Legislative Breakfast Hosted by North Shore LAC Attended by Local Legislators, NS Administration, and BOE
                                                                   
The North Shore Schools’ Legislative Action Committee (LAC), a citizen’s advisory committee of the North Shore Schools’ Board of Education, hosted a Legislative Breakfast on December 19, 2023, with local legislators representing residents within the school district to discuss issues concerning the North Shore community. Also in attendance was Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Chris Zublionis, Assistant Superintendent for Instruction, Dr. Carol Ann Smyth, Assistant Superintendent for Business, Mr. James Pappas, BOE President Dr. Andrea Macari, and many Board of Education trustees. The meeting was held at the North Shore Schools Transportation Depot, across from the waterfront where the Glenwood Landing power plant was located. Superintendent Dr. Zublionis said, “We are very grateful to the members of LAC and the Board of Education for organizing this Legislative Breakfast; and to our invited guests, our legislators, for attending and actively participating in important discussions that affect all of our North Shore constituents. We are eager to continue to work together now and in the future to find financial and creative solutions on behalf of our students, residents, and community.”

James Versocki, LAC Chairperson, opened the meeting and welcomed the local legislators, who briefly introduced themselves. They included Senator Jack Martins, Assemblymember Charles Lavine, Assemblymember Jake Blumencranz, Nassau County Legislator, Delia DeRiggi Whitton, and Nassau County Legislator-Elect, Samantha Goetz.

Chairperson Versocki introduced Trustee Dave Ludmar (previous Board of Education President) to set the stage for the discussion. He stated, “100 years ago, this waterfront was filled with boardwalks, restaurants, summer tourists. It's hard to imagine when you drive past the current paved-over fields, barbed wire fences, overgrown storage yards, and energy infrastructure - all located on deeply polluted soils. In the 1930's, this community made a pact with the state of New York to build the Glenwood Landing power plant for the benefit of all Long Islanders. We gave up the natural beauty of our shoreline in exchange for tax revenues and power generation. In the 1980’s, when LILCO gave way to LIPA, promises were made to never abandon our community - promises that were later broken. LIPA demolished the main plant and filed tax certiorari lawsuits against Nassau County. Rather than litigate what amounted to over half a billion dollars of potential liability, the County reached a settlement that resulted in the reduction of LIPA’s tax contribution to the North Shore School District, a cumulative $38 million over 5-years (which we’re about halfway through paying).”

Mr. Ludmar continued, “$38 million of LIPA revenue is never coming back. Our focus is on the future, ensuring that North Shore remains one of the highest achieving and most innovative school districts in the nation, while protecting our students and taxpayers. Only 20 years ago, our residential Class 1 (e.g., homeowners) paid 54% of the overall school taxes. Today, it's about 84%. That is a seismic shift against which Nassau County residents were supposed to be protected. As District Trustees, elected to represent the 12,000 voters who live here (including senior citizens, veterans, firefighters and other first responders, teachers, young families who left the city for our schools, empty nesters paying for college, and immigrants), we know that a big part of the solution must be borne by residents. To mitigate this burden, we’ve done the following:

• Made tough budgetary cuts; over 20 positions last year alone, including teachers and other personnel.

• Superintendent Dr. Chris Zublionis has creatively leveraged our stellar special education department to attract students from other Districts which benefits those kids while driving additional revenue our way. 

• Been proactive in building facilities (like this bus depot) to create efficiencies and generate revenue by servicing other Districts' fleets.

• Prolonged infrastructure and various school improvements.”

He added, “But, Legislative support is critical. We were fortunate that Assemblymember Charles Lavine and former Senator Marcellino obtained a grant at the outset of this process which we used carefully, over several years, to maintain program. Senator Gaughran provided additional assistance through the state budget during his time in office, and Assemblymember Lavine again secured a North Shore grant in the 2023 budget. We will need this continued support in Albany, and at the county level.”

Trustee Ludmar concluded by asking our legislators these essential questions:

1. We were denied entry into the state cessation mitigation fund due to technicalities. How do we gain entry since this fund was created to address the exact situation that we face? 

2. What will happen in 2027 when the power supply agreement is up for renegotiation?

3. Is municipalization happening and how will this affect tax assessments?

4. How and where will the emphasis on renewable energy, offshore wind, and battery storage be seen in GWL? How can we ensure that IDA’s & PILOTs won’t disproportionately benefit those providers, leaving our residents carrying the tax burden?

5. Why are LIPA peaker-plants, transmission sites, and other in-use operations allowed to operate without commensurate increases in payments?

6. How do we hold the state accountable, as a partner in a semi-public authority, for contaminating our waterfront? How can we reclaim it as a useful, taxable resource?

7. How do we make the adjusted base proportions process more transparent and reflective of the evaporation of our Class 3 (utilities) and influx of Class 2 (co-ops and condos)?”

• Superintendent Dr. Zublionis then addressed our legislators and shared a comprehensive handout titled, “Working Hard to Protect our Community from Unprecedented Challenges” (see attached) that visually captured the challenges for our residents (e.g., taxes), our children (e.g., cuts to program), and our community (e.g., environment). He highlighted that for our residents, “The percentage of property taxes paid by our homeowners has increased by 30% since 2001 (and 9% since 2022). Despite massive school budget cuts, many residents are struggling to keep up.” Dr. Z emphasized that, “Relief for taxpayers for school and community taxes is desperately needed, beyond school budget cuts.”

• Regarding challenges to our children, Dr. Z. reiterated, “The North Shore Schools will lose over $45 million in revenue by 2028 due to the 2022 LIPA/Nassau County agreement. While the District cut $3 million in programs last year, it will need to cut another $4 million this year which equals 56 teachers.” He stressed, “Increased state aid or access to mitigation funds is desperately needed for our children.”

In addition, Dr. Z said, “Replacing existing plants with new green energy infrastructure at the Glenwood Landing site can create healthier land, air, and water for our residents and children, and generate new revenue. There is a community desire to reclaim and use lost waterfront property as power plants shut down.” Dr. Z reiterated to our local legislators the importance of working together to find solutions to these challenges to benefit our residents, children, and environment.
Chairperson Versocki then introduced members of LAC to speak on specific topics including: What can we do legislatively to address the LIPA tax impact? (James Svendsen), Utility Class Tax Shift (Sara Jones), IDA/Pilots (Brian Hanley), Bond Act (Sean Trager), and Superfund Sites (Jessica Dillon). Board of Education Liaison, Ms. Maria Mosca said, “Our LAC members were extremely effective in communicating the perspective of our community members in their own way. They spoke eloquently and knowledgeably about all the issues.” She added, “Our Trustees all support the idea that the District is ready and willing to take bold new actions but needs legislative action to be truly effective.”  
To conclude, our local legislators all expressed concern about the North Shore School District’s plight and wanted to help, but also spoke about the tightening of budgets in Albany. Overall, the discussion was extremely informative and lively throughout the morning, with Assemblyman Chuck Lavine, Senator Jack Martins, and Nassau County Legislator, Delia DeRiggi Whitton, offering several ideas and follow-up suggestions which the District has already begun looking into. 

Thank you to all of our local legislators, the Legislative Action Committee, the Board of Education, and the North Shore Central Office administrative team for participating in this Legislative Breakfast. We look forward to collaborating to find solutions that balance the requirements of our students and schools with the needs of our community members. A Legislative Night is in the works for Spring 2024!     

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