Nature Trail & Tree Planting at Marbletown Elementary School

 NATURE TRAIL JUST CREATED

An award winner trail builder for Bear Mountain just completed creating a nature trail at the Marbletown Elementary School.  Everyone should come check it out and encourage your classroom teachers to add it to their curriculum.

There is a sweet little outdoor classroom on the trail that has a circle of benches and a table. Perfect for story time.

There is a plan for an enchanted walk this fall during the school day for all grades.

TREE PLANTING

Last month was a tree planting ceremony honoring Perry Cobb, local arborist. Three trees were planted at the playground.

Today they Chose Rosendale

Today, the reconfiguration committee decided that Rosendale Elementary should close. Is it because it is the oldest? nope, the newest. Is it because it has the most upcoming costly repairs? not by a long shot, it has the lowest cost. Is it because it would save the most money if closed? nope the least. Why? Because Kerhonksen has to be taken off of the table despite it being in the worst shape with a half a million dollars worth of needed repairs. Marbletown has more kids (because of the way lines are drawn) and 2 extra classrooms.

For the record, I do not want any of our neighborhood schools to close. Closing a neighborhood school is devastating to a community. No one want to move to a town with no school. But if they have to close a school it is amazing and saddening that it is Rosendale. It makes no sense. I say close the Middle School. But who is listening to me?

MES & KES parents out there. If you would join the RES in their fight we could keep all of the community schools opened. RES should not have to stand alone. RES kids should not have to bear the full burden.

Trouble among BOE members

Sorry to not keep up. Life is hectic these days. While I was in Rosendale for campaign craziness things seemed to get crazy at the BOE meeting as well. Do they want to close Rosendale and move it the Middle School? Clearly some BOE members think so but not all. There seems to be some behind the scene conversations that some BOE members are doing "acting" as representative voices for the rest of the board. Why is this published as a BOE decision? Because the Blue Stone Press is capable of doing an extremely poor job of telling a story.

To tell the right story, the Alliance for Quality Education (AQE) is holding a regional press conference regarding educational budget cuts and the impact on our children and students of all ages on Wednesday, November 16th at 5:00pm at the George Washington School auditorium, 67 Wall Street, Kingston, NY.

Tonight's BOE Meeting

There is a BOE meeting tonight at the district office at 7:00.

Last week the reconfiguration group voted to remove the district office and the high school from consideration of potential buildings to close.

There are three significant concerns with this rapid approach that potentially can be presented at the meeting tonight if you are so moved:

1. Until we have a full assessment of the number of students, the number of teaching classrooms and the maximum size for each class that we find acceptable, we have no way of knowing whether we can close an entire building. 


WHY THIS IS A CONCERN: This is a backwards approach that is forcing us into a corner. It is unclear why the true number of classrooms needed is not the first item for consideration.

2. The decision to exclude the district office was based on a cost/savings comparison where we were told that the cost would be too high and the savings too low.

WHY THIS IS A CONCERN: a) As with last year the specifics about these costs and savings were neither provided to the public or necessarily verified. Are they accurate? b) This cost/savings was done in a vacuum - in other words this comparison was not placed against the real cost/savings of every other building to determine that it a least reasonable option. c) While we can't know who might buy or rent a building shouldn't potential saleability/potential rentablity be included as a consideration?

3. The decision to exclude the high school was based on a qualitative understanding that given the extensive and expensive renovations recently done and the individuality of many classroom, it would simply be unacceptable and unfeasible to close this building.

WHY THIS IS A CONCERN: Personally, I think applying this consideration that is less based on a specific cost/savings analysis but more based on the broader impact and the uniqueness of the building is important. However, this same criteria should be applied for every other building as well and if a cost/saving is applied to other buildings it should be applied to the high school.

In other words there needs to be a consistent standardized way to look at each building. It appears that the committee is selecting data to support predetermined decisions rather than using data to guide decisions.

This is not o.k. and you should feel free to let them know.

Next Reconfiguration Meeting

The BOE voted in favor of reducing the capacity utilized by our district from six building to five. The next decision being made QUICKLY is which building should be eliminated.

The BOE will make this decision primarily on fit and costs.

Your job is to reinforce that this decision is about more than fit.


What are the implications if:

1. A neighborhood school closed? How does this impact the neighborhood, the kids, the teachers?
2. The kindergartens were moved out of each building?
3. The 5th graders moved to the elementary buildings?
4. The 8th graders moved to the High School?

We need to hear your wisdom on this now as these decisions will be made with or without you.

Next budget meeting is Tuesday 10/18 at 4:00
Next reconfiguration meeting is Tuesday 10/18 at 5:30

Both back to back in the district office.

Its That Time Again - Consolidation Talks 2011

A new consolidation sub-committee has been formed. I am only aware of two members - Brianna Costello and David O'Halloran. This seems to be a BOE subcommittee which suggests that perhaps only BOE members will serve. It may or may not have public comment.

BUT PEOPLE SHOULD STILL ATTEND!!

Being there shows that we care and are watching.
If no public comment is possible, we can bring the comments to the full BOE

The FIRST meeting is coming up and is especially important to attend.

Meeting will be on opposite on the Tuesdays opposite BOE meetings. I forgot what time they said but one parent informed me that she understood it would be from 5:30-7:00. If this is different I will post ASAP. It is also planned for now at the District Office. I hope enough people come that they realize they need to move it to a bigger venue.

FIRST MEETING: Oct. 4
Tentative next meetings: 10/18, 11/1, 11/15, 11/29

Do not worry about speaking. Being there shows you care. If they decide this in an empty room, they will assume we do not care.

Help Protect Next Years Budget Now

Governor Cuomo and legislative leaders are preparing to pass the most devastating tax cap in the nation, one that would permanently harm schools, SUNY community colleges and public services in New York State. It would let a minority of voters — just one vote over 40 percent — reject school budgets in a breath-taking subversion of democracy.   The bill, A- 7916 Silver, would starve our schools and community colleges, cause massive program closures and layoffs, widen the achievement gap and deprive students of a sound basic education as required under our state constitution. If you thought budget cuts were bad, this bill would cause far more permanent devastation, without doing a thing to provide tax relief to those most in need.

The very future of public education is at stake. Please call the AFL-CIO hotline at 1-877-255-9417 to speak with your Senator, Assembly member and Governor Cuomo's office. Tell them we will hold all officeholders accountable should this measure become law.  For our statement on the tax cap bill:

http://www.nysut.org/cps/rde/xchg/nysut/hs.xsl/mediareleases_16629.htm