No reputable journal has ever published a report substantiating Mr. Reiser’s claim that abortion increases the risk of breast cancer.

While it is appropriate for you to encourage reader participation, you have the responsibility to assure readers that what is published is factual.

Would you publish a letter that assets Catholics have a 20 percent lower IQ than the national average just because it was asserted in a letter?

Of course not. It would be an irresponsible canard with no back up.

Gerald Peretsman

Great Neck

The debate over the Mineola School Board plan to lease the Cross Street School located in Williston Park to the Solomon Schechter Day School of Glen Cove can and should be resolved by understanding and building common ground between the parties involved in this situation.

I can understand some of the negative views of Williston Park residents because the Herricks School District, which includes most of Williston Park, is facing financial problems due to cuts in state aid and is not going to benefit from the financial arrangement between the Solomon Schechter Day School and the Mineola School District.

The main problem appears to be the rise of the ball field of the school. With a modification of the lease, the field could be used on Jewish holidays, Friday afternoons and on Saturdays, and possibly Sundays by CYO teams and local little league teams. An arrangement for the use of the ball field during the summer vacation period could also be worked out.

There appears to be an undercurrent of anti-Semitism, which is unhealthy and goes counter to the teachings of Pope John Paul XXIII, Paul VI, John Paul II, and the current, Pope Benedict XVI, concerning the positive view of the Jewish people. Perhaps the clergy at St. Aidan’s Church can more fully emphasize at mass and services, as well as in an adult education course, the current positive view of the historic Jewish people held by the church.

As a former adjunct professor of social sciences at a community college in the state of New Jersey who has taught church history as part of western civilization, and other courses in history, we must emphasize what unites us as Americans instead of what divides us. A weak America is a divided America. A strong America is united America.

Jordan Goldstein

Former Herricks School

Board member, New Hyde Park

We are delighted to write a letter in support of Jonai Singh’s candidacy for the position of trustee in the Herricks School Board.

As members of the Herricks Indo US executive board, we have had the pleasure of working with Jonai. She was able to share the voices of high school kids requesting that we fund an upgrade to the sound system in the high school; a proposal which was turned down by the Herricks School Board because of tight budget. This system was funded by HIUS and benefits all students.

From the moment Jonai joined Herricks Indo Us Community, Inc, she brought energy and vitality into the organization. As HIUS president over the last two years, she has reached out to our members, helped them understand the workings of the school system, increased voter awareness, and the importance of voting for the budget. She spearheaded fundraising events to raise money for all Herricks students. She worked as a liaison with the PTAs in each of the schools and came up with several ideas for the donations to the Middle and Elementary schools.

HIUS was able to sponsor an I-pad project in each of the elementary schools and Plasma screens in the middle school auditorium, so parents could see their children on stage.

She has always encouraged our members to participate in the PTAs. She advocates for every student and for the entire Herricks community. She is a true leader and inspires a lot of the parents to be involved in community and school issues. What has always struck us about Jonai is that she genuinely cares for EVERY child in this community and is passionate in everything she does.

We have no doubt that she will be a wonderful trustee for the Herricks School Board and encourage all to vote for her.

Sincerely,

Dr. Kusum Viswanathan

Usha Agarwalla

Samina Dohadwalla

Dr. Mayank Patel

Hetal Rawal

Harshida Shah

Dr. Sandip Parikh

Nilesh Soni

Kam Johal

Kirit Panchamia

Minal Sheth

Dipti Chand

Nicky Goel

Sumark Desai

Rajni Singhal

Neelam Singh

Dr. Parag Mehta

Leena Gwalani

This third segment of a three-part Op Ed concerning recent tax articles in the Great Neck News responds to Senior Editorial writer Karen Rubin and Congressman Ackerman’s effort to convince us that paying higher taxes is a moral/religious duty, especially for the so-called “rich.”

According Ms. Rubin’s Great Neck News article, Congressman Ackerman stated during a holiday party this past December that he voted against extending the Bush tax rates because all religions recognize a duty to be one’s “brother’s keeper” and the “rich” should pay even more taxes than they do now.

Mixing G-d and taxes is odd. As political pundit Larry Sabato said: “I doubt God would want to touch America’s tax code, since it is already located in the third rung of Hell.” And it’s a bit surprising that Congressman Ackerman would invoke the Bible as a justification for anything in Congress, in light of the fact that he voted against the resolutions honoring Christmas, citing separation of church and state. However, I’ll leave that aside for now.

