Lois Colletta's blog

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! 

The parent members, listed below, want you to know that they welcome communication from you.  Of course, I do as well.  An email link to the committee is also available on our website.

High School

Julie Torres                               Carol Daponte

462-0727                                  462-6034        

jamcato@yahoo.com              cadaponte@optonline.net

Middle School

Dawn Nedin                             Jennifer McKee

462-8345                                  416-5706

Dawne3215@yahoo.com         jlbmck@yahoo.com

Hagan

Jennifer Kaufman                      Pat Cordner

462-1807                                  463-2601

jmkaufman@optonline.net         Patricia.cordner@marist.edu

Nassau

Thomas Keith                           Michele Messick

462-5524                                  541-3134

Thekeiths4@verizon.net            mmessick@optonline.net

The 2009-2010 proposed school budget was adopted by the Board of Education at a meeting held on April 14th.  The proposed budget of $36,302,539 represents an increase of  4.64% above the 2008-2009 budget, with a tax levy increase of 3.58%.  The tax levy increase was reduced from the original 3.88% increase because of the additional aid we received from the State.  Please watch for the budget brochure in your mail; it provides details about what is included in the budget and what savings were realized.  In the meantime, the presentation that was made to the Board of Education is available on our website.

Residents are invited to attend a public hearing on the budget on Monday, May 11^th, at 7:30 at Todd Middle School.   The annual meeting, budget vote, and trustee election will be held on Tuesday, May 19^th, from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. at Spackenkill High School.   Please remember to vote!

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 .

I will post a new topic/question every other week, usually on a Monday, beginning Monday, March 2nd. Of course, you may write about anything, not just the posted topic. All comments will be pre-screened before they are posted. Any message that contains identifiable information about a person or persons will not be posted. Should you wish to comment about an individual or individuals (positively or negatively), please use another method of communication, such as those noted below. Also, if you have a question or concern that requires timely attention, please use a method other than the blog.

Other methods of communication are, of course, welcomed as well. You may contact me via email at lois.colletta@spackenkillschools.org, by phone at 463-7800, or by letter at 15 Croft Road, Poughkeepsie, NY 12603. Of course, you can also schedule an appointment to meet with me. Finally, there are still two sessions at the Barnes and Noble café scheduled for this school year. The next one is on Sunday, April 26th at 1:00 pm, and the last is on Tuesday, June 2nd at 2:00 pm. Jill Berkowicz, Director of Curriculum, will join me at each of these two sessions.

I hope that you will use whatever means you are most comfortable with to let me know what you’re thinking about or to ask questions about anything that concerns you—even if it is just something you are curious about. Ultimately, I hope the outcome of even better communication will be the best possible educational experience for the children of Spackenkill.

This time of year is budget time. I made a presentation at the February 9th Board meeting regarding the proposed budget for the 2009-2010 school year. While many surrounding districts are finding themselves in a crunch and needing to make cuts, our district is in good financial shape for next year. Still, I presented the Board with some suggestions for cost savings for next year, as well as a few recommended additions to the budget.

In an effort to look ahead to what may be tougher budget years in the future, I also presented the Board with some options for reducing costs in 2010-2011 and beyond. The reductions are organized by tiers. Please go to our website to view the recommendations for next year as well as the tiers of cuts that may be considered in future years.

We will be discussing the budget again at the March 9th Board of Education meeting before presenting the complete proposed budget for the 2009-2010 school year in detail at the Board of Education Meeting on March 24th. We hope you will be able to attend both meetings; your input is still very important, even at this stage.

Sincerely,

Lois C. Colletta

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.

Tiers Two and Three are for future consideration if necessary. Tier Two presents a more significant level of cuts. These reductions would impact students somewhat directly. However, items in this Tier generally would not increase class size or eliminate regular school day programs. Students would be affected mostly in the area of extra-curricular and enrichment activities. Finally, Tier Three is the most severe level of cuts. It is my sincere hope and expectation that we never have to reach this list. Any cuts taken from this tier would have a very direct impact on students.

While all three tiers are being presented at this time, very few reductions need to be made for the upcoming school year, and I recommend that they come from Tier One.

Lois Colletta

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.

What is important to know at this time is that it is not a fait accompli. My recommendation to the Board is only to form a committee of teachers, parents, and administrators to look at the matter more seriously. That recommendation will be made in public at Tuesday night's Board meeting at Nassau. The only thing I can say for certain at this time is that if such a change is made, Hagan would house four grade levels and Nassau two because of the size of the buildings. All other details would be decided upon by the committee.

I will be attending the PTA meeting at Hagan on Monday, February 2nd to address comments or questions. All community members are welcome to attend. If you cannot attend that meeting, Mr. Geoghan and I will be at Barnes and Noble at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, February 4th.

If you have any questions in the meantime, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Lois Colletta , Ed.D.

Superintendent of Schools 

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