As a parent and taxpayer, I have carefully read the Great Neck Public Schools Preliminary Working Budget for July 1, 2013-June 30, 2014.
While it is a very lengthy document with much data, certain important issues are not presented.
These issues have neither been asked of the school board nor of the administration, either at budget meetings or by the press.
First, while the number of teachers being dismissed is indicated, what is the actual impact on education – what programs are being cut? Are class sizes going to increase?
Presumably, if the school district has been an efficient organization until now, the loss of the number of teachers being mentioned will have an impact on one or both of these aspects of the educational process.
Second, while staff reduction is proposed, the one area not mentioned is administration. There are cuts of teachers and support staff. What about administrators? One would think that, given their salaries and their functions, the least detrimental impact on the students and greatest cost benefit would be to cut some administrators.
However, I have not seen any indication of this.
Moreover, while teachers and support staff are being cut, it appears that the salaries of the administrators are increasing. Comparing the salaries of the administrators from this past year to those proposed for next year, upon careful analysis, one can see that the raises of administrators range from $7,000 to $25,000. While administrators may not have received raises last year, it’s unconscionable that they should be receiving up to 10 percent raises in today’s economy (particularly in the public sector), especially when teachers are being laid off. Administrators should be reining in costs, not cutting staff as they receive raises.
These are the issues that the public needs to understand in order to intelligently consider the appropriateness of the budget. In truth, for the average taxpayer, the gross numbers provided in the budget obfuscate their meaning.
How can the budget be approved by the public if the public does not understand the true impact that this budget has on the education of its students?
Dr. Paul Brody
Great Neck