It’s important to respond to Congressman Ackerman’s and Ms. Rubin’s pseudo-religious “values” argument. A basic strategy of the big-spender crowd is using “values” arguments to support high taxation and depicting fiscally-conservative Republicans as lacking values. (Apparently, Congressman Ackerman was following this strategy when he portrayed Larry Penner as heartless in the pages of this newspaper three weeks ago, simply because Mr. Penner explained that earmarks were unaffordable and would overburden future generations with high taxation and enormous debt.)

It’s also important to note that while Ackerman claimed that he wants the “rich” (individuals making $200,000 and up) to pay more, Ackerman’s vote against the Bush tax-rate extension was against everyone’s interest. The two-year extension of the Bush tax rates helped taxpayers at every level. And, virtually every economist considered the extension to be absolutely essential during these difficult economic times.

Moreover, “soak the rich” tax increases are a fraud.

Tax increases supposedly aimed at the rich virtually always end up hurting the middle class. For instance, the alternative minimum tax was enacted for the purpose of making sure that the richest 155 Americans paid enough taxes – but ended up hurting people making $60,000 and up. In addition, the government rarely gets additional revenue from taxes enacted for the purpose of “soaking the rich.”

Instead, lower tax rates usually substantially increase tax revenues. The Bush tax cuts substantially increased federal tax revenues from 2001 through 2007. Cutting federal capital gains taxes to 15 percent increased the willingness of taxpayers to recognize capital gains instead of holding assets for long periods of time. By contrast, in New York, the fact that taxpayers are hit for state income taxes at high ordinary tax rates (up to 9 percent) on capital gains, in addition to their federal taxes, has resulted in New York investors leaving New York in droves for states with reasonable state capital gains tax rates.

In any event, Congressman’s Ackerman’s “religious/moral” justification for even higher taxation is nonsensical and wrong. High, sharply discriminatory taxation conflicts with important religious, moral, and democratic (with a small “d”) values.

Moderation and Taking Care Of One’s Family: First, religious teachings do not favor requiring people to impoverish or endanger themselves, or to neglect their own families’ financial needs in order to send funds to the government. Religious tithes are only 10 percent. The 50 percent or even more in taxes that many people pay today, when one adds together federal, FICA, state, property and sales taxes, far exceeds religious charitable obligations. The Bible also speaks of leaving a corner of one’s field to the poor to harvest. Again, this is a small portion of what American taxpayers pay today.

The Judeo-Christian tradition teaches moderation and a reasonable balance between one’s own needs and the needs of others. As Rabbi Hillel said, “If I am not for myself, who will be for me? But if I am only for myself, who am I?”

In addition, the “brothers’ keeper” command asks us to help one another directly. Forcing people to pay high taxes prevents people from being true “brothers’ keepers.” Today’s high taxation makes it difficult for many taxpayers – including taxpayers earning substantial salaries – to provide for their own families’ educational, housing and other vital needs. The misdirection of funds is also especially concerning in light of the just-released Government Accounting Office report (2011), which demonstrated that billions of our tax dollars been supporting of waste and useless duplicative programs.

Obama, Ackerman and Schimel would make it even harder for overburdened taxpayers to pay for their own families’ essential needs. Ackerman and Obama (and Ms. Rubin) try to portray their “soak the rich” federal tax increase proposals as aimed at “billionaires,” reminiscent of former Sen. Russell Long’s famous quote about the definition of tax reform: “Don’t tax you, don’t tax me. Tax that fellow behind the tree.”

However, ending the Bush tax rates would raise tax rates for everyone who pays taxes. And Obama/ Ackerman proposals to focus on the “rich” still contain capital gains increases that would end up affecting everyone, and define “rich” as individuals making $200,000., the very people who create the most jobs in our economy.

Moreover, a $200,000 earner can already be in the 50 percent marginal tax bracket under the current Bush rates, as a result of the combination of federal, FICA (especially if he is also paying the self-employed portion) taxes, and high New York State, city, property and sales taxes. Yet, Ackerman and Obama would raise the $200,000 earner’s federal taxes by thousands of dollars per year, plus impose additional taxes under the so-called Affordable Health Care Choices Act.

