Lois Powell

Dear Parents and Community Members,

In an ongoing effort to improve communications with parents, I established a Parent Advisory Council, comprised of two people from each building PTA.  We met for the first time on Tuesday, April 14^th, and plan to meet monthly.  Our next meeting is scheduled for May 12^th.  We are all enthusiastic about this new endeavor! 

Dear Parents and Community Members,

Keeping open communication flowing between the Superintendent’s office and the community is challenging. In an ongoing effort to add another avenue of communication to the already established email, telephone and face-to-face meetings, I have established a blog which you can access by visiting our website: www.spackenkillschools.org. You can also go directly to the following site: http://spackenkillsuperintendent.wordpress.com .

Dear Community Members,

On the following pages, you will find three tiers of menu options for consideration should we need to reduce the budget in upcoming years.

Tier One is the first level. These are reductions that will have little to no direct impact on students. Many of the items in this list are things we should do anyway as part of the normal course of pursuing cost effectiveness. While recommending cuts in these areas, I am also recommending some additions to the budget for next year.

Dear Parents and Community Members,

We are once again into our budget planning for the upcoming school year. For next year, we are striving to keep maintain programs while cutting costs to address the anticipated decrease in state aid.

At the December Board of Education meeting, I presented the following as budget goals for the 2009-2010 school year:

•  Provide the information voters need about the proposed budget so they can make an informed decision;
  
•  Identify ways to reduce the budget-to-budget increase in response to economic conditions and anticipated reduction in state aid;
  
•  Investigate possible PILOT projects with local developers as a possible means of moderating tax increases for homeowners.

At the January 27th Board of Education meeting, we discussed some possible ways of cutting costs (see presentation on website). The budget conversation will be continued at the Board of Education Meeting on February 9th, which is being held at 8:00 p.m. in the Middle School Cafeteria. I encourage you to attend and to share your thoughts as we move forward in the budget development process.

Sincerely,

Lois C. Colletta

Dear Community Members,

You may or may not have heard that there is some talk about reorganizing the elementary schools by grade level rather than neighborhood. As I'm sure you know, we are facing some very difficult economic times and in looking at the enrollments, Mr. Geoghan and I have estimated that a change like this could save the district nearly $450,000. Such a change would neither diminish program nor increase class size significantly.

Dear Parents and Community Members,

Unfortunately, this letter must begin on a serious note. As you know, Governor Paterson delivered some very disturbing news for school districts last month. If the legislature approves his plan to cut the state budget, our district will lose over $600,000 in school aid this current school year. As this newsletter goes to press, we are hoping that the legislature will at least be able to lessen the impact this year so that we can continue all programs as planned.

Of greater concern to us, however, are the upcoming years. State aid, at best, will remain flat, and a reduction in aid is certainly a real possibility. Just last month, the Board of Education began the budget process by hearing from the community. The budget will be discussed again at the regular Board of Education meeting in December and conversations will continue through May. Now more than ever, we need your comments so that we can develop a budget that reflects our community’s wishes regarding all aspects of the program for the upcoming school year.

On a much more positive note, we are now coming upon the “music season” as each building prepares for its winter concerts. The music teachers and their students have been working hard to present showcase events. Please check the calendar and come out to join us for as many of these as you can.

I would also like to make mention of the hard work done by our students and faculty in each building this fall to make the holidays a little brighter for families in need. Events included collecting food for the “Stuff the Bus” campaign, a coat drive, a visit to a local nursing home, and the annual Leo Club “Adopt-a-Family” program which provides holiday gifts for less fortunate families in our district. I’m so proud to be part of a district that cares so much for the quality of life of others.

Best wishes for a wonderful holiday and a happy and healthy New Year!

Sincerely,

Lois Colletta