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Dear Parents and Students,
As I write
this letter, we are extremely busy preparing for the upcoming
annual budget vote, which will be held this year on Tuesday, May
20, 2003. Since our last newsletter, the Riverhead
Central School District has received notice from New York State
that the Governor’s proposed budget eliminates $1.35 billion
in aid to education. The
impact on the Riverhead School District results in a 17.9% decrease
in state aid, which represents a loss of $2.9 million. In addition,
we are facing major increases in payments to retirement systems,
fuel oil cost, insurance cost and other contractual obligations
over which the school district has little or no control.
The Board of Education, administrative
team and the entire school district faculty and staff recognize
the seriousness of this situation, and we are working hard to
reduce the impact to the taxpayers. We remain committed to the
continuation of quality educational program for our students.
Currently,
the budget has required that we eliminate a total of 39 positions
in the areas of administration, teacher and classroom teacher
aides. This reduction results in a decrease of $2.5 million, yet
still represents an increase in taxes to the community.
Once again, I ask for your support. If you have not done so, please
contact your local representatives and offer any support you can
by encouraging Senator LaValle, Assemblywoman Acampora and Assemblyman
Thiele to reject the Governor’s proposal, and restore aid
to education.
On
Saturday, May 3, 2003, a rally will take place in Albany.
We plan to let Governor Pataki know what we think of his proposal.
Representatives from school districts all across New York State
will meet in Albany and rally for the restoration of aid to education.
If you are able to attend, we welcome your support. Three coach
buses will leave Riverhead High School on the morning of May 3rd.
There will be no cost to those who attend this rally. In order
to reserve your seat, please contact the RCFA office at 727-2262.
The students of the Riverhead School
District deserve a quality education, and our taxpayers deserve
the same support that many wealthier districts receive. I ask
that each of you do your part to assist the Board of Education
as we fight to correct this situation.
Voter Registration
will take place in the Riverhead Central School District Office
on May 12th from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m., and May 13th from 10 a.m. to
4 p.m. In order to vote on the school district budget, you must
be registered to vote.
The annual budget vote will be held in the Riverhead High School
Gymnasium on Tuesday, May 20, 2003. If you have
any questions regarding voter qualification or registration, please
contact the District Clerk at 369-6705.
Please check out our new district
website at www.riverhead.net. You will find a wonderful source
of information regarding our school district on this site.
Congratulations
to Coach Wade Davey and the Riverhead High School Wrestling team
on the League III Championship season. Special
congratulations to Matt Scott. Matt is the Suffolk County Wrestling
Champion at the 130-pound weight class. He represented Riverhead
and Suffolk County at the New York State Tournament in Syracuse.
I would also like to congratulate Ellen Dougherty, who qualified
to participate in the New York State Championship indoor track
meet, which was held at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse.
Congratulations
are also in order to the over 2,000 students who participated
in this year’s annual science fair. The
quality of the science research demonstrated, represented many
hours of hard work by our students and faculty. A special thank-you
to Mr. Robert Jester, and all of our teachers and administrators,
who made this event possible.
I hope that you enjoy the spring
weather that is sure to arrive soon. Please remember to register
to vote, and to vote on the school district budget on Tuesday,
May 20th.
George L. Duffy III, Superintendent of Schools |
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