Sadly, today’s ever increasing expenses mean that many people whom Obama and Ackerman define as “rich” are struggling. College costs now reach $55,000 per year per child (and many people have several children). And then there’s paying for a mortgage, household expenses and repairs, attempting to save for retirement in an era when almost no one in the private sector will receive a pension, putting a little money away to be able to survive a layoff, $4.40 per gallon gas, commuting, insurance, helping unemployed and recently divorced children who return to the roost (a frequent occurrence these days), helping ill parents, paying parochial school tuition for children and grandchildren, repaying the taxpayer’s own college loans, etc., etc. Life throws lots of curve balls at people. High taxation denies people the wherewithal to handle them.

A hard-working local practicing doctor, who probably would be considered to be “rich” by Obama/Ackerman standards even though she lives quite modestly, recently told me that each of her children is borrowing $250,000 for college and will need to borrow another $150,000 for graduate school, because she cannot afford to help them. What in the world is moral about taxing people so heavily that a hard-working taxpayer cannot pay for her own children’s education, causing her children to start out life deeply in debt?

Equal Treatment: Second, treating people equally and fairly, regardless of their circumstances, is a matter of basic morality. One of the most famous lines in the Bible is “Justice, Justice, you shall pursue.” Commentaries on why the word “justice” is repeated twice explain that there should be no different standards of justice for rich and poor. Indeed, the Bible directly states that judges must not favor the rich or the poor. Both are entitled to a fair shake.

Moreover, the Bible’s “brother’s keeper” phrase doesn’t justify singling out one group for exorbitant tax burdens, as Congressman Ackerman essentially argues. The Bible doesn’t say that only people making over $200,000 are our “brothers’ keepers.” All of us are.

A moderate amount of progressivity in a tax system makes sense because the impoverished cannot afford to pay, and first dollars earned are needed for absolute essentials. Our current system is already quite progressive – more progressive than many people realize. The current system combines progressive tax rates with other progressive features such as “phase outs” (losses) of critical tax deductions and credits once income reaches certain levels. (For instance, student loan interest deductions begin to phase out when single filer income reaches $65,000. Personal exemptions begin to phase out when single filer income reaches $156,400.) Further progressivity is not needed. Basic fairness means that a particular group should not be singled out for extortionate taxation.

Covetousness: Third, the Judeo-Christian tradition condemns covetousness. The Ten Commandments prohibit coveting one’s neighbor’s belongings. In Christianity, covetousness or envy is one of the seven deadly sins. As my father used to say: “There will always be someone who has more than you do, and someone who has less. The key is to view the glass as half full, to appreciate what you have, and to not always look at those who have more.” Or, as the Talmud says it: “Who is rich? The man who is satisfied with his lot.”

The incessant demands for tax increases in Ms. Rubin and Congressman Ackerman’s articles and statements in this newspaper reek of inappropriate jealousy. These individuals apparently believe that if someone has more, the government must take much of it away and redistribute it – a view which conflicts with the commandments to not covet what belongs to someone else.

Stealing: Fourth, of course, is the commandment against stealing. There is a point at which taxation becomes extortion, particularly if it is highly discriminatory.

The Fruits of One’s Labors: Fifth, there is a religious/moral duty to pay people fairly and promptly for their work. For instance, the Bible in two places (Leviticus (19:13; Deuteronomy 24:14-15) requires employers to pay workers on the very same day that their work is performed. Jesus also spoke out strongly against failing to pay workmen their wages. Taking away huge portions of people’s earnings via taxation conflicts with this basic notion that people are entitled to the fruits of their labors.

Putting aside all of the above, there are numerous practical and economic reasons for not raising taxes – and for instead focusing on reducing spending. Raising taxes destroys the incentives to work, to create jobs, to remain in the tax jurisdiction, and to report income honestly. As Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes said, “Any tax is a discouragement.” Taxpayers are tired of paying for waste, government bureaucracy, and earmarks. The joke, “taxes are what you pay so your Congressman can hand out favors to get re-elected” has the ring of truth to it. And taxpayers are tired of President Obama sending millions and billions of our tax dollars to questionable regimes, including Gaza. As Dick Gregory joked, “I wouldn’t mind paying taxes . . . if I knew they were going to a friendly country.”

There’s much more that I could add . . . but April 15 is coming, and I need to go now to start filling out my 1040 form.

Liz Berney

Great Neck

In her second letter to the Williston Times, Anne Reiser continues to criticize Rep. Carolyn McCarthy for supporting the continuation of federal funding for Planned Parenthood.

