1973-03-08

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SERVING THE GREATER FARMINGDALE AREA, BETHPAUL ,
.1INGDALE
MELVILLE
VOL. 10 NO. 29 Second Class Postage has been paid at Farmingdaie, N. Y. 11735
Published by THE OBSERVER, Inc.. Box 146, Farmingdaie, N. Y. Thursday, March 8, 1973 » 15c
Sllversrnitn
A New Store In Town
Located in the South Far­mingdaie
Shopping center
near the South Farmingdaie
Library at 3- 4 North West
Drive, Evans Jewelers &
Silversmiths, Inc., opened in
mid- February ( left). Mr.
Murray Evans, a jeweler
since 1946, will serve as a
franchise dealer in Hamilton
and SEIKO watches and offers
expert diamond resetting as a
specialty. Other services
include fine watch repair,
plating of all types, polishing
and engraving. A complete
selection of charms, rings and
silverware is available. Store
hours are 9: 45 to 5: 45 Monday
through Friday and 9: 35 to 5
on Saturday. Seen below are
Mr. and Mrs. Murray Evans,
owner of Evans Jewelers &
Silversmith, Inc.
Photos: Hank Schleichkorn
Major School Tax Hike Looms
Despite Minor Budget Boost
Fact one: The first draft of the Farmingdaie school budget, which does not
include provisions for teachers and other employees salaries, shows an increase
in expenditures of one per cent, certainly a low figure in this day and age. Fact
two: The school tax may go up more than 10 per cent. Question: How can a
budget increase of one per cent result in a more than 10 per cent tax boost?
Like a Chinese restaurant
menu, the answer consists of two
parts. Part A is already men­tioned
above: This first budget
proposal does not contain
provisions for salaries and in­crements.
Teachers and other
school district employees, who
last year received some $ 14.2 mil.
out of the budget total of less than
$ 25 mil. are negotiating a new
contract. Whatever the outcome
of these discussions may be, they
are certain to result in a higher
figure. If, for instance, an across-the-
board increase of 5 per cent
were to go into effect, some
$ 700,000 wouk have to be added
to the expenditures, equaling a
tax rate hike of 73 cents in the
Oyster Bay part of the school
district and $ 1.04 in the Babylon
part.
Part B of the answer is even
more complicated than part A.
Reduced to the bare essentials
the explanation is that the school
district has lost considerable
revenue which has to be made up
by increased taxation. The
revenue loss and the one per cent
budget increase require a tax
rate boost of 88 cents in Oyster
Racial Incident at High School
Heated Topic at Board Meeting
Comments and charges about
the racial incident in the High
School last Wednesday filled the
public participation part of the
Farmingdaie School Board
Meeting on Monday evening. The
school board and Dr. William
Kinzler Superintendent, made
little comment however because
of the hearings which began
Tuesday.
Five students, 3 white and 2
black, were suspended for five
days after the incident. This is
the maximum length of
suspension without the legal
proceedings of hearings. Three
hearings were held on Tuesday,
another one was postponed until
Monday. Another hearing will not
be held, since one of the students
involved has withdrawn from the
school in the meantime.
Dr. Kinzler acts as judge and
jury. The students involved have
the right to counsel and if their
parents reject Dr. Kinzler's
decision, they have the right to
appeal to the school board, then
the Commissioner of Education
and then the courts.
In a letter which had been sent
to the parents of Farmingdaie
High School students, Dr. Kinzler
said that the administration was
•• determined to take firm action
in preventing the continuation oj
these disruptive actions." In
regard to the hearings he stated
at the board meeting he " will do
as the evidence indicates."
Among the charges from the
public were that nothing was
being done, that the ad­ministration
was covering up
other incidents, particularly
where blacks had threatened
whites and that what applies to one
should apply to others. Those who
made the charges would not give
their names for publication.
( Another witness has stated that
white students goading black
students has been part of the
problem.)
One specific suggestion with
which Board President Campbell
agreed was that visitors to the
school should be required to sign
out as well as in.
Fran Sigmon, a former
teacher's aide in the cafeteria,
commented that the blame for
the incidents should go to the
school board, the administration
and to the principals. She said the
aides knew where the problem
was and she asked for an op­portunity
to discuss it with Dr.
Kinzler. She would not comment
further publicly.
At the board meeting, Trustee
Terry Weathers announced that
lie has decided not to seek re
election to the school board. He
expects to retire in January, 19',' 1
and he and his wife plan to travel
Weathers has served on the
Farmingdaie School Board for 15
years. His contributions were
praised by board members and
Dr. Kinzler.
Students with achievement in a
variety of academic areas were
honored at the board meeting.
Kathy Ringwald from East
Memorial School, the Regional
Spelling Champion was in­troduced.
Massapequa, Seaford,
and Plainedge are the other
schools in the region.
