Lindy Residents Speak about School Budget 2011-12

With school budget and Board of Education elections upon us, Lindenhurst Patch has compiled what fellow residents have said about the .

This is a sampling of what residents of all ages have said at various meetings and shared with Patch. If you have a comment about the budget, then please post it in the box below.

, resident, BOE Community Forum, April 28: “We have a decent sports community, but we really need the academic programs…I’m sorry the ninth grade athletics were cut, but you don’t cut where we’re weak. Look at the scores.”

, Lindenhurst Council of PTAs president, same meeting: “Sports are important, too. What about those 126 kids without ninth-grade sports? They could be out on the field or maybe making poor choices…The cuts have to be across the boards…The community also needs to see a line by line, and needs to send a message to Albany about unfunded mandates…We’re bleeding. We’re angry. We need leadership.”

, resident, same meeting: “It would take years to fix the system. And not for sports, not in place of educating kids.”

Brian Williams, student, same meeting: “I give the board credit. They’ve been working hard with as little room as possible, with everyone wanting them to cut this and save that.”

Florence Nerich, senior and resident, same meeting: “The governor makes $179,000. The superintendent, $200,000. There should be a cut. The teachers should leave their salaries where they are. They should be happy to have jobs. There are a lot of people out work. This village is what it is today because of the senior citizens. My kids went to Catholic school, yet I voted, got names to get the schools built in the 1950s-60s…I’m on Social Security and for the third year there’s no raise…The board should keep the taxes at the same rate as last year with no increase. You need to help the elderly people.”

, resident, same meeting: “I’ve been to most of the budget meetings budget workshops, and was encouraged by what I heard, that the tax rate would be kept at around four percent. I thought that was a ceiling, and I’m quite disappointed.”

, , Meet the Candidates, April 27: “Despite the board’s numerous statements about being fiscally responsible to the taxpayers and despite numerous pleads by the taxpayers for restraint, this budget does not indicate any fiscal concern.”

Gus Hansmann, senior and resident, Daniel Street Civic Association meeting following Superintendent Richard Nathan’s budget presentation, May 9: “Teachers work 182 days. The rest of us, about 240 – if you figure 50 weeks is 250, minus vacation or sick days, working with round numbers. They work three-quarters of what we do.”

, , Budget Adoption Workshop, April 13: “I’m really pleased. I feel [the board’s] listened and looked out for our interest, and maintained music, arts and education programs.”

Karen Stephan, resident, same meeting: “No one’s going to pay [almost] seven percent…and if this was attached to income it would save our town.”

Sy Razler, retired teacher, Personnel Workshop, March 23: “The budget process is a mess. When the money is limited, you’re going to have squabble between the community and the board.”