Although no federal funds are used for abortions (as this is already prohibited by the Hyde Bill), Mrs. Reiser writes about “the increased risk of breast cancer in women who have had abortions.”

Mrs. Reiser states this as a fact but gives no medical or scientific sources. Her only reference it to Dr. Alveda King who is a pastor and a pro-life activist.

Several medical organizations such as the American Medical Association, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the World Health Organization and the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health have analyzed large studies regarding induced abortions and breast cancer and the uniform conclusions are that there is no causative link between induced abortion and breast cancer.

Alan Gelbard

East Williston

Ms. Liz Berney’s letter concerning a property tax cap gets to the core of a fundamental issue viz to whom do the economic benefits of home ownership belong – the homeowner or the government?

The issue of taxation was the catalyst for our revolt against the British Crown, a reality some appear oblivious to.

Yet Santayana’s observation that those who ignore history are condemned to repeat it, has never been more prescient than now, with our electorate fully engaged on this issue across the nation.

Those who believe in the canard that taxation is somehow a benchmark of financial maturity and a necessary prerequisite of life in an urban environment need to acquaint themselves with demographic trends.

In 1928 New York State had 45 Electoral College votes but in 2012, we will be down to 29 and trending toward the lower twenties by mid century.

Plain and simple, this is symptomatic of long term and permanent secular decline.

When taxpayers are ignored at the ballot box, they vote for the last time with their feet.

Ironically, the states that have demonstrated the greatest economic resilience over the past two decades are those that have scrapped the property tax system and supported their schools through a broad-based consumption tax. New thinking on this very contentious matter is long, long overdue in Albany.

Unfortunately we are represented by a gang of political embarrassments, none with the stature and sagacity of Theodore Roosevelt, Al Smith, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Nelson Rockefeller or Hugh Carey.

Tom Coffey

Herricks

In his State of the County address Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano proclaimed that the county “is now on the road to recovery because of the tough decisions made to take on the status quo.” He added that “Recovery cannot occur overnight – but it will happen.”

We wish we shared his optimism. Mangano claimed that the county is ending the financial year with a $17.2 million dollar surplus. What he neglected to mention is the fact that the county is facing a $176 million deficit for the 2011-2012 financial year. In his address he also did not talk about the fact that the Nassau County Interim Finance Authority has taken over control of the county’s finances.

Although Mangano is moving in the right direction, he has only begun to make the “tough decisions” that will be needed to put the county on sound fiscal footing. The county remains locked into what he rightly calls “lavish spending” and has structural problems that must be addressed.

The irony in all of this is that Nassau County is among the wealthiest counties in the nation. The median household income is $95,000. It has the second highest property tax in the nation, second only to Westchester County with an average near $9,000.

In part the problem rests in the salaries and pensions paid to town, county and school workers. After eight years on the job a county police officer earns a base salary of $108,000. Add to that a 12 percent night differential and a generous health care and retirement package.

It gets worse. In its April 18 issue Bloomberg Businessweek reports that two school superintendents are making $380,000 each. And the report notes, “The 2011 budget for the Hempstead animal shelter includes $3.25 million in salaries for 38 employees.”

This kind of generosity is not sustainable. Where else in Long Island can a person without at least a B.A. hope to make $108,000?

Added to problem, the county is facing more than $100 million in property tax refunds. Each year one-third of the homeowners and nearly every business challenge their tax bill. Some of the issues adding to the growing debt will be far more difficult to address. Nassau County has more government than any community needs. In addition to the county executive, there are two cities, three towns, 62 unincorporated villages, 56 school districts and dozens of special districts. And all of these have their own officials and budgets.

Although Mangano said he wants to “put the county on a diet, there is reason to believe that he still doesn’t grasp the enormity of the problem. “I shouldn’t have been so cooperative [with NIFA],” he told a reporter last week. “It’s a power grab intended to discredit and embarrass the administration, the Tea Party, and the Republican Party.”

Nassau County has not yet started down the road to recovery. Mangano did not create the problems that the county is facing but it his responsibility to address them. The leaders of the police unions and Nassau’s Civil Service Employees Association must work with Mangano and NIFA to get labor costs under control or run the risk of massive layoffs and possible bankruptcy.

Mangano needs to stop pumping air up the county skirt.

All sides must be willing to form a coalition that will enable Nassau County continue to be a great place to raise a family for decades to come.

