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    November 8, 2024

    Dear Friends of the New Paltz Central School District,

    Today marks the end of the first quarter of the 2024-2025 school year.  It has been a busy 1st quarter and a busy week, including a school board meeting on Wednesday night.  Now seems like a good time to update you on a few items of interest.

    Welcome Joshua Bate, New Elementary Assistant Principal

    At the board meeting on Wednesday night the board officially appointed Mr. Joshua Bate as the new elementary Assistant Principal.  He will split his time between Duzine and Lenape.  Mr. Bate has worked for the last 5 years as an elementary Assistant Principal in the Schenectady School District.  Much of his more than 20 years with the Schenectady School District was spent as a middle school art teacher.

    Mr. Bate impressed the interview committees with his energy and enthusiasm and his demonstrated commitment to doing what is best for students.  Mr. Bate will begin work with our District on December 9, 2024.  Welcome Mr. Bate!

    School Board Finalizes Capital Project Propositions

    At the meeting on Wednesday night, the board took the next steps toward bringing a capital project vote to the voters.  They unanimously approved a resolution that called for a special meeting to vote on the bond propositions  Here is an excerpt from this resolution:

    The resolution also listed the maximum amount of money to be spent on each of the three capital propositions.  Proposition #1 can not exceed $17,130,073.  Proposition #2 can not exceed $12,110,992.  Proposition #3 can not exceed $19,219,200. Furthermore, proposition #2 can not pass unless proposition #1 passes and proposition #3 can not pass unless proposition #1 passes.  Proposition #2 is not dependent on proposition #3 passing and proposition #3 does not depend on proposition #2 passing.  

    Postcards have been mailed out to all district residents, even those not directly associated with the school, that will share the details listed above.  

    The actual resolutions that the board voted on do include a little bit more information than what I have listed, so if you want to read the resolutions in their entirety, I encourage you to follow this link to the board meeting agenda.  The resolutions related to the capital project are items 19.2 and 19.3.

    If you want more specific information about exactly what is included in the three capital project resolutions, that information is given below.

    Why do we need a capital project at all, why not just pay for needed items through the annual budget process?

    There are a couple important reasons why a capital project is necessary to get work done.  The first, of course, is that it would take years for us to get all of this done if we did it a little bit at a time through the normal budget process.  Another big reason though is that we get state reimbursement monies if we do a capital project rather than use our regular operating budget.  Doing work as part of a capital project will save us a lot of money.

    How much will this capital project actually cost the taxpayers?

    The answer to this question is “not as much as you might think”.  Schools get capital project reimbursement money at different rates.  The reimbursement rate for our school is 60.7%.  So, any money we spend on reimbursable items will be refunded to us at a rate of 60.7%.  That is a pretty good deal.  The problem is that not all expenditures are reimbursable.

    Proposition #1 by itself will cost $17,130,073.  The great news is that the state says 97% of this cost is aidable.  So, 0.97 x $17,130,073 gives you $16,616,170.  If we are reimbursed at 60.7%, that means that the state will give us $10,086,015 back.  So, the $17,130,073 cost for proposition #1 will really only cost us $7,044,057.

    Now let's consider what we would actually pay if propositions #1 and #2 both passed.  The unreimbursed cost for the two propositions combined is $29,241,065.   Unfortunately, the items in proposition #2 are not aidable at the same rate as the items in proposition #1.  Together, propositions #1 and #2 are aidable at a rate of 83.77%.  Let’s do the math.  83.77% of $29,241,06 is $24,495,240.  So, $24,495,240 of props 1 and 2 will be reimbursed at a rate of 60.7%.  60.7% of $24,495,240 means that the District will receive reimbursement funds of $14,868,611.  So, the $29,241,065 price tag for doing both propositions #1 and #2 will really only cost the district $14,372,454.

    It is possible that proposition #1 and #3 will pass and proposition #2 will fail.  In this case, the unreimbursed cost for #1 and #3 will be $36,349,273.  While our state reimbursement rate stays consistent at 60.7%, the percentage of the items aidable in props #1 and #3 is much lower than before.  Only 50.75% of the items in props #1 and #3 are able to receive state reimbursement.  Again, we have math to do.  50.75% of the $36,349,273 total bill gives you a reimbursable amount of $18,447,256.  We will get 60.7% of this cost back which equates to $11,197,484.  So, the $36,349,273 cost for just propositions #1 and #3 will really only cost the district $25,151,789.

    A final possibility is that all three propositions are approved by the voters.  The total unreimbursed cost would then be $48,460,265.  The state says that 54.33% of all of the items in props #1, #2, and #3 would be aidable.  54.33% of $48,460,265 is $26,328,462.  We will get 60.7% back which will be a reimbursement of $15,981,376.  So, the $48,460,265 total cost for all three propositions will really only cost the district $32,478,889.

    Enough with the math problems, what will this all mean to my tax bill?

    If you prefer looking at charts rather than doing math, I think this next section will tell you what you want to know.  We have chosen three representative houses with assessed values of $100,000, $400,000, and $600,000 to give you an idea of what these propositions will mean to you. You can see how the tax bills for the representative houses will be affected in each possible scenario.

    What is the next step in the capital project process?

    We will have an informational session at the next board meeting on November 20th at 6:30 pm in the high school auditorium.  Architects from H2M will be there to speak about the capital project propositions and to show drawings of what the changes will look like.  We encourage everyone to come out and get more information.  We will also be scheduling more informal sessions in the weeks ahead so you can come and chat with architects, administrators, and board members to discuss ideas and to get your questions answered.

