http://www.newsday.com/long-island/nassau/guv-holding-back-school-aid-could-mean-tax-hikes-1.1652125?cmpid=nl_newsday_now
Gov. David A. Paterson's announcement that the state will withhold school aid funds due beginning this week could result in some Long Island school districts raising taxes to cover their losses, officials said Sunday.
A delay in expected state revenue means some districts will have to borrow money to meet current operating expenses, the officials said. And borrowing money - typically by issuing bonds - will saddle districts with unplanned interest payments.
That, in turn, means either eventual cuts in service or property tax increases in next year's school budgets.
"We don't have enough in reserves to cover the end of the year," said Herman Sirois, the Levittown superintendent. "It absolutely is passing the problem onto our local taxpayers. It's just another hidden tax."
The withholdings will amount to 10 percent of direct aid to school districts and 19 percent of STAR payments districts are to receive from the state beginning Dec. 28.
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Cuts in school aid is what the BOE has been worrying about all along and why they want to be conservative in the teacher negotiations. How this will affect the cash flow of our district needs to be determined.
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