A Future for Our Schools?

Last night the Ossining Board of Education held another meeting to discuss the proposed school budget.  I wasn’t able to attend, so have expressed my concerns to our School Board Trustees in an email copied below.

Dear Board of Education,

My eldest son is in Pre-K.  Next year both my sons will be at Park.  We are thrilled with the program.  My son’s teacher (Daisy Neri) is excellent.  In fact, every teacher I speak with at Park is positive and enthusiastic about the school.   Here’s my biggest concern…

If the Ossining School District is cutting teachers every year, while gaining students every year, what is the long-term plan for educating my sons?

I realize that you are constrained by a 2% tax cap, as well as by an electorate that is understandably reluctant to increase the school taxes.  But when I hear Board of Education Trustees selling me on a budget that has less teachers and more students, I have to ask, what kind of a program will be in place a decade from now when my children are at OHS?  How big will their classes be?  How limited will their course offerings be?

A good school system is part of why we came to Ossining to build our family.  There are dozens of terrific things about Ossining that reassure us of the wisdom of our choice.  How we will fund our schools is a dark cloud on a bright future for my kids.  Do you have a realistic long-term vision that foreshadows a positive future for the Ossining School District?  If so, please start illustrating that light at the end of the tunnel.  Right now, I’m not seeing it.

Sincerely,

Victoria Gearity

Concerned Parent, Taxpayer & Voter