News Item
Firehouse Chat brings school and community together for important discussions
January 2009
On
January 22, hundreds of community members, parents, teachers and
students filled the Rock Hill Firehouse to discuss the tough
economic times and their impact on Monticello Schools’ 2009-2010
budget. Due to the huge cuts in state aid that are projected for
the next few years, district officials will have to ultimately
make some very difficult decisions as to how they can create an
equitable budget that doesn’t break the backs of taxpaying
citizens yet still maintains the quality of educational
programs.
In the past month at other meetings, community members have made
a wide variety of suggestions for cutting the $3.4 million
deficit the district faces this year. Those included cutting
afterschool buses, consolidating some Monticello classes with
the Fallsburg School District and having teachers give up next
year’s pay raise.
The Rock Hill meeting continued those discussions with a focus
on one of the most emotionally received suggestions - closing
one of the district’s underutilized elementary schools – Emma C.
Chase or Cornelius Duggan. This suggestion has drawn much
resistance from parents in both Wurtsboro and White Lake. So
much so, that one parent suggested that instead of possibly
closing a school, district officials should raise the tax levy
by the projected 14.2% increase it would take to balance the
budget.
The suggestion of biting the bullet and taking such a huge tax
increase was not well received by the majority of the taxpayers
present including 66 year-old John Carey.
“I think our schools are doing a great job,” said Carey, a
30-year resident of Monticello. “But, they’re killing us with
taxes at all levels – school, county, state – last year
combined, my taxes went up almost twenty percent. Many of the
people I know have had to leave this area because they can’t
afford to live here anymore – they’re broke – there’s just no
more money. Foreclosures are skyrocketing, unemployment is out
of control and it’s only going to get worse. If taxes keep going
up our goose is cooked!”
Other
members of the audience suggested cutting non-mandated programs
including sports, art, music, theater and extra-curricular
activities from all the district students. One Robert J. Kaiser
Middle School parent noted that if that were to happen, then “we
better get ready for more gang activity, because there are no
alternatives available to the afterschool programs that provide
a safe, positive place for our children to go.” A parent of two
high schoolers added that it’s the extra stuff that makes school
more interesting for kids and helps them get into college.
Monticello Superintendent of Schools Dr. Patrick Michel, who
facilitated the meeting, explained that no decisions have been
made and that all the suggestions and information gathered from
the community meetings would be presented to the Board of
Education before the mid-March budget deadline.
“I don’t want to close any of my schools,” said Dr. Michel. “But
we have to look at every possible alternative to make the very
difficult decisions that are before us. It’s no longer business
as usual. Our mission and obligation are to educate all the
students in this district to the best of our abilities, and
while doing so we must be fiscally responsible to our taxpaying
community.”
Anyone who would like to be a part of these ongoing public
discussions is encouraged and welcome to attend any or all of
the future meetings, which includes three more Firehouse Chats
and four Citizens’ Advisory Budget Committee (CABC) meetings all
scheduled for February and/or March.
Firehouse Chat Schedule:
• Monticello Firehouse Chat -
Wednesday, Feb. 11 at 7 p.m.
• Wurtsboro Firehouse Chat - Thursday, Feb. 12 at 7 p.m. in the
Chase Elementary School Library (due to the lack of meeting
space at the Wurtsboro Firehouse)
• White Lake Firehouse Chat - Tuesday, Feb. 24 at 7 p.m.
• Forestburgh Firehouse Chat - Tuesday, Mar. 24 at 7 p.m.
To participate in the school budget formation process, community members can attend the Citizens’ Advisory Budget Committee (CABC) meetings held in the RJK Middle School cafeteria at 7 p.m. on the following dates:
• Wednesday, Feb. 4
• Wednesday, Feb. 25
• Wednesday, Mar. 11
• Wednesday, Mar. 25
If you have any ideas or comments you would like to share but
can't attend any of the meetings, please contact Dr. Michel
directly at 845-794-7700, ext. 70910 or via e-mail at
pmichel@k12mcsd.net.
Photo: Monticello Superintendent of
Schools Dr. Patrick Michel talks with community members John
Carey and Dave Karmolinski at the Rock Hill Firehouse Chat.
Karmolinski, who has a son in the RJK Middle School and a
daughter in the Chase Elementary School, is opposed to closing
Chase but also doesn’t want to see major program cuts at RJK or
a 14% tax increase.