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Image provided by: Manhasset Public Library
4A THE WEEKEND - SEPTEMBER 4 - 10. 2013 MHP MAmAMT PlM Founded 1932 I'ublkalion Office: 132 East Second Si., Mineolu. NV 11501 Phone: (516)747-8282 Fax: (516)742-5867 www.antonnews.com K ari V. A vion , J r .. P i busher . A vion Ca\i\n : Nrrv Ni wsfapirs . 1984-2000 © 201 J IdHi# I\land (\mtmumh SfM \paptr\. In* . Pl'HI.ISHKR Angela Susan Anton PU.SIDKNT & COO Michael Castonguay EVP of S amcs & O pera noss Frank A. Virga Kniail addresses: First S ales M anagers Wendy Kates. Lee Reynolds A dvertising S ales Mari Gaudet. Valerie Link. Jeryl Sletteland C lassieted M anaged Iris Picone E ditor in C hief John Owens E ditor Elizabeth Johnson C reative D irector Tommy Von Voigt name, < “ aiitoiinews.com initial of first name, followed by last [LETTERS TO THE EDITOR MPSA Says No Way Recently, a twelve year old Manhasset stu dent emailed residents with an urgent request. Apparently, portions of the music program in Shelter Rock and Munsey Park Elementary Schools have been eliminated and the student is leading a drive to raise SI 3,000 \to restore these programs.... for good\ MPSA agrees and applauds his efforts and those of his adult supporters. As a grassroots organization, independent from the Manhasset School District, including the School Board, School Unions, Administration, SCA, related committees and organizations, we support excellent education while adhering to the 2% tax cap. As such, we offer several suggestions to restore the music program “ for good\ Since the School Board did not adequately clarify misinformation that flowed through a variety of sources many residents still believe that the Board has fewer funds to spend. Based on the Manhasset School Board's own documents, the 2013-2014 school budget raised real property taxes by 1.97% or $1,532,815 more than the prior budget and $1,413,892 more than the allowable cap. The reality is the School Board has more tax levy dollars, obviously sufficient for a $13,000 music program. If funds are not being spent on a $13,000 music program, where are the funds being spent? It appears that the School Board has chosen union salaries and benefits over children ’ s pro grams. For example, as a result of previous School Board-Union negotiations, retiree healthcare will cost the taxpayer approximately $10,000,000 this year, of which $3,000,000 will actually be paid this year; the $7,000,000 balance will be paid sometime in the future. If retiree healthcare were paid by retirees, as is the case for most retirees, there would be no need for young students and their adult supporters to solicit donations for a $13,000 music program. This is an obvious case of putting the wants of the union before the needs of students. Over the years, in order to meet union demands for ever increasing compensation, the Manhasset School Board and their unions have conducted secret negotiations. Taxpayers have never been privy to the progress, or lack thereof, in union negotiations. Taxpayers were notified only after a union contract had been signed; a fait accompli. If residents complained of ever increasing taxes and decreasing programs, the Board would blame Albany and mandates. With the advent of the 2% tax cap, the land scape has changed, but the School Board has not. MPSA believes the School Board's actions clearly demonstrate that they are willing to spend the entire 2% tax cap and more on teacher and administrator compensation packages, causing future cuts to the quality of children ’ s education. Taxpayers must demand that the union contract that is about to be signed put children first and not exceed the 2% tax cap. MPSA Make Manhasset Fun For Kids Dear Mayor of Manhasset, I believe that Manhasset is a very nice place. The only problem is what about kids like me. We can't even walk in town because everything is closed and there is nothing for kids, especially during the summer months. It ’ s also a problem because we are paying lots of money to live here, but we can ’ t walk around or do anything. We also can ’ t even go out to eat because therre are not too many choices of restaurants in town. We have to go to Port Washington or Great Neck just to walk around. They have ice cream, dunk ’ n donuts and Italian ice. When you think about here, all you can say is Gino ’ s Italian ice and dunk ’ n donuts. We can ’ t even go to the movie heater because they don ’ t show any mov ies appropriate for kids. It ’ s really sad and I have to say I am not proud of it. Please take this under- sideration. Take it from a kids. There is something you can do. Thank you for your time reading this. Hopefully you realize the right thing to do. Giovanna M. Mayo 4th Grader Parks Group Endorses Haber For County Executive By JOE SC0TCHIE JsCOTCHIE@ANTONNEWS.COM Both the county parks and the state of the environment were on Adam Haber ’ s mind last month as he traveled to the Park at East Hills to issue statements on both subjects. Haber, a Roslyn resident, is running for Nassau County executive in an election set for Tuesday, Sept. 10. A Democrat, Haber was picking up the endorsement of Bruce Piel, chairman of the Park Advocacy & Recreation Council of Nassau County (PARCnassau). Piel used the occasion to praise Haber ’ s \new vision ” for the park system, while criticizing both former Nassau County executive Thomas Suozzi (Haber ’ s opponent in the primary) and the current county executive, Edward Mangano, for their park system privatization policies. According to Piel, PARCnassau is a coalition of 150 park advocacy and user groups with a combined membership over 250,000 county residents. \Let ’ s give Adam Haber a chance to do right by parks and park users, ” Piel said. \PARCnassau urges all registered Democrats to vote for Adam Haber in the primary and all voters to vote for him in the general election. It ’ s time to return Nassau County Parks to the people that paid to acquire, develop and maintain those public facilities and take them back to their former glory. ” Haber used The Park at East Hills as a backdrop to dramaticize his experience and his vision for how village parks should be run. \East Hills Park ... is where I sunk my teeth into the work of creating a government structure and over seeing a government construction budget, ” he said. “ This 50-acre park was built due to a creative land swap deal by Village of East Hills Mayor Michael R. Koblenz and is a place where our families, friends and neighbors and gather to enjoy nature, cool off in the pool or grab a game of basketball.\ Haber was on the oversight committee that created The Park at East Hills, which he added, was created on budget and on time. \Parks should be public, period,” he concluded. The candidate also endorsed the idea of global climate change and its possible consequences, namely disasters similar to 1 lurricane Sandy \When Sandy hit All Hands Volunteers, a charity I brought to Long Island, got to work cleaning up and getting people back on their feet, ” he said. \It was clear to me, the families impacted by the storm, and to scientists, that man-made climate change played a part in the storm ’ s severity. This has to change and we have to do more to help our planet. ” Toward that end, Haber zeroed in the long-term problems at sewage treatment plants in Nassau, especially the one at Bay Park, on the south side. Haber also touched on transparency in govern ment, which has been a theme of his campaign. \We ’ ve already seen politicians throw around numbers about how much it would cost to repair the plant - $700 million, $900 million, $1 billion. We need to know how much it is going to cost and we need to do it right the first time, ” he said. \The strategy of holding critical services hostage for leverage must stop. Last time it was social services and kids ’ lives. Now it is sewage treatment and the environment.\ He added that the bond issue would be complimented by \frill federal funding\ for any cleanup. \We must pass an environment to the next generation that is better than the one handed to us, ” Haber concluded, bringing together the two themes of his press conference. \Our public parks must be preserved. Our natural spaces must be protected. Our water supply must be clean and secure. Our treatment plants must run efficiently. We must tackle the reality of climate change, and together we can. ”