A Blank Slate Editorial

What started as a classroom assignment for eight Wheatley School science research students, ended in two farsighted projects recognized for honorable mention among 500 submissions in this year’s Toshiba ExploraVision competition, marking the first time Wheatley students have won recognition in the competition.

“I think it’s very good,” said Paul Paino, director of science research at Wheatley. “We’ve been entering this contest for along time

We never made that list until now. This is a first for us.”

Five Wheatley student teams started working on the projects around Thanksgiving, according to Paino, who said making the submissions with the requisite abstracts, research papers and graphics for ToshibaExploravision was part of the plan. Each team worked on their projects for two or three months to meet an early February submission date for the competition.

The two teams were notified about several weeks ago about receiving the honorable mentions, which Paino said were well deserved.

“They’re great ideas,” he said.

ToshibaExloravision is open to students in grades K through 12 worked in groups of two to four to simulate real research and development teams, imagining what an existing technology could evolve and what it might be used for 20 years from now. Teams explore how their visions of technology could work and what breakthroughs are necessary to make their ideas a reality.

Past winners have projected future technologies ranging from self-cleaning toilets to a new method for treating diabetes.

The Wheatley students’ projects, which both used high-tech ocular technologies, convey the complexity of the problems that students in the competition contemplate – and what it takes to gain recognition for one brilliant futuristic notion over another.

One of the team’s proposed that electro-oculography cameras that detect eye movement could eventually be used in automobiles as the central element of a system to detect whether a person attempting to operate a motor vehicle is under the influence of alcohol or drugs and incapable of driving safely.

Cicatic eye movement decreases when you’re under the influence,” said Daniela Czerminski, one of two students who spoke on behalf of her four-person team.

The team was looking for a system to prevent drunk driving, and they reasoned that the sophisticated digital cameras could be rigged in autos to “read” people’s involuntary eye movements to detect someone who is inebriated. They considered the problem because, as sophomores, they’d all started driving recently.

“The first thing we thought of was drunk driving. They have breakthroughs. But there’s an easier way around it,” Czerminski said.

They had considered another system that would extract blood samples from drivers, but it wasn’t fool-proof for all substances.

“We wanted to do finger-pricking, but that doesn’t detect everything,” said Gabrielle Pollack, one of Czerminski’s partners.

Their other partners in the project were Taylor Kaminsky and Allison Giller.

Czerminski said that the one drawback of the technology is that people’s eyes naturally register slower movements after they’ve awakened in the morning – and could be taken to be under the influence by the sophisticated camera.

But that’s just one of the issues that will await being sorted out 20 years or so hence.

The other project, devised by sophomore Sukhveen Soni and juniors Zoraiz Arif, Charles Yu and Zohaib Shaikh, proposed the use of a bionic contact lens that would enable virtual direct communication between people and interfacing with companion technologies, including the Internet.

The bionic lens would be activated by gestural technology, enabling the user to view a virtual wrist watch, for example, by focusing on his or her hand so the computerized lens can “read” the gesture and perform the needed function. A micro-LED on the lens would enable it to produce holographic images of objects projected by a tiny camera mounted in it, according to Yu, who said the camera would transmit images of objects in its environment to the computer to process and back to the lens to project.

The activating gestures “would be programmed to the computer,” Arif said. “Again this is projected into the future and there be enough computing power.”

It would be necessary to develop the micro LEDs to decipher the gestures, Yu said.

“We’d have to cram it in with this technology, but it wouldn’t be adequate to our purposes,” said Shaikh, who noted a lag in computer and plasma screen development to enable the respective technologies to be combined for such a mechanism now.

But the students figure that human nature will provide sufficient motivation to enable the technology – and direct bionic lens communication between similarly equipped human beings.

“People want to do things as conveniently as they can,” Arif said.

Explaining the multi-layered nature of their prospective invention, Shaikh said the groups was “looking really big” for a highly technical innovation since it was a competition being run by Toshiba.

The inspiration for their concept came out of a pop culture icon, the robotic “Terminator” character played by Arnold Schwarzenegger, complete with bionic eye that performed some of the same type of functions the Wheatley group has in mind.

“I thought it was cool,” said Yu.

And after the concept was translated into an abstract and an 11-page research paper with accompanying illustrations and submitted for the competition, the experts judging the Toshiba contest agreed.

Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano last week merged the Nassau County Homeless Housing and the Office of Community Development and replaced 11 employees including the director of the county homeless housing office.

