Childhood songs and jingles often stay with us long into adulthood and remind us of times which often seem better than those in which we currently live. As Superintendents trying to budget for and schedule countless unfunded directives, or mandates, from the state and federal governments, we often look back enviously at a system sung about in that old tune which begins “school days, school days, good old golden rule days”.

Back then, as the song goes on to state, the focus was indeed on reading and writing and ‘rithmatic. No one could or would have predicted that someday schools would be required to provide Internet safety and stranger/danger education, drug, alcohol, and parenting education, HIV/AIDS education, character education, and special education, to name just a few. In addition, over the years, services in the areas of transportation, school breakfast and lunch programs, vision screening and increased health and psychological services have been mandated. (All of these layered upon curriculum additions in music, art, foreign language, Advanced Placement, speech, business, technology, physical education etc.).

While school districts are told what they must provide, and in most cases the changes have merit, rarely does anyone come forward to offer additional funding to pay the bills. In the face of decreasing revenues to many Long Island districts from State aid and increasing demands on the schools, it inevitably falls upon the taxpayer to make up the difference.

As taxpayers, you have the right to be regularly informed of the costs and issues faced by your public schools. This year, for example, for the first time, all school districts are being required to administer standardized state exams in English and in mathematics, to students in grades three through eight. In order to comply, teachers must be removed from the classroom both to train for, and to score, the exams. Substitutes must be hired on these days, processing fees paid, state-provided materials copied, and materials purchased. Cost to the taxpayer? This can exceed $100,000 in a 6,000student school district.

In future columns, other items that heavily impact school budgets, programs, or operations will be explored. Also, topics requested by readers may be addressed if mailed to: Superintendent, West Islip Public Schools, 100 Sherman Avenue, West Islip, New York, 11795

My fellow Superintendents and I hope that a sharing of information and concerns on a regular basis will bridge the partnership between school districts and communities, so as to provide the best educational experiences for all of our students. So sharpen your pencils as we embark upon an exploration of school days in the 21st century.

The writer is the West Islip Superintendent of Schools. This is one of several guest columns on issues about schools spending, school aid, mandates and budgets that will run over the next several months. Superintendents who would like to submit a column may do so.