Bethpage-Tribune_1976-04-01

              BETHB^GE
BEIHPA6E PBBLIt LIBRARY
§1 0 , f t ^
\ \ 1 \ 4
OLD BETHIMiE
also serving ISLAND TREES
PLA1NVIEW PLAINEDGE SEAFORD
Vol. 10 No. 19 Thursday, April 1, 1976 10 cents per copy
I.T. Board Faces Criticism
On Controversial Book Issue
GOP Spirit: celebrates at Levittown / Island Trees Republican Club
Dance last Saturday night at Levittown Hall. New Executive Leader,
Robert MacDonald, (Press Secretary to Nassau County GOP leader
Joseph Margiotta), was on hand to greet 400 of the party faithful.
Standing next to "Bob" as he waves to the crowd is his beaming wife,
Jean. The MacDonalds reside in Bethpage. Photo by Ferlise
ckmcm
HOW IS PROPERTY ASSESSED?: That's the question being an­swered
by Angelo Roncallo of Massapequa, a member of the Nassau
County Board of Assessors, as part of his presentation before the
Bethpage High School PTA. Looking on is Eileen Garren of Beth-page,
PTA president. Organizations interested in obtaining a
speaker on assessment and property taxation can contact the
Board's Taxpayer Information Bureau at 535-2790.
Tax Reforms
For Senior Citizens
"Please, I ask each of you to
excersise the maximum amount
of restraint," Superintendant
Richard Morrow said to a
standing room only crowd of
almost 600 people at Island Trees
monthly board meeting last
Tuesday night. But the catcalls
and jeers persisted as com­munity
controversy over the
Local College Editors
Appear On TV Show
Vincent Papsidero, of Old-
Bethpage, and Bill James, of
Hicksville, are among four
student editors from the Nassau
Community College campus
newspaper, Vignette, who will
participate in NBC's
"Tomorrow" show on April 1 at 1
p.m. Mr. Papsidero is Editor-in-chief
and Mr. James is the acting
news edi tor of Vignette.
Some 80 college editors and
reporters from around the
country will join the news con­ference
hosted by Tom Snyder,
with the questions being aimed,at
a group of political and en­tertainment
notables.
The other Nassau College
newsmen attending the show are
Steve Rodin, of Farmingdale,
business manager, and Ken
Nugent, of Hempstead, reporter.
As a result of a series of in­tensive
meetings, the Legislative
Advisory Committee to the
Nassau County Department of
Senior Citizen Affairs has
presented a package of suggested
reforms, to alleviate the burden
of real estate taxes on elderly
homeowners and apartment
dwellers. In its report, the
Committee states that the ar­bitrary
cut-off concept of the
present tax abatement law
($6500) is "unsound",
"regressive" and "morally in­defensible".
The following tax abatement
proposals were unanimously
adopted:
1. a) the "circuit breaker"
concept, which limits the amount
boards decision to take nine
•objectionable" books off library
shelves continued.
The meeting, which ended past
midnight, provided the audience
(which included many teachers
and students), the board, and Dr.
Morrow, with a chance to express
their opinions concerning the
book removal. Dr. Morrow, in his
first public statement on the
matter, said, "There is no
question that under the New York
State Education Law, a local
Board of Education has the
ultimate responsibility to ap­prove
or disapprove reading
materials which will be used in
the schools...However, I feel it is
wrong for a board...to remove
books without prolonged prior
consideration of parents whose
children read these books, and
the teachers who use these books
to instruct."
Dr. Morrow continued, "It is
wrong to judge any book on the
basis of brief excerpts from it. I
believe it is wrong to take action
based on a list prepared by
someone outside the Island Trees
community...! believe it was
wrong to by-pass the established
proceedure for reviewing the
challenged books." Dr. Morrow
suggested that a "book review
committee" be appointed and the
books be reviewed as soon as
possible (a motion by the board
setting up just such a committee
had been passed unanimously
earlier during the regualar
meeting). The super intendant
recommended that in the in­terim,
the challenged books be
returned to the shelves. He also
urged the public and press "to
refrain from further charges and
recriminations" concerning the
matter.
The audience exhibited Jekyll-
Hyde qualities when, after
quietly and attentively listening
to Dr. Monro's statement, they
began interrupting Board
President Richard Ahrens
statement with jeers and
mocking remarks. Ahrens,
remarkably calm under the
pressure, defended the board's
action as in compliance with the
New York State Education Law.
He then read sections from the
Croft Manual and the teachers'
contract in defense of the board's
position.
Ahrens and the board
proceeded to distribute passages
from the books in question, in­cluding
Malamud's The Fixer.
"We believe, that after you have
read some of the passages in
these books, you may want us,
the board of education, to file a
grievance on your behalf against
(Continued on Page 13}
of real estate taxes that can be
collected for specific percentages
of income, in a system that
provides for income tax credits
or refunds for the excess over the
prescribed percentages. Circuit
breaker tax relief is now used in
26 states, and provided a
graduated scale to be used as to
the amount of money credited or
rebated, up to a maximum of
$750, with senior citizens
receiving a maximum of $1000.
As an example, a senior citizen
family earning $8000 (adjusted
gross income) with property
taxes exceeding 6,percent of their
income would be entitled to a tax
credit for all monies paid for
(Continued on Page 13}
Bob Morris, manager of the Green Point Bank in Island Trees poses with a replica of the oldest flag
in the United States. It dates back to the early 1600s and was utilized by the Minutemen who gathered
at Concord Bridge on April 19,1775. It is still in use in Bedford, Mass.
Behind, Morris is a display of 12 American flags that hold important places in our history. These
flags will be on display at the Green Point Bank, 3721 Hempstead Turnpike, at Wantagh Avenue, until
April 10. After that the display will travel to other Green Point branches as part of the Bank's
Bicentennial celebration. Photo by Ferlise