Announcement - Monday, 3/10/08

[Deb]

3/11 4th Grade Sprout Creek Trip - Mrs. Kinney's class
3/12 4th Grade Sprout Creek Trip - Mrs. McCusker's class
3/13 4th Grade Sprout Creek Trip - Mrs. Anderson's class


The following article was from the Poughkeepsie Journal.

Saturday, March 8, 2008
Wappingers plan makes good sense

Faced with growing enrollment figures and the indisputable need for
more space, the Wappingers school district is putting forth a $107
million expansion plan, seeking voter support on Tuesday.

Yes, the price tag is high. But the proposal is sound and deserves
voters' backing. District residents also should keep in mind that
state aid will fund slightly more than half of the project; about $49
million will come from local property taxes.

School officials worked earnestly with community members on a master
plan, and have picked the most pressing projects from that plan to put
before voters. The expansion and renovation plan covers many areas. It
would:

-- Move all sixth-graders out of the elementary schools and into
expanded middle schools as part of an overall goal to provide more
space and better instruction. This will streamline the archaic way
many students go through the various levels of education. Now, the
district has to employ a number of configurations, which can lead to
students being shuffled to as many as four different schools in five
years.

-- Upgrade school buildings to make them more energy efficient, which
will save taxpayers some money in the long run, as well as make some
of the buildings more handicap accessible.

-- Stabilize elementary-school class sizes, which can range between 15
and 31 students under existing conditions.

-- Address special education needs, which have been mandated by state
and federal policies, to a large degree.

-- Bolster gymnasium and cafeteria space, the latter of which is
needed to avoid having students taking their lunch break earlier than
some people eat breakfast.

The district's school population has grown by about 5 percent since
2000, from 11,836 students to 12,436. If trends continue, the district
could have to accommodate an additional 500 students over the next
decade, although these projections are hard to gauge. They are based
on many factors, including whether proposed housing developments are
approved, the state of the economy and housing construction in
general, and how the towns in the school district carry out and/or
modify their zoning laws regarding housing.

Suffice it to say the district is facing some considerable crowding
issues already. For example, Van Wyck Junior High was designed to hold
1,000 students, but it has a student population of 1,469 and several
modular classrooms have been added to handle the overflow.

Other bond payments expiring

District officials say, if approved, the expansion and renovation
project alone will cost $74 a year for a property owner with a house
assessed at $350,000. There are associated costs, and school officials
have been upfront about them. They project the annual budget will rise
about 1.2 percent, slightly more than $2 million, to pay for more
teachers, in addition to handling the extra utility costs. The
district is timing this project to coincide with completing payments
on older bonds, meaning the district's debt won't be increasing
dramatically. Nevertheless, the district is going to have to do all it
can to keep other annual costs from spiraling out of control if it
hopes to get voter support on budgets and future projects.

If this plan is rejected, school officials likely would have to come
up with a more modest proposal, but undoubtedly building construction
costs will rise by then and more interim steps will have to be
employed to deal with the space crunch. There would be costs
associated with that as well and still no long-term fix. On balance,
the district will get the most for its money if this plan is approved
as envisioned. Voters should support it.