Bethpage-Tribune_1971-06-10

              Bethpage Public Librae
Setlro^etriki)e
Island Trees
VOL. 5 No. 31
Serving Bethpage - Plainview - Island Trees - Plainedge - Seaford
Thursday, June 10, 1971
Old Bethpage
10c par copy
Tobay Supports School Districts
In Attempt to Restore Tax Loss
BETHPAGE BEAUTY: Barbara Panico, 18, of Beth­page,
is an entrant in the annual Miss No-Cal Contest.
More than 1,000 girls will participate in a series of
auditions daring July and August to be held at the
Travelers Hotel, Queens.
Supreme Court Says Tucci
Can Hold School Board Post
According to a state
Supreme Court decision
announced Wednesday,
Island Trees school board
candidate James Tucci is
eligible to hold that post.
Although surprised by
the timing of the an­nouncement
(June 9, the
day ot the election), Tucci
noted that the court had
upheld his charge that the
C o m m i s s i o n e r of
Education had acted out of
his jurisdiction in
removing him from the
school board last year.
Ordered off the board by
Commissioner Ewald B.
Nyquist for an alleged
"incompatibility" of of­fices
(he is a member of
•the library board), Tucci
was noticeably happy at
W e d n e s d a y ' s an­nouncement.
While an appeal will be
made on the question of
whether Tucci can hold
both the library and school
seats at the same time, the
latest decision means he
can hold the school board
post, if elected.
Should the higher court
deny Tucci's appeal, an
earlier court decision
would make him ineligible
for the library board.
"In this event, 1 would
comply with the law", said
Tucci. "All I know is that
the law says 1 can sit on
the school board...that's
the main point."
Police Auction
Nassau Police Commissioner
Louis J. Frank reports county
police will conduct a public
auction on Saturday, June \%, in
the Emergency Equipment
Building, rear of Police
Headquaters, 1490 Franklin Ave,
Mineola.
Stolen and unclaimed bicycles,
auto parts, cameras, clothing,
(Continued on Page 4)
The Oyster Bay Town Board
has lodged an official protest with
the New York State Board of
Equalization and Assessment
because a tentative equalization
rate, if approved, would have a
detrimental financial impact
upon the school districts in the
Town.
Town Supervisor Joljn W.
Burke said the Town Board has
approved a resolution and filed a
formal complaint with the State
because the tentative
equalization rate represents a
drop of more than 10 percent,
down to 25 percent from the 28
percent now in use. The
equalization rate is a complex
formula employed by the State in
an attempt to compensate for
varying yardsticks used by local
tax assessors in measuring the
values of real property in their
respective communities.
Budgets Go Down
In All 3 Districts
It was "bad news" all around
for school budgets yesterday, as
residents voted "no" on proposed
budgets in Bethpage, Island
Trees and Plainedge.
Bethpagers voted 1805 to 1431
against the school levy. They also
defeated the library budget by
100 votes and a special
proposition funding the school
cafeteria by 500.
For the school board seat of
Joseph Dawson, Richard Gor­man
(1483 votes) bested Robert
Santangelo (1097) and Arthur
Paretti (622). Mrs. Betty Regan
garnered 1576 votes against 1136
for Alan Vorwald and 459 for
Eileen Garren, for the seat, held
by Sol Fink.
Finally, Herman Slavin (1655)
won the job now held by Lee
Hilton, beating /Paul Krinsky
(1380), while Louis Silverman
was defeated for the Library
Board by Mrs. Muriel Taylor,
1282 to 614.
In Island Trees, the school
budget went down, 1413 to 788,
and the library levy was refused,
1361 to 947. A proposition for
summer recreation also was
defeated, 1571 to 722.
Louis DiMitri beat Lawrence
Berke, 1246 to 1078, and James
Tucci bested Anthony Pfarrer,
1281 to 1137, in school trustee
contests. . Pfarrer won an un­contested
21-day term with 1036
votes, while Carolyn Stowe beat
Harold Craig, 1209 to 1060, for a
position on the Library Board.
Plainedge voters made the
loudest noise, downing their
budget 2-1 (3000 to 1498). The
library budget was passed,
however, 2248 to 2231.
In electoral contests, Franklyn
McGrath defeated Charleb
"The net result to school
districts in Oyster Bay cannot be
immediately calculated," Burke
said. "However, two immediate
examples are, in Massapequa
where Donald Stayne, business
manager for the Massapequa
School District, has estimated a
monetary loss of slightly over one
million ($1,000,000) dollars in
reduced State Aid; Dr. Edward J.
Murphy, Superintendent of
Schools for Syosset, said the
proposed equalization rate will
mean an estimated reduction of
$475,000 to his district.
School districts have no legal
standing before the State Board
of Equalization and Assessment
on this, matter, so the Town Board
is taking action on their behalf. In
an effort to have an orderly and
uniform approach to the protest.
Burke said he would work with
Dr. Murphy to collate an ef-
IIIIIIIIIIIlltlllllllllllllltltllfllllllUlltlllllMttllMlllflllHIIitllltl tltllillll lillllllllllllllllllllllfllllllllillll
fective data - gathering base.
Burke added that, based on
prior years, the tentative
reduction in the rate appears
quite precipitous and will be
extremely difficult to absorb.
"I have announced austerity
measures applicable to the
Town's budgeted expenditures
for the current year because of a
loss of $1,100,000 in State
assistance," Burke said. "We are
therefore extremely sensitive to
any formula reduction which will
have a telling effect on available
aid and, especially, the financial
assistance applicable to the
school districts.
"The impact to school
programs, if the tentative rate is
approved, will be enormous and
the taxpayer - either through a
loss in services or an increase in
taxes - will be the one to suffer."
(Continued on Page 4)
Plainview Senior Citizens had a grand day's outing
recently through the efforts of four local organizations
- the Plainview Service Unit of The Salvation Army,
and the Plainview chapters of the American Legion,
Kiwanis and the Veterans of Foreign Wars. The forty-six
members of the Senior Citizens Club of Plainview
were taken by bus to the Capital Hotel in Lake wood,
New Jersey for a full day's entertainment, including
luncheon, dinner and floor show.
In the above photo, Club Director Mrs. Florence
Gelormini and Assistant Mrs. Blanche Burstein greet
their guests while others bidding their good-byes are
(extreme left) Robert Reynolds, Past Commander,
American Legion and (left to right in front of bus) Dr.
Charles Artale, Chairman of the Salvation Army
Plainview Service Unit; William Perett, Nassau
Director for the Salvation Army and Edward Reginald,
Commander, Veterans of Foreign Wars. ,,
REMEMBER FLAG DAY
«**