Massapequa board agrees to send letters backing select school‑policy bills, opposes mandated project labor agreements

Members of the Massapequa Union Free School District Board of Education reviewed legislative priorities and authorized sending letters in support of selected bills identified by Nassau and New York State school board associations.

The advocacy update reported that the Nassau‑Suffolk School Boards Association and the New York State School Boards Association have taken positions aligned with Massapequa on several measures. Trustees agreed to send letters supporting specific proposals discussed at the meeting — including a bill that would permit districts to borrow against certain reserve funds (a change aimed at reducing annual interest costs associated with tax‑anticipation borrowing) and a bill proposing bail for individuals who threaten schools — and to notify local legislators such as Alexis Weik and Michael Durso, as discussed in the meeting.

Board members also noted coalition opposition to a separate bill that would require some school districts on Long Island to enter project labor agreements for large capital projects; representatives said both local and state school board associations oppose that mandate. Trustees moved and seconded a resolution to send support letters for the discussed legislative priorities and the motion passed with all members voting in the affirmative.

The discussion included a brief explainer on the borrowing change and its local effect: one trustee said the district currently budgets about $347,000 a year in interest tied to tax‑anticipation borrowing and could reduce that cost by allowing short‑term borrowing against reserves instead. The board directed advocacy staff to draft letters for the identified bills and to send them to the legislators named during the discussion. No new funding or binding contractual commitments were approved at the meeting.