Dear Community Members:
In September, the District office will be moving to a leased modular unit on the elementary school campus. I urge you to view the special Board meeting held on June 20, where the rationale and discussion of the move took place. Please click here to view the meeting.
While the need for facilities planning was discussed during our budget process this spring as we reviewed the developing need for more space at the high school, it recently became obvious that the limitations of the high school room utilization were more severe than expected and we would not have adequate space for classes planned for the fall. In scheduling students for their requests to take more language classes, science offerings, and BOCES programs and the need for more special education and academic support, it was clear that the classroom spaces occupied by the District’s administration offices would have to be relinquished. After investigating a number of options for relocating our offices, the most economical approach for the District, with the least impact on our other school classroom facilities, was to lease a modular unit to be placed at the elementary school campus. This location allows us to take advantage of existing connections to utilities, including water, sewer, HVAC. The lease cost will be $5,000 per month.
The decision to move was not made lightly. However, programming, staffing and student course selection resulted in the need for three additional classrooms and the office space within the high school does meet the needs of students and staff for instructional purposes as developed in the original high school plan. While there is a new modified block schedule planned for the fall, reverting to our prior schedule would have the same impact.
Certainly, the district office personnel will miss the informal and regular connections to high school students, teachers and administrators, but this allows for the opportunity to become more visible at the elementary school. Our daily schedule will continue to include visits to the high school and middle school to ensure continued interactions with students and staff at all schools. As has been our practice, our doors are always open to parents and community members and we will continue to be actively involved in school and community events. Our District staff has pulled together to make the change while flying the plane,” preparing for our audit, and fulfilling the requirements of summer preparation for the new year.
At this point, the priority must be the continued access to educational opportunities for our high school students and the proper instructional use of space for that purpose. Thus, our efforts will be focused on moving out of the high school, keeping student needs “first and foremost.” Please note, Pupil Personnel Services (Special Education/New Student Registration) has been temporarily relocated to the Elementary School.
Sincerely,
Dr. Frances Wills
Superintendent of Schools