Waiting for Albanys numbers
WARWICK Speaking at the school boards regular meeting on Monday, Superintendent of Schools Dr. Raymond Bryant said that the school board is going to defer releasing its budget numbers to the public until Gov. Andrew Cuomo announces New York States budget.
Until I know what were getting in state aid, this is not a year for guesstimating, Bryant said, noting that the district stands to get back between $40,000 and $400,000 in state aid from Albany.
Bryant added, however, that the high-cost aid is a long shot given that the state prioritizes aid to poorer districts first, then rural districts, then all others.
The Warwick Valley School Board is looking to close a $3.6 million budget gap. The board hopes to have at least one more pre-budget community forum.
Proposition items on budget ballot
The board modified language on a previously approved resolution regarding the purchase of buses for the fleet; the resolution asks voters to approve the purchase of five buses and related equipment at a maximum cost of $530,000.
The district is also looking for the voters blessing to provide transportation only to students in grades K-5 who live beyond 3/10 of a mile, and grades 6-12 who live beyond 5/10 of a mile, in order to capture a cost savings of more than $117,000.
Budget hearing, vote and election
The school board will present the 2012-13 budget at its public hearing on Monday, May 7, at 7 p.m. at the Dorothy C. Wilson Education Center.
Elections for three school board positions, two transportation propositions and the school district budget vote will be held on Tuesday, May 15, from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., at the following three election districts: Pine Island District, to be held at the former Pine Island Elementary School building; Village District, to be held at the Dorothy C. Wilson Education Center; and Kings District, to be held at the Kings Elementary School.
Greenwood Lake Talks with Greenwood Lake regarding tuitioning their high school students are still at a standstill, according to Bryant, because their board president is away.
Consent agenda items The board approved a motion to increase the budget by nearly $54,000 to pay settlements for tax assessments under the Tax Certiorari Reserve.
The district accepted a NYSERDA grant of $98,600 to buy and install engine heaters in 29 buses. The heaters will enable the buses to be warmed up inside by their first stops, without idling, thereby minimizing fuel use, saving money and helping the environment.
College and Work Readiness assessment
Warwick Valley High School seniors recently took the College and Work Readiness Assessment (CWRA). From the CWRA web site, the test is an assessment that tests high school students on their 21st century skills of critical thinking, analytic reasoning, problem solving, and written communication, skills that are necessary in work and college environments in the 21st century. Tests are completed online in a proctor format and are suggested for freshmen and seniors in high school.
The tests are used to measure how well high school seniors are prepared for college, in terms of their effective written and speaking skills, as well as critical thinking.
Students are measured in their ability to make sense of charts, graphs and numbers; make appropriate comparisons; know the difference between correlation and causation; to determine whether data are being used incorrectly/improperly; and in their ability to filter.
Warwicks seniors competed against other high-performing schools that took the CWRA, and performed at the 70th percentile overall.
Bryant wondered if the data show potential areas for improvement, both in what students are being taught and how the teachers are teaching them, and suggested that the CWRA might be used as a value-add as a local assessment.
The issue, he continued, is how to synthesize and use information students learn in school, instead of just being a great Jeopardy player.
- Abby Wolf