Martins Meets with School Leaders in Albany

Representatives from the Mineola School District along with colleagues from Great Neck and Franklin Square met with New York State , R-Mineola, this week to speak about “important issues affecting school districts,” as well as the amount of state aid to Long Island districts.

Meeting with Sen. Martins was Mineola Superintendent Dr. Michael Nagler, Great Neck School Superintendent Dr. Tom Dolan and Franklin Square School Superintendent Patrick Manley. Joining them was Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos, R-Rockville Centre, and Sen. John Flanagan, R-Smithtown.

When proposed his executive budget, increases in state aid to schools were tied to school districts implementing the Annual Professional Performance Review (APPR). In a statement, Sen. Martins believed the proposed teacher evaluation system is flawed but hopes a fairer system can be agreed upon so that the state can receive the federal Race to the Top funds for education.

Sen. Martins has also expressed his disappointment in the Governor’s proposal for the amount of aid coming to Long Island schools. A release indicated that Martins, Flanagan and Skelos would be working with other senators to see that Long Island gets a greater share of state aid in the final state budget, which will be negotiated during the upcoming months.

Mineola specifically saw its state aid cut in the proposed executive budget, which Dr. Nagler had indicated at a recent board of education meeting was the result of the district spending less money on various contracts, i.e. saving funds, only to result in the state cutting its amount of aid to the district.

The representatives also spoke about to their respective districts. Sen. Martins is the lone delegate from Long Island on the , which will seek ways to passed onto schools and local governments. Any regulations that can be eliminated or modified will result in savings for the taxpayers.

“I want to thank our school superintendents for coming to Albany to meet with us,” Martins said in a statement. “They care a great deal about our schools as do I. It’s important we continue to discuss the crucial issues that affect education on Long Island.”