Mineola School Superintendent Joins Protest on County Cuts to Youth Services

Mineola School Superintendent Dr. Michael Nagler joined a group of other school officials and youth services supporters Tuesday in a call for the reinstatement of contracts and funding for youth services programs that have been eliminated from the Nassau County budget.

At issue at the press conference at the Gateway Youth Outreach was the proposed reinstatement of contracts and funding for youth services programs that were eliminated July 5 by the Nassau County Legislature.

Joining Dr. Nagler were six other representatives from Nassau’s 50 school districts including THomas Dolan, Great Neck; David Weiss, Long Beach; Al Harper, Elmont; Alan Adcock, Massapequa; Mary A. Lagnado, Westbury and Deputy Supt. Bancroft Burke, Uniondale. Also present were a few veterans of the American Legion Post 1033.

“Unless the legislature restores the budget lines for youth services, we will be seeing more agencies close their doors as their limited resources run dry," said Peter Levy, president of the Coalition of Nassau County Youth Agencies, in a press release. "The superintendents and other leaders understand this and for this reason they have joined this fight for the future of our children.” 

Because of cuts, families have been left in "crisis" and Nassau communities are at a "severe risk to increased gang activity," according to the CNCYA, which is asking for reinstatement of money for youth programs for crisis intervention; family support; after school, evening and weekend programs; gang intervention; pregnancy prevention and substance abuse prevention and treatment programs.

In 2012, Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano’s budget plan eliminates a $45 million projected budget deficit and protects residents for a third consecutive year from a property tax hike, according to Mangano.

In a letter to the agencies, Mangano said Democratic legislators “have refused to authorize the planned bonding to pay for court-ordered tax-certiorari judgments and negotiated settlements … As a result of their refusal, the county is now forced to close programs and cut spending in order to pay these judgments,”  according to a Long Island Herald report.