A letter from Mr. Artie

Dear Children’s School Families,

I hope this letter finds you well. Now that the holidays have come and gone, I wanted to update you on a few items that we’ve been tracking since the school year began.
The Budget – At the end of November, I was informed from District 75 they would be removing funds from our special education budget due to register loss. If carried out, this would have a large impact on services to children. I met with the budget officer of District 75 to explain that our registers were lower due to the de-certification of students from special education to general education. Removing this funding would now prevent us from providing the supports directly responsible for this action to continue. The finance director understood my reasons and reinstated almost the entire dollar amount originally removed from the budget.
The Lease – Almost all areas of the newly proposed 20 year lease agreement have been worked out. The new arrangement is very similar to the past contract except in two areas. The Senior room located in the recreation building would now fall under the jurisdiction of the Department of Education. While the Senior Citizens would still be granted access on Thursdays, we would now have full usage all other days.
Due to a growing religious education program, the church would also be utilizing 8 rooms on Saturday mornings from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm to support their needs. The building would be opened and closed by the custodial staff and school safety officers would be assigned to the building during this period of time.
The Playground – Due to a rise in the cost of materials, the contractor assigned to the project is no longer willing to honor the projected price to perform the necessary work. I have made outreach to the company, Out2play, who is overseeing the entire operation to talk about next steps for this project. I’ll keep you updated when I get additional information.
The Expansion – A recent conversation with the Office of Portfolio Management has not gone as hoped. They are unable to find space for the expansion for September 2012. They do however remain confident that space will be available for September 2013. Needless to say, I am disappointed for the families who were considering remaining with us for sixth grade but remain committed to see the expansion happen.
Testing – The NY State tests will be coming up in April. The children will be well prepared and I am confident they will perform at a high level.
As always, thank you for all your continued support.

Mr. Artie