We should soon be finding out if the board of education for the Westbury Union Free School District will move forward with the $173 million bond proposal introduced to the community for consideration last summer, or if amendment to this sum will be made following feedback from the public. Originally scheduled to be voted on via a public referendum last November, this project would facilitate the construction of a new middle school, and affect badly needed repairs to other buildings within a five year period if approved by the public, but the vote was postponed for a date to be announced.The school board must be given credit for its efforts to keep the community informed and involved in the process by scheduling flexible public tours of the buildings, the formation of a bond committee involving a cross section of community residents and business interests and for availing itself to participate in public forums organized by civic groups. But notwithstanding such outreach and attempts by the board to educate the public on the urgency of this need, there seems to be a great deal of nonchalance and downright opposition to this proposal, expressed vocally by folks via written communication and at public forums, and tacitly by those who show little or no interest in either forum or organized tours.
Criticism has been levied against the board of education for allowing the situation to get to this breaking point and not acting sooner, but I believe this is somewhat off –base, since the board of education has not been a constant entity over the years; school board members come and go, in fact, the only constant here is school board trustee Karin Campbell who has lost only one election since she was first elected to the board in 2003, and even if she were a proponent of new buildings over the years, hers is only one vote in a seven member team, so ascribing retroactive blame makes no sense in my opinion. We must also remember that attempts were made back in 2003 to address the problem which was even less acute at the time, but the $ 79 million bond referendum was rejected in February of that year.
Our school district is in this unique position of being the only district in Nassau County that is facing exponential growth with no sign of letting up—while our school population is expanding, neighboring districts are declining in growth to the extent that in some instances buildings are being shuttered. Failure to act on our part exposes us to law suits based on health and safety, and other compliance issues. Since this plan of action as proposed by the school board is to be financed largely by the tax payers of the district—notwithstanding the state reimbursement of 76.6 percent, some people feel trapped, and ambivalent; not wanting to deprive children of an education, but can’t afford the price tag, which does not even include the annual school budget which increases every year— notwithstanding Governor Cuomo’s 2 per cent tax cap.
Our community has demonstrated its resolve in recent times in being proactive and dealt with situations that were not in our best interest. Our leaders and elected officials banded together to address both the Bristal Assisted Living and the casino gambling matters and arrived at resolutions that benefitted our neighborhoods. I believe that our elected officials (at all levels) that seek our votes at one time or another, have enough ammunition to assist the board of education in making the case that ours is a unique situation that is not of our creation and should therefore be singled out for special dispensation in order to relieve the tax burden on the backs of residents who would like to remain in this community.
—Chester McGibbon
