Budget Picture Improved, But Details Missing
by Alex Brooks
Comments from District leaders at the Hoosick Falls school board meeting on March 18 made it clear that the recently passed Federal pandemic relief bill will have a significant positive effect on school budgets now being formulated for the 2021-22 school year. No specific numbers are available yet, and many details about how it will all work have yet to be filled in. State operating aid to schools will be more generous than before because of Federal aid to states, and there will be some direct aid from the Federal government to school districts, but how much that will be and how it can be spent has not yet been spelled out.
The newest draft of the budget has overall spending increased by $228,722 more than the last draft of the budget, so overall spending is 2.8% higher than this year rather than the 1.4% shown in the first draft. But at this point there is more than the usual uncertainty about the District’s revenue next year. If the State budget is finished on time the District will have accurate state aid figures the first week of April. The Board has scheduled a workshop meeting for Thursday April 15 to make decisions about the final shape of the budget, and it will approve the finished budget at its regular meeting on Thursday April 22.
Developing A Vision For The Future
Superintendent Patrick Dailey said he and his staff have continued to discuss the issues raised at the Board’s January 6 Vision Planning Workshop and a centerpiece of the re-design they have in mind is to re-institute a Middle School. “We need to re-engage the kids,” he said. They have come to the conclusion that a greater focus on the middle school years is the key to building a successful school experience. Dailey said Sarah Fleming, who is now the Assistant Elementary School Principal, will become the Middle School Principal.
Another key piece of recovery from the educational setbacks of the pandemic year is the shape of the summer school for this coming summer. Dailey said only four Regents tests will be given this spring – all the others are canceled. The August Regents tests are also canceled, so one of the fundamental strategies of the summer school, to study intensively in the summer in order to pass an August Regents test and get credit in that subject, is now off the table.
Also, because of the Capital Project, the summer school cannot be held at the HFCS campus as usual, so Dailey is in discussions with Hoosac School to lease space to do it there. Dailey said there are a lot of things that need to be re-invented or revitalized this year, and there are many discussions going on about how to handle the challenges of this year.
Sports
Dailey said the Winter sports season has been completed. There were no positive COVID cases to disrupt the schedule so the season was pretty successful, albeit short. The Fall 2 sports season is just getting started, At the time of this meeting, two soccer games had already taken place, and the first football game would be two days later on Saturday March 20. Dailey said the collaboration with Tamarac is going very well, and his staff tells him the Tamarac staff are cooperative and easy to work with. The combined football team has 52 players, so it is like earlier days in Hoosick Falls when the Panthers team itself had numbers that large.
Capital Project
Superintendent Patrick Dailey said the firms have been hired for the Capital Project and the kickoff construction meeting was held on Monday March 22. Installation of some of the new cabling will begin before school is out, by contractors working at night in the hallways, but the project will get going in earnest right after graduation.