Newsday Apa )ry fy. AZO Ediforials > When surpluses damage trust — S pending appropriately is an essential part of keeping the public’s OPINION trust for any governmental organization. Judged by that standard, the Central Islip school board has failed its residents over the past five years. The board committed a double whammy of sins — it underestimat- ed revenue, and it overestimated how much it would spend. That re- sulted in combined surpluses of $25 million. Usually, a surplus is good news, except that Central Islip exceeded the legal limit on school dis- trict surpluses over the past three years. Worse, it increased its tax levy by $6.6 million, or 9 percent, during that time. In other words, it asked taxpayers for more money while it was not spending surplus funds it could have used to keep taxes down. That’s never a good prac- tice, but it’s especially bad during difficult economic times. Central Islip even laid off teachers, increased class sizes and, for three years, switched from full-day kindergarten to half-day. ‘The finding last week by the state comptroller’s office is distressing- ly familiar. Since July, Thomas DiNapoli’s staff has found similar bud- geting practices resulting in excessive surpluses in at least five other school districts — Floral Park-Bellerose, Quogue, Mount Sinai, Matti- tuck-Cutchogue and Wainscott — as well as the Middle Island Fire District. Having no clear plans to spend surpluses can lead to suspi- cion the money is being stashed for some other purpose. Central Islip’s explanation — it was preparing to cover a potential liabil- ity involving building aid rescinded by the state Education Department — was rejected for legal reasons by the comptroller and in any event would be required for only slightly more than half of the $25 million. School districts complain they are criticized if their reserves are too low and if they are too high. But state law setting these limits is meant .- to protect taxpayers. Simply put: If a district socks away too much money, in one way or another it should give it back. IN.