Budgeting for Change

Message from the Board of Education
Randolph Henderson, President
Jill Scott, Vice President

The “only thing constant is change” and it continues to be our theme at CLCS. On July 1, 2004, after an extensive search, we welcomed Ben Spitzer as our new Superintendent. Ben comes to us with several years of administrative experience as an elementary principal, with an educational foundation in school psychology and expertise in staff development. His expertise is proving to be invaluable as we transition through multiple retirements and the integration of new faculty members into the district. In addition, at the direction of the Board of Education, Ben is working to realign the administrative structure of the district while maintaining programs and controlling costs.

One of the most difficult “changes” we must comes to terms with is the death of those we hold dear. Unfortunately, CLCS is no stranger to these types of changes and the 2004-05 school year was no exception. On the first day of school, the community was shocked and saddened by the untimely death of our Elementary Principal, Nancy Glenn Bolognese. Joan Chittister reminds us that “death deprives but it also enriches. It makes us more reflective, more grateful for life, more aware of our debts to humanity, more conscious of the meaning of our own lives. Death is a very vibrant thing. It makes us all begin together again, more grateful for one another than ever before.” Nancy is sadly missed by all who knew her.

In anticipation of challenges associated with “cost-containment,” the CLCS Board of Education and Administration started the budget process early this year. Working with Mr. Spitzer, the building principals, and department heads, we have been able to find ways to hold the line while continuing to provide quality educational opportunities for our students. We continue to explore all avenues for cost savings, including “shared services” with neighboring districts. We anticipate finalizing some of these agreements before the start of the 2005-06 school year.

Even though we have put forth our best efforts at containing costs, many factors, such as unfunded Federal and State mandates, rising health insurance premiums, decreasing merger operating incentive aid and contributions to the retirement systems remain beyond our control. While we have been successful in identifying cost-saving measures, the substantial increases in the above-mentioned areas have left us with a 3.26% increase to the budget.

The Board remains grateful for the community’s support on behalf of educating our students. Please join us for a more in-depth look at the budget on Tuesday, May 10 at 7 p.m. Please remember to vote on the budget and three board seats on Tuesday, May 17.