For the BOE today

There are two primary issues the budgetary committee has yet to satisfactorily provide.

1. The real break down of estimations that led to the decision of consolidation as the only alternative to program cuts (said by Len, budget chair). We were told that they have been looking at this for months prior to informing the public of a potential school closing. We have asked numerous times to see the work they have done, the spread sheets, and the meeting minutes. Is it true that no one speculated the transportation costs yet? When will they make this information available for the public to see? What is the reason for the delay?

2. We appear to be administration heavy in the District office and the middle and high schools. At a Marbletown meeting, when Rosario was asked about this in comparison to other Ulster County school districts, he said this was like comparing apples to oranges. Why is it different in Rondout? Why do we need 11 people on our administrative team when Kingston, which is more than 3 times larger needs only 7? Why do we need 2 Assistance principles in our Middle School and High School when New Paltz (which is the same size) has only one in each? Cutting out district office down to 7 and one AP off for MS & HS would be well over a $700,000 savings. Are they carefully considering this?