School Board is scheduled to consider options for balancing its budget that include a combination of the tax hike, layoffs of at least eight teachers and other staff, and cuts in sports. The proposed tax increase is more than triple the 3.24 percent hike estimated by the district last spring, when residents narrowly approved a $55 million budget on a revote.

The proposal would boost annual school taxes on an average Wyandanch home by $526, bringing the total to $5,263. That's because a 9.83 percent increase in the tax levy, which is the total amount of revenue raised by property taxes, leads to a tax rate increase of 11.11 percent.

Wyandanch already laid off 15 teachers in June, and offers only limited sports and other student activities.

"Oh my God, I don't know how to describe this - it's a combination of being exasperated and disappointed," said Pless Dickerson, the district superintendent.

Decision sought shortly

The district says it wants to reach a decision by Oct. 1; town officials say tax requests can be submitted through mid-October.

Alarmed residents call higher taxes unwarranted at a time when many barely scrape by financially.

"It's a little ridiculous," said Eduardo Ramirez Jr., a local homeowner and former board candidate. "There are a lot of people living on fixed incomes."

Residents of this Babylon Town community said responsibility for district troubles resides largely with some board members, recently accused of overspending and putting relatives on the payroll. Even with cuts, Wyandanch would spend about $25,000 per student, about $2,000 above the Island average.

Martin Greene, president of Wyandanch's 185-member teachers' union, said he was surprised to discover the district recently paid more than $300,000 to a Connecticut consulting firm for help in training staff. "You're really spending money you don't have," Greene said.

District officials respond that they have been forced to seek outside help in training and curriculum writing because they lack staff to do this themselves. They add that Wyandanch, like many districts serving poor communities, faces extra costs for services such as special education and school security.

State Education Department representatives confirm Wyandanch informed them of the $2.4-million shortfall earlier this month. Those representatives add that the district, like many others, soon will be notified of its eligibility for federal "Race to the Top" improvement grants. However, no details have been released on how much money Wyandanch might get, or when cash will be available. In any case, the money couldn't go to tax relief.

Wyandanch's taxable wealth is only 45 percent of the state's per-pupil average. Ninety-nine percent of the district's 1,900 students are either black or Hispanic; 63 percent qualify for subsidized lunches. State aid provides more than 60 percent of district revenue, compared with an Island average of 24 percent.

Class-size concerns

At Wyandanch Memorial High School, staffers say further layoffs could push class sizes beyond 30 students each and thwart efforts to boost academic achievement.

"Looking at our scores, we're going to take a tremendous hit," said Paul Sibblies, the school's new principal.

Wyandanch officials acknowledge they took an optimistic approach to budgeting last spring - some residents would say unrealistic - when they assumed they would receive as much state aid this year as last. At the time, Gov. David A. Paterson had proposed an aid cut of nearly $1 million for the district as part of broader plans to close a state budget deficit.

In addition, state lawmakers had warned Wyandanch it could not count on renewal of $1.4 million in special grants received last year.

Still, Wyandanch leaders contend the district deserves extra state assistance, due to special circumstances. During the past two years, the district says it has reduced an accumulated budget deficit under state orders from nearly $4 million to less than $500,000, while also boosting test scores enough to remove two schools from a state low-performance list. "We're doing what we're supposed to do, and now we're being spanked for it," said board president Denise Baines.