School Opens With Talk of Tax Cap & A New Web Site

by Melany Gray

Chatsworth Principal, Gail Boyle (kneeling), introduced herself to one shy student on Wednesday, September 3, while other kids found their caregivers at the end of their first day of school.

Less traditional were Dr. Fried’s critical remarks on an Albany proposal to cap school tax increases at 4%. Another departure from recent years was the relatively scant news on summer construction.

School Tax Cap Issue Important for District

Dr. Fried characterized the 4% tax cap as “the newest threat to quality public education in New York State.” The proposal, supported by the governor and Senate, would lift requirements for a budget vote in school districts with proposed tax rate increases of less than 4% or 120% of the Consumer Price Index. Larger budgets would require support by 55% of the voters or 65% in districts that have received state aid increases of 5% or more. The Assembly eschewed the cap in favor of a “circuit breaker” that would reduce the amount of property tax owed by individuals in particular income brackets.

Acknowledging that taxes in Westchester were too high and that relief was necessary, Dr. Fried nevertheless described the tax cap as “a simplistic answer to a very complicated question.” He warned that if the tax cap is enacted, it “stands to cripple public education, here in Mamaroneck and especially in the more economically challenged districts around the county.” He encouraged all present to “pay close attention to this issue in the days and months ahead.”

Dr. Fried’s comments landed squarely in the midst of what is turning out to be a hot issue in two local political races. Larchmont Mayor Liz Feld, a Republican running to capture the Senate seat held since 1984 by Democrat Suzi Oppenheimer, has made the tax cap a prominent theme in her campaign.

When asked to comment on Dr. Fried’s remarks, Ms. Feld pointed out that the tax cap is supported by 74% of New Yorkers and while it is not a “a magic bullet,” the tax cap “is a critical piece of overall property tax relief.” Other pieces that she supports are mandate relief and a fairer distribution of New York State aid to Westchester school districts. She added, “thousands of families, seniors, and small businesses have left Westchester County in the last several years because they can no longer afford the taxes.”

Senator Oppenheimer, in contrast, agreed with Dr. Fried and called the cap “not good for the children's education or for our property values, which rely very much on the quality of the education of our school districts.” Noting that a cap by itself brings no property tax relief , she asked, “If you're choking on your property tax now, how does capping future increases help you?” She said her own proposal would shift pension costs to the State budget, thus allowing cuts in property taxes. “I’m for cuts not caps,” she concluded.

Rob Biagi, the Republican challenger for the 91st District Assembly seat, favors the cap, but said “it has to come part and parcel with mandate relief.” He is concerned that schools will be hurt “if we don't impose a tax cap, because at the alarming rate property taxes are going up, more people will leave the district or fall into foreclosure and thus the schools risk taking in less revenue. The tax cap at least forces the State to increase school mandate funding whereas without it the Legislature has failed to act.”

Assemblyman George Latimer, a Democrat vying for his third term, has thrown support behind the circuit breaker and advocates giving more thought to the issue. "Now that school is in session, it's time for all of us to do our homework,” he said. “No public official should turn in a paper that isn't properly thought out and researched. That applies to school funding and to everything else.”

The impact of state and federal mandates on local school budgets has been an issue for decades, in Mamaroneck and elsewhere. A recent example was the requirement that schools make available graphing calculators to students in secondary math classes, which added over $100,000 to the Mamaroneck School budget in 2007-2008.

What’s New in the District – Cupola and Cameras

Mamaroneck High School's iconic cupola is off getting replicated. (See logo)
Photo by FAL photography

In contrast to the recent past, this school year opened with very few signs of renovations or new construction. One major exception was the scaffolding and missing cupola at the McLain Auditorium in front of Mamaroneck High School. Rather than make expensive repairs to the cupola, the board has opted to have it replicated offsite. Meryl Rubinstein, assistant superintendent of business operations, explained that the cupola was removed over the summer and fifteen pieces have been shipped for replication. In the meantime, the roof is undergoing repairs that should be complete by the end of the month, weather permitting. The new cupola is expected to be installed this winter.

Another less obvious change at the high school is the installation of security cameras, approved by the board after recommendation from the district’s safety and security committee and a rash of graffiti bomb threats last years. (See: Graffiti Threat Closes Mamaroneck High School.) Ms. Rubinstein reported that most of the cameras have been installed, but a few additional units are coming and there will be some changes made in camera locations. Ultimately, there will be a total of 38 cameras at a total cost of $247,300 for hardware, software and installation.

New District Website Unveiled

The most ambitious summer construction project, however, involved the installation – still in progress -- of a new website at the district’s www.mamkschools.org address. At the school board’s study session Tuesday evening, Mike Kollmer, director of instructional technology, updated the board and audience and recalled how far the district has come. Just four years ago, Mamaroneck was still using a business applications system which required mailing labels to be centrally generated by the IT department. Since then, the district has added a new student information system, dubbed eSchoolData, and an automatic phone system, ConnectEd. The hope is that the new website, which Mr. Kollmer said “went live” Tuesday morning, will be “a central part of the communications network.”

According to Mr. Kollmer, a district web design committee spent over a year researching and reviewing more than fifty school websites before settling on the website management firm of School Center to support the district’s online presence. Ease of navigation was a big concern, and the new site has been designed with two-way communication in mind. Another benefit is that the site is hosted out of the district – out of state, actually – so it will be available even if local disasters, such as the 2007 April flood, require district computers to be powered off.

Debbie Manetta, the new director of public information, asked that the board and community “be patient as this unfolds.” Although the website is a work in progress, parents have already praised the online availability of rainy day practice schedules, directions to away games and other sports information on the athletics page. In addition, the “Contact Us” link will permit parents to e-mail any school administrator or teacher.

Still to be added is the bulk of content specific to each school. Mr. Kollmer and Ms. Manetta recommended that the board appoint a committee to set guidelines and policies regarding postings and approvals. In addition, the district is still working out the best way to get building personnel trained so that the school pages can contain the most relevant and up-to-date information. In the meantime, the former website page for each school can still be accessed by a link from the new site. Key information will be brought over to the main website as quickly as possible.

In the months to come, the district will be looking for opportunities to train students and parents to use the new site. Ultimately, interested parents and community members will be will given opportunities to access additional parts of the website.

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