CATO - Collaboration may be the key to passing a just and respectable Cato-Meridian Central School District budget this year.
Educators and members of the community voiced their willingness Monday night to work with the school district's board of education to achieve common goals. It was an attempt to heal rifts within the district which has led to two school board resignations and a public meeting of concerned citizens last week.
The head of the Cato-Meridian Teachers Association, Cecilia Kurpita, pointed out that the teachers want to work jointly with school board members.
“We were not taking anybody to task,” she said.
In other news:
- School board members passed a motion 4-0 to put board terms on the ballot. Voters will decide whether they prefer three- or five-year terms for school board members.
Currently school board members serve for five years.
Board vice president Charles Ware abstained, cautioning that voters should be allowed to vote between 3-, 4- or 5-year terms for elected board members.
“We should leave it to the electorate,” said Ware, asserting that the board should make a variety of choices available to voters.
- The district's assistant superintendent for business, Crosby Lamont, Jr., said that proposed state Senate and Assembly budgets look favorable for Cato-Meridian schools.
He said that both houses had voted for increased spending in excess of $1 billion, and that a meeting of the minds at the state level could force Gov. George Pataki to resubmit a budget more amicable to the school district's needs.
“We're a heavily aided district,” Lamont said. He added he expected firmer numbers by April 1, the state's deadline to approve a budget.
He told board members that the governor's budget may dictate they repay the BOCES building project bond over 30 years, but that the timeline depends on the final budget.
At the last board meeting, some members favored a 20-year repayment plan.
Lamont said added costs around mandated testing, an increase in building and grounds personnel, and other new appointments bring the total budget for the school district to over $16 million, a six percent increase from last year's budget.
Staff writer Olivia Goldberg can be reached at 253-5311, ext. 235 or olivia.goldberg@lee.net
The head of the Cato-Meridian Teachers Association, Cecilia Kurpita, pointed out that the teachers want to work jointly with school board members.
“We were not taking anybody to task,” she said.
In other news:
- School board members passed a motion 4-0 to put board terms on the ballot. Voters will decide whether they prefer three- or five-year terms for school board members.
Currently school board members serve for five years.
Board vice president Charles Ware abstained, cautioning that voters should be allowed to vote between 3-, 4- or 5-year terms for elected board members.
“We should leave it to the electorate,” said Ware, asserting that the board should make a variety of choices available to voters.
- The district's assistant superintendent for business, Crosby Lamont, Jr., said that proposed state Senate and Assembly budgets look favorable for Cato-Meridian schools.
He said that both houses had voted for increased spending in excess of $1 billion, and that a meeting of the minds at the state level could force Gov. George Pataki to resubmit a budget more amicable to the school district's needs.
“We're a heavily aided district,” Lamont said. He added he expected firmer numbers by April 1, the state's deadline to approve a budget.
He told board members that the governor's budget may dictate they repay the BOCES building project bond over 30 years, but that the timeline depends on the final budget.
At the last board meeting, some members favored a 20-year repayment plan.
Lamont said added costs around mandated testing, an increase in building and grounds personnel, and other new appointments bring the total budget for the school district to over $16 million, a six percent increase from last year's budget.
Staff writer Olivia Goldberg can be reached at 253-5311, ext. 235 or olivia.goldberg@lee.net
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