Brian Nevin, chief spokesman for Mangano, said the move is part of the county’s cost-saving efforts

“After a thorough review and evaluating the services, we felt a change was needed,” Nevin said. “We believe it’s important to consolidate whenever we can in tough economic times.”

But Democratic Nassau County legislators said that former director Connie Lassandro had done a good job and her firing could jeopardize state grants.

At a press conference Tuesday inside county offices, the legislators condemned Mangano’s actions, saying that the new employees and director do not meet the mandates required to maintain the grant.

“Connie Lassandro is a respected housing professional across New York State,” said Nassau County legislator Judy Jacobs (D-Woodbury). “To dismiss 11 qualified professionals without cause is shameful. The loss of this office could lose us the grants.”

“The county is jeopardizing state funds,” said Nassau County legislator Kevan Abrahams (D-Hempstead), the deputy minority leader of the Democratic caucus. “This is why we are challenging the county on these firings,”

The homeless housing and office of community development funded by $50 million in state and federal grants. The county must maintain certain guidelines to continue receiving the grant money.

One requirement for the grant mandates that the director of the office needs to have at least eight to 10 years of experience in a director’s position, according to former director Connie Lassandro.

The new director has only been in training for the last 15 months, said Lassandro.

“It is in the contract we have with the state,” Lassandro said. “We’ve been replaced by inexperienced non-professionals, and I fear Nassau residents in need of housing and other essential resources, may receive less than high-quality services.”

Nevin said the consolidation would not threaten state and federal grants.

He said the Democrats claim that the director needs eight to 10 years of experience as a requirement of the grants are “100 percent untrue and inaccurate.”

The office’s section 8 program and the homeless program are 100 percent grant funded, according to Lassandro. “About $45 million goes towards housing rental subsidies and the other 10 percent goes to the homeless program,” Lassandro said.

With an assist from U.S., Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-Mineola), the Williston Park Fire Department has secured a $56,000 grant for recruitment and training.

McCarthy helped the department obtain the grant with a letter of support to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The money will be provided through the Department of Homeland Security for its Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response program.

“Ensuring the health and safety of my constituents is a top priority for me in Congress,” McCarthy said. “This includes making sure that our local fire departments have the staff necessary to fight dangerous fires and respond to life threatening medical emergencies in our communities.”

The SAFER program awards one-year grants to local fire departments through a competitive process.

Williston Park Mayor Paul Ehrhar was pleased with the news about the grant.

“We’re very appreciative of receiving the grant,” Ehrbar said. “Anything to help the fire department maintain and recruit staff is a good thing.”

Williston Park Fire Department Chief Tony Gagliardi was unavailable to comment on the funding.

McCarthy had recently helped to secure $10,218 in a grant under the same program for the Lawrence-Cedarhurst Fire Department.

Reach reporter Richard Tedesco by e-mail at rtedesco@archive.theisland360.com or by phone at 516.307.1045 x204

In its first public budget hearing last Wednesday, the Village of Mineola Board of Trustees presented a preliminary budget of $18.5 million, a 2.16 percent year-to-year increase over 2011, which includes cost reductions for the village Department of Public Works.

To help reduce costs to the village, senior employees of the Department of Public Works were offered early retirement incentives, which several workers decided to take, according to Village of Mineola Mayor Scott Strauss.

The village saw a significant reduction to their current salary costs, resulting from DPW workers taking advantage of early retirement incentive, saving the village more than $155,000, Strauss said.

“I want to thank the department heads for buckling down,” Strauss said. “They really held the line on spending.”

Medical insurance went up more than $400,000, while employee pensions went up $247,000 and union contracts saw a $235,000 increase.

Strauss also said that the tax levy will increase this year by 3.65 percent, resulting from the increased costs to employee health benefits, employee pensions and union contracts.

“The tax levy increase will amount to people paying about $5 more a month on their taxes,” Strauss said. “It pains me to have to raise taxes, because I know that $5 can mean a lot to some people.”

Strauss said taxes would not have increased at all this year, if it was not for the nearly $900,000 increase to costs, which they have no control over.

Reductions in the budget were also a result of the village opting out of a waste disposal contract with the Town of North Hempstead, according to Strauss. The village changed to a private waste disposal company called Omni Recycling.

While there is no formal date set to vote on the village budget, village officials need to vote on a budget by May 1, according to Village Clerk Joseph Scalero.

