Planning for the 2009-10 school budget.. we need your input!

As we begin the New Year, our district begins to focus on the school budget for 2009-2010. In doing this, we know that we have two main objectives: to provide a world class education to every student, every day, and to do so without over burdening our local taxpayers. This year, this balancing act is made even more difficult by the economic crisis that we face as a state and a nation. The realities of this crisis have our State officials considering some very deep cuts in the aid to education,

Watervliet relies heavily on state education funding to provide our student programs and keep our local taxes as low as possible. Reduction in this aid leaves us with only two choices; remove student programming or increase local taxes. Neither of which is something that we want to do.

These issues are at the center of the budget conversations that we want to have, not only with the school employees and administration, but also with the citizens of Watervliet.

In years past we have had a budget committee made up of school employees, local business owners, parents, and concerned tax payers. We would like to invite anyone who wants to be part of our solution team to join this budget committee. We will be holding a series of meetings over the coming months, the dates of which will be posted on the district’s website. If you would like to be a member of this committee, please contact Bernadette Boardman, Clerk of the Board, at 629-3201. We need to hear the voices of the people of Watervliet to help us make the right choices in this challenging time.

We will not abandon our students, and regardless of the money lost to state aid cuts we will accept and overcome this challenge together. The future of our students and our city is at stake. We must work together to come out of this crisis a stronger community.