    Parent Teacher Conferences

    Conferences will be held next week. Conferences times are as follows

    High School                November 15, 12 pm until 2 pm, November 19, 6 pm until 8 pm

    Middle School                November 14, 6 pm - 8 pm, November 15, 8 am until 2:45 pm

    Elementary                November 14, 6 pm - 8 pm, November 15, 9 am - 3 pm

    We encourage all parents/guardians to attend

    Departmental Presentations

    At Wednesday night’s board meeting, Michael Logue (Director of Facilities and Maintenance), Maureen Ryan (Director of Transportation), and Sheila Moran (Director of Food Services) presented to the school board on the work their departments are doing and how things are going this year.

    The presentations were really interesting.  Mr. Logue showed great pictures of the many updates his crew has made to buildings and outdoor spaces.  His efforts and the efforts of his department are very visible to all.  Ms. Ryan gave statistics on the bus fleet and the bus driving and mechanical staff.  It was amazing to learn that our buses collectively traveled more than a million miles last year.  Ms. Moran talked about the significant increase in meals served this year due to the implementation of the community eligibility provision that supplies federal monies to provide free breakfast and lunch for all NP students regardless of their family's income.

    Their presentations can be seen by viewing the video of the school board meeting.  They are at the very beginning of the video.

    In case you missed it at the October 2nd school board meeting, the board was treated to presentations on special education by Pupil Director Mellisa Thomas, athletics by Greg Warren, Director of Health, Physical Education, and Athletics, and technology by Keith Baisley, Director of Integrated Technology.

    We are fortunate to have so many accomplished directors working for our school.  Their presentations are worth checking out.

    3-8 Test Score Results

    As you probably know, each year students in grades 3-8 take New York State standardized tests in ELA and math.  At the board meeting, Dr. Linda Oehler-Marx, Deputy Director for Curriculum and Instruction gave a presentation on how NP students performed this year and in past years.  You can see her slide presentation by clicking on this link.  You can see her whole presentation by going to the 53:57 mark of the board meeting video.

    Athletic Trainer

    There has been much discussion over the past several months about the fact that the NPCSD does not employ an athletic trainer.  We did employ an athletic trainer from September of 2022 until February of 2024.  In February of 2024, the athletic trainer left unexpectedly and the board eliminated the position during a very difficult budget process as a means to cut expenses without eliminating the position of a current employee.

    Since that difficult decision was made, students and parents have been very vocal about the need to have this position reinstated.  I am pleased that people, including students, have gone out of their way to make their opinions known.  That is how local government is supposed to work and that is what helps inform decisions.

    I wanted to give a shout out to our school newspaper, the Maroon.  They recently published an article on this topic.  It is well written and worth reading.

    I have a few additional comments that might add to people’s understanding on this issue:

    1. Everyone on the school board supports the hiring of an athletic trainer (along with many other important positions) if the financial situation allows it.
    2. The current school budget, which was voted on with 82% approval by the voters of the district, does not have an athletic trainer in it.  Thus no money is budgeted to replace this position mid-year.
    3. The budget discussions for 2025-2026 will start up in earnest in February.  All early indications on the 2025-2026 budget indicate that it will be another very difficult budget process where additional reductions will likely be necessary.
    4. The board will have many difficult decisions to make.  They will look at all of the information and create a balanced budget that will (hopefully) not affect programs.
    5. It is possible that the athletic trainer position will be brought back and it is possible that other high priority items will be kept instead.
    6. The board appreciates feedback from students, parents, and community members on what their priorities should be when making budget decisions.  This is true for the athletic trainer position as well as many other positions that will be scrutinized.

    If you have further questions about the athletic trainer position, please feel free to contact me or Athletic Director Greg Warren.

    Congratulations

    As the fall sports seasons wrap up, I think it is appropriate to recognize some big accomplishments. All of our athletes played hard and most had winning seasons.  At the risk of leaving someone out who should not be left out, I would like to mention two teams in particular.

    Congratulations to our Girls Varsity Soccer team for an incredible victory! They clinched the Class A Sectional Championship with a thrilling 2-1 win over Spackenkill.

    Congratulations to the New Paltz girls varsity swim team who captured their third consecutive OCIAA League Championship!

     

    Fall Drama Club Production

    We have much to look forward to.  The second quarter starts on Tuesday after the long Veterans Day Weekend.  When fall sports finish we will have a brief lull before JV and Varsity winter sports begin on November 18th and modified sports begin on November 25th.

    The fall drama club production put on by the HS students will be held on November 14, 15, and 16 at 7:30 pm in the high school auditorium.  The name of the play is Trap, and the students have described it to me as a “psychological thriller”.  If it is anywhere near as good as last year's production of “Clue”, it will be an event you won’t want to miss.

    Community Continuing Education Program

    The Community Continuing Education will enter its 9th week on Tuesday. The district pays no money for this program.  It is all run by volunteers including board member Heather Kort who oversees the organization of the offerings, and many people from the community who are willing to share their expertise for no compensation or for small payments provided by those participating in the class.  Please Click on this link to see a list of courses/activities that might interest you.  Here is the schedule for week 9.

    To learn about other activities at our schools and in our community, please check out our facebook page, instagram page, and web page.

     

    Thank you for reading.  As always, please reach out to me or our other district administrators if you have any questions.  Enjoy your long weekend.  

    Thank you to all veterans, we appreciate your service to our country!

    Regards,

    Stephen Gratto - Superintendent