A five-way race for two seats in Mineola and a race for one open seat in Herricks between two high-profile activists are the two local school board races that promise to have significant impacts on their respective school districts.

Mineola School Board president Terence Hale and Trustee William Hornberger are seeking re-election against three challengers vying for their two seats.

In Herricks, Herricks Council of the PTAs Co-President Jonai Singh and civic activist Jim Gounaris are running against each other for the open seat being vacated by Williston Park Mayor Paul Ehrbar, who cited conflicts with his mayoral responsibilities as his reason for stepping aside.

The Mineola race could develop into a referendum on the school consolidation plan that Hale and Hornberger have pursued over the past year. The consolidation plan will be a prominent issue in the simultaneous vote on the $84 million school budget on May 17, which include the first phase of that plan, including a $2.6 million commitment to upgrade the Hampton Street School.

Two of the school board candidates running for the first time, Gerald Magaldi of Albertson and Joseph Manopella of Williston Park, both have expressed misgivings about the course the school consolidation has taken.

Manopella, who also calls himself an independent, expressed doubts about the strategic direction the school board is taking.

“I’m not sure they are going in the right direction now with what you’re hearing and all the configurations,” Manopella said. “A school has to close. I absolutely realize that. But we have to make sure that we minimize the disruption this will create throughout the school district.”

He said he’s undecided on whether a second elementary school should close, as is called for under the school board’s consolidation plan

As executive director of Franklin Hospital in Valley Stream, Manopella said he feels he has the expertise to address the school district’s fiscal issues.

“We deal with cuts also and we’ve been dealing with cuts for a long, long time. So this is nothing new as far as what I do,” he said.

“I like to think that I am more than qualified to take a look at the financials,” he said.

Magaldi said thinks the community is not being consulted by the school board on the issues.

“I think the community needs to be more involved. The community needs to be more represented,” Magaldi said. “I’m concerned about the budget and how that’s going to be spent now with the closing of Cross Street.”

Magaldi, who said his two sons attended the middle school and then Chaminade High School, described himself as an independent candidate.

He said he wants to get involved because he‘s curious about decisions being made, “like closing certain schools, where’s the budget going, and consolidation.”

Magaldi has taught religious classes at St. Aidan on Sunday for the past 13 years. He’s also coached baseball in Mineola and Albertson little league, but said he doesn’t consider himself representing parents in the district.

“I have no allegiance to anyone in the district. I’m a concerned citizen. I pay taxes and that’s my concern,” Magaldi said.

He declined to comment on the district’s proposed leasing of the Cross Street School to Solomon Schechter Day School of Glen Cove.

An executive in the cash management department of Signature Bank, Magaldi holds a masters degree in international marketing from St. John’s University.

The third challenger in the Mineola race, Albertson resident Veronica Levitan, could not be reached for comment.

Hale and Hornberger remain solidly behind the school consolidation plan.

“We’re going ahead,” Hale said after one recent board meeting.

Hale and Hornberger have both criticized board member John McGrath for his efforts to undermine the consolidation plan, most notably with his “Herrneola” proposal that the Mineola School District merge with the Herricks School District.

McGrath has said he wants to amend the consolidation plan by limiting it to closing the Cross Street School.

McGrath said he could “almost guarantee” that the race will be about configuration, but declined to endorse any of the challengers.

“I’m happy to see that there were enough people interested to run and I think it’s going to be lively campaign season,” McGrath said. “This is going to be their opportunity to tell us they like what’s going on or they want to see something different.”

Voters in the Herricks Schoolk District will have a choice between two candidates who are both civic activists, and who have children in the district schools.

Singh is running with Christine Turner, who is running unopposed to remain school board president. Along with her long-time PTA service, Singh is past president of the Herricks Indo-US Community, a non-profit Indian American organization and was inducted in the Women Roll of Honor by the Town of North Hempstead last year.

Gounaris has been active in the PTA and is currently a member of the Herricks Advisory Board. He is also a trustee of the American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association’s Educational Foundation, which manages a $3 million scholarship fund for students of Hellenic descent.

Ehrbar encouraged Singh to run for his seat and has endorse her as an “independent voice” in the school district.

While both candidates are viewed as educational advocates, Gounaris has earned the reputation as a fiscal conservative who was a vocal critic of the Herricks Teachers Association for not accepting a wage freeze for district teachers next year.

In the East Williston School District, incumbent school board president Mark Kamberg is running unopposed for re-election to his seat.