Toby Elbaum, the senior editor
of the yearbook, is a finalist for
the Alicia Patterson Newsday
Scholarship. Andrea Dugre is a
recipient of the National Council
of Teachers of English award
based on her writing skill. George
Hart, Susan Schrick, and Daniel
Schwartzman are Merit
Finalists. Mark S. Nowolarki is
the school winner in the Betty
Crocker Future Homemakers of
Tomorrow contest and will be
competing for state honors.
The board of Education passed
a resolution declaring Wed­nesday,
March 14, as " Music in
our Schools Day.' The
retirement of Henry E. Von
Bargen, Stores Clerk in the
district for 13 years was ap
proved with commendation lor
his work. 43 Stall members were
granted tenure.
Marilyn Hanet/
Bay and almost $ 1.25 in Babylon.
Based on the Board of
Education's first budget proposal
and the assumption that salary
increases were to consume
$ 700,000, the tax rate would have
to be hiked by $ 1.66 per $ 100.00
assessed valuation in the Oyster
Bay part of the district, and $ 2.29
in the Babylon section. To use
dollars and cents this would
mean a school tax raise of close
to $ 100.00 per year on a home
assessed at $ 6,000 in Oyster Bay,
and $ 137.40 in Babylon.
The normally impressive fact
that the budget increase can be
held to just one per cent is
therefore not telling the whole
story. This increase amounts
only to $ 246,739, or 26 cents resp.
36.8 cents. Forgetting for a
moment the cost of a new con­tract
for the district's employees,
the real villain of the piece are
the courts and the State of New
York.
REDUCED ASSESSMENTS
The courts enter the picture
because they granted Fairchild-
Hiller a reduction in the assessed
valuation of their property within
the school district's jurisdiction
of $ 745,575. This alone amounts to
almost 79 cents of the Oyster Bay
or $ 1.22 of the Babylon tax rate.
The presence of the Metropolitan
Transportation Authority in the
Farmingdaie school district
resulted in a loss of $ 331,390 worth
of assessments. Between Fair-child-
Hiller and the MTA
$ 1,076,965 in ratables vanished,
which would have produced
$ 160,683 in revenue ( at the
Babylon rate, since these
properties are located in the
Town of Babylon).
In the Oyster Bay portion
assessed valuation actually in­creased
by $ 601,625, producing
$ 63,591 in new revenue.
The State of New York enters
the picture through its rigid aid
formula. State aid to education is
based on the average of all state­wide
school expenditures per
pupil as well as the assessments
in each district. Although con­ceived
to be even- handed, this
formula loses its fairness
because it does not immediately
react to changes in assessments.
Thus Farmingdale's aid
payments will be computed on
the basis of a valuation figure
that does not exist anymore. In
theory state aid to education
makes up for losses in
assessments, in practice it does
not. The result can be found in the
school board's budget proposal:
The item " estimated revenue
1973 74" shows a $ 172,564
decrease in aid payments.
LOSSES TOTAL $ 436,564
Contrasting with this loss of
ratables and state aid totaling
$ 333,247 in actual revenue ( to
which various other losses of
$ 103,317 have to be added) are
increases of $ 601,485 in operating
cost, most of which are beyond
the control of the school board.
By Act of Congress, for instance,
Social Security contributions by
employers were raised. This
added $ 150,000 to the school
district's expenditures. In­creased
demand for vocational
training, which under the law
must be fulfilled means $ 180,000
in additional payments to
BOCES. Utility costs, for fuel,
light, power, water and
telephone, are expected to eat up
an additional $ 61,000, and hikes in
insurance premiums will con­sume
an extra $ 51,000-
Of the slightly over $ 600,000 in
increased operating expenditures
some $ 350,000 will be absorbed
through economies, primarily in
the area of salaries. The
proposed budget shows this item
to exceed $ 140,000. Another major
saving is represented by a
reduction of almost $ 60,000 in
debt service.
Two great unknowns cloud the
budget picture, namely the cost
of the contract with the district's
employees, and the unfathomable
behavior of the Legislature.
As far as the contract is con­cerned
an added expenditure of
several hundred thousand dollars
( Continued on Page 10)
Youth Council Tops Library
The school budget is not the only one to be voted upon on May 2.
The Farmingdaie Youth Council and the Farmingdaie Library
will also put their figures on the line, which in one case might be
higher than the current year's in another, however, somewhat
lower.
Bucking the trend is the Farmingdaie Youth Council, which
expects to wind up its fiscal year with a surplus. Although all
figures have not yet been added up, council president Carl Dill
meyer leels confident enough to predict a budget containing a tax
decrease.
Over at the library they, loo, are still adding up the figure*.
Thus far they do not come out right. Although library director
Orin Dow reluses to go out on a limb, indications arc that a tax
increase, though not a major one, is in the w nul
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