School Budget Protest at Village Hall

The first thing I noticed were the marchers as I drove by. The next thing, the thing that struck me the most, was the chant: "Hardwick no, Vote yes." Signs, including one that read "Cut Hardwick, Not Budget," were carried by children, teenagers and adults alike as they marched in front of Village Hall on Monday, May 17th. One day before the budget vote, Freeport residents worked together to express their opinion.



I spoke with Ellen Frey, President of the Freeport PTA Council. "This protest is about the fact that Mayor Hardwick wants to influence village residents to vote down the budget," she explained. As the Freeport School District and the Village of Freeport have separate organization structures, taxation authorities, and even different boundaries, the Village has no authority over how the School District proceeds with its budget. As Mrs. Frey put succinctly, "The mayor has no say."

As previously reported by News Twelve, Mayor Hardwick announced that the school board wants to give increase to the "Deputy Super-Intendent and Assistant Deputy Super-Intendent anywhere from $20,000 to $30,000 raises." If true, in the face of a massive loss in state aid, it would be cause for alarm.

According to one member of the Freeport Board of Education, Ron Ellerbe, however, this is nothing more than the a simple case of "The Mayor misrepresented the facts." As he stated at a public town hall meeting recorded by Channel 18, "Inside Freeport," Mr. Ellerbe explains that the Superintendent is a new Super-Intendent, and is not getting a raise - he is, instead, under a brand new contract that places him at a salary level that is actually below that of the average for Nassau County.

About his encounter with the Mayor, Mr. Ellerbe simply explained that "if I hadn't spoken out to correct the record, it would have been false." Mr. Ellerbe Also went on to state that Mayor Hardwick is "actively campaigning against the budget. He's supporting two other candidates who are running for the board who are also opposed to the budget." School Board President Debra McQuillan added that "the budget has always been put out on a neutral level. The Mayor has tilted the scales."

Also countering the Mayor's claim that the budget is out of control and "needs to be rolled back," Mrs. McQuillan explained that "the Board of Education put up probably the most responsible budget possible given the loss of more than $4,000,000" Looking about at the one hundred and fifty protesters Mrs. Frey estimated were in attendance, the impressed School Board President calmly ruminated that "This is the beast woken up."

Resident Susan Lyons commented that "The Mayor put up two candidates who are unqualified," adding to Mr. Ellerbe's concern about the Mayor being too involved in this election. The Co-Chair of the Citizens Advisory Committee, Jeremy Impellizeri added that he believes "its come to a point where the people are not going to take it," vowing "we're not letting him (Mayor Hardwick) touch our schools."

If tomorrow's Budget is rejected by voters, an alternative budget must be created and voted upon at a later date. If that fails, the consequences - known as "austerity" - are devastating. Freeport has been through such periods before, and they are periods with seriously reduced services - such as crippling cuts to music education and athletics. Layoffs and pay cuts are also potential consequences for an austerity spell.

While there may be something to be said for controlling spending, the protesters made clear that they don't believe it to be out-of-hand in the school district. Mrs. Frey had some impressive parting words; according to her, "the Mayor has increased his office's budget 92%." Her message for Mayor Hardwick was simple: "tell the Mayor to stay out of the school budget and roll back his own." Unfortunately, she missed her opportunity; immediately after taking this quote down, protesters began to claim that they had seen Mayor Hardwick leave through the back entrance, leading one to wonder what his response to the picketers might have been - they were certainly shouting loudly enough for him to hear them.