Port Jeff Parents Debate Effects of Budget Cuts

Now that the Port Jefferson Board of Education has adopted a $37.3 million budget for 2011-2012, parents in the community are deciding whether or not they will approve it on May 17 when it means programs and staff could be lost.

Laura Hill Timpanaro, a community leader and parent of children in the district, said that no matter what happens someone is likely to be unhappy.

“Any cuts to a budget will result in the loss of programs dear to individuals,” she said.

April Quiggle said that she feels “a certain level of concern." But she doesn't feel the "doom and gloom some parents seem to fear."

Agreeing that there are likely to be some cuts, she’s ready to face up to them when they happen.

“Naturally, I'd rather not see programs like clubs and sports cut but I acknowledge it is necessary,” she said.

Quiggle said that her main interest is seeing that the academic standards in Port Jefferson school district are kept as high as possible.

“If that means cutting back on specials, not eliminating, just scaling back to state standards, I’m okay with that,” she said. “If it means cutting classes with very low enrollment, I’m okay with that too.”

PTA president Jill Russell said that the executive board has already discussed the possibility of the organization’s role changing next year.

“Nothing in great detail, but the focus of fundraising will likely move in a different direction,” Russell said. “We will take a long, hard look at next year's PTA budget and like the village and our schools, we’ll have to tighten our belt.”

While some might be fine with cutting down non-academic programs, others are saying that the school shouldn’t be so quick to do so.

Carla Sciara is an artist and she sees a huge benefit to preserving the art and music programs.

“Not every kid is going to be an academic,” she said.

According to Sciara, the district has already cut the art program down once and she doesn’t want to see it cut further.

“We’re not going to keep the level of excellence with the state minimum,” she said.

She said that kids need an outlet to be creative.

“Everything now is just go, go, go,” she said. “You don’t have to be Picasso but kids need to express themselves. To take that away from them is not good.”

Another big issue is teachers and their salaries.

“I hope to see a teachers union contract that is reasonable and takes into account the financial issues residents are facing,” said Quiggle.

But if classes have to be consolidated, then she’s fine with that.

“My daughter is in first grade and has been in a small class since pre-K,” Quiggle said. “Truthfully, I’m not sure she's received a benefit as a result.  Each year so far she's been one of 16 kids. If that class size increased to 21, I don't think it would make a difference.”

She said that when she attended Scraggy Hill elementary school, a.k.a. , she had class sizes larger than the students do now.

“At that time we had classes of 23 and 24 kids and our teachers handled us just fine,” she said, noting that the classroom structure was different then.

"Desks were in rows and the teacher stood at the blackboard at the front of the class," she said.

“As far as I’m concerned, the school is not just a building. It’s the teachers,” said Sciara. “They take such good care of our kids.”

She called the teachers at Port Jefferson “phenomenal.”

“They put it all together,” she said. “The heart of our school is our teachers.”

She thinks that the teachers union may already be negotiating a compromise.

“We know they’re responsible adults. We know they’re going to do the right thing,” Sciara said. “I’m not saying everything’s perfect. We’re all going to have to give back.”

Still, parents should be worried if programs are eliminated and Timpanaro thinks the schools should not cut them lightly.

“My understanding is that it takes five to ten years to bring a program back once lost,” she said. “We need to think deeply about the long term effect program cuts will have on an entire generation of children moving through the district.”

She said that the board faces a challenge in maintaining instructional programs “until the cuts are absolutely necessary.”

And the 800-pound gorilla in the room is the LIPA tax grievance on the National Grid owned power plant.

“I believe we all have to acknowledge the impending reality of National Grid; the tax grievance issue in the short term, and the potential they'll pull out of town all together,” said Quiggle.

The current budget proposal from the school also seeks to raise taxes by almost 9 percent.

Sciara said that when she bought her home in Port Jefferson she knew the taxes were low.

“We moved here knowing it’s not going to last forever,” she said.

She said her family is willing to pay more taxes to preserve the quality of the school.

But a 9 percent tax hike may be the tip of the iceberg if LIPA gets its way. About 40 percent of the school budget comes from taxes paid on the power plant, meaning a gargantuan tax hike may be coming down the line.

“We would be foolish not to prepare ourselves,” said Quiggle. “Apparently some families don't fear a dramatic tax increase. I do.”

No matter what, all Port Jefferson parents are in the same boat.

“Everyone is worried about the school,” said Sciara.