Mineola Superintendent of Schools Michael Nagler presented an $82.2 million school budget for 2011-2012 at last week’s school board meeting that would represent a 2.6 percent increase over this year and would result in a 3.6 percent increase in the tax levy.
Nagler called the proposal a first draft and said he hoped to eventually lower the tax levy increase to 2.5 percent or low with no reduction in school programs.
Nagler said the district expects state aid to decrease $600,000 and employee pension funds to increase $1.5 million. He said health care benefits also are increasing by $500,000, while total district salaries will decrease by $300,000 as a result of seven teachers retiring this year.
“One of the problems with the pension funds is after 10 years, according to law, teachers no longer have to pay 3 percent of their salary into pension funds,” Nagler said. “If teachers still paid into their pension, it would save the school district $900,000 a year and help pay down the levy.”
The draft budget excludes costs of adding staff or the anticipated revenue from leasing the Cross Street School.
Nagler also said that if the budget fails, the $1.7 million Hampton expansion project will be scrapped and $2 million will be moved to the capital reserve fund.
Nagler also made a presentation on the impact to the district of closing only one elementary school rather than closing two schools as the school board voted to do early last year. Closing only one facility would increase the 2012-13 tax levy to 6 percent due to the cost of maintaining the additional facility and adding staff to replace the seven teachers who are retiring.
Nagler presentation came in response to a letter from board members John McGrath Irene Parrino in a local newspaper in which they suggested that the district needed to only close the Cross Street School to consolidate the district.
Board president Terence Hale and Nagler both reacted angrily to McGrath’s letter.
“It felt like I had a knife put in my back, because it is now assured to me that two members of the board are clearly working against the best interest of the board,” Hale said. Hale’s comments were followed by enormous applause from the audience.
Nagler said the letter was “full of misconceptions” and a “personal attack” against himself.
“I don’t want to have to respond to this letter, but I’m afraid I’m forced to right now and it just bothers me that I have to even make a response,” Nagler said. “I had to scramble to come up with figures for this presentation when all you had to do was ask me.”
“I will print a retraction then,” replied McGrath.
This is the second occasion in recent months when McGrath has been publicly criticized for airing his opinions in print rather than introducing them to the board. He had previously suggested that Mineola propose merging its school district with the Herricks School District.
On another front, the board approved a resolution to bring a lawsuit against the county, fighting a newly enacted sewer tax by the county Legislature.
The sewer tax would cost the district an estimated $90,000, according to Nagler.
“Our lawyers told us the total fees for the case would only be $10,000, so if we win this suit, it’s well worth the money,” Nagler said.
