Politics & Government

Farmingdale Committee Heading to Albany

The school district's Legislative Action Committee will travel to Albany on Jan. 31.

Members of the Farmingdale School District's Legislative Action Committee and other community members are scheduled to go to Albany next week to discuss the impact of recent legislation on the district.

Board of Education member said that the committee started meeting with representatives in the months prior to the Jan. 31 trip.

"I found the meeting with Assemblyman Saladino particularly productive," he said. "We spent two hours with him and he promised that he is introducing legislation to exempt ERS and TRS contributions from the tax cap. He says he is hearing for all across the Island that ERS and TRS are breaking the cap."

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Capobianco explained that he followed up with the Nassau-Suffolk School Boards Association about the legislation, and the organization said it was looking into a Senate co-sponsor and if it can be done before the school budgets are adopted in April.

Last year,  Farmingdale School District administrators say the trip opens communication between representatives and the district.

Find out what's happening in Farmingdalewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"It personalizes it for them," Assistant Superintendent for Business Paul Defendini said last year. "They might not see what reductions in a school district really mean and we can tell them what will happen and the impact it will have.”

A handful of students are selected each year to go on the lobbying trip.

“The students, in particular, who are selected by teachers in the Social Studies program, also get a real world glimpse into government and economics," said Assistant Superintendent Barbara Horsley. "They get a lot out of meeting legislators face-to-face."

Capobianco said at the January school board meeting that the tax cap, particularly the alleged legislation by Saladino excempting employee and teacher retirement contributions from the tax cap, will be a main topic of discussion. 

"We're looking forward to an interesting trip," he said.


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