Notes from the Superintendent

We have received some questions about the cost of maintaining a synthetic turf field vs a natural turf field. It is difficult to separate our specific field maintenance costs from our overall grounds maintenance expenses. However, the overall expense of maintaining natural turf is generally considered to be greater than the synthetic turf expense. That is because natural turf maintenance involves mowing, rolling/aerating, fertilizing, reseeding, and continuous re-striping for athletics contests. Synthetic turf surfaces come pre-striped and obviously do not require any of the natural turf maintenance. The only maintenance associated with synthetic turf is regular use of a specially designed machine that moves over the field surface. With proper maintenance, the latest generation of synthetic field carpets has a minimum life expectancy of about 10 years. There is no difference in liability insurance expense for either type of field that we are aware of.

Another question has to do with drainage. Synthetic turf fields are installed over a surface that has been especially prepared to provide both cushioning and proper drainage. They disburse rainwater much more efficiently than natural turf surfaces and are playable shortly after a rain storm.

We have also received questions about the timing of the project. One of the reasons the proposition is being put forward now is to take advantage of the opportunity to link the WI field to the redesigned WI facilities project and qualify for building aid from the state. In our district, approximately 25% of the approved cost of a project is covered by state aid. Also, the fields could not be installed until the summer of 2008 and the budgetary impact of the borrowing for the installation will not be realized until the 2009-10 school year, at which point we hope our tax base will have improved due to development activity on both the Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow waterfronts.

One of our goals this year was to improve student attendance at the high school. We are shooting to achieve the State Education Department’s goal for schools of a 95% attendance rate and, as the chart below indicates, we are getting closer! Click on the graph to see details.

Our students have been compiling an impressive list of college acceptances this spring. Check it out by clicking here.

An article in the River Journal claiming that the cumulative increase in county/town, village, and school taxes for 2007/2008 will range from 18 to 21% for Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow residents has provided math teachers with an excellent illustration for use in responding to the classic question from their students … “When will I ever need to use this stuff?” The fact is that if three tax bills each increase by 6 to 7%, your total tax bill will increase by 6 to 7%. While such an increase may seem high in its own right, an additional math calculation involving the state’s new middle class STAR program turns out to be very important. Net 2007-2008 school tax payments after STAR deductions for owners of homes in Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow with mid-range or lower valuations whose combined incomes are $175,000 or less will be lower than their net school tax payments in 2006-2007 after STAR deductions. For many homeowners, this year’s school tax math will add up in their favor!

0 Tax Increase Impact Scenario of New STAR program for 2007-08

Here is some more information on the new STAR program:

The annual budget vote will be coming up on May 15. Our budget publication is available in hard copy at various public locations throughout the community and as a link on our district web site. The final budget proposal was review and adopted by the Board of Education at their April 12 meeting. The PowerPoint presentation for that evening is posted on our web site.

Comparative data shows that our school district operates very efficiently on a cost-per-pupil basis by regional standards. It also reflects the reality that the education inflation index (the cost of simply continuing programs and services at current levels for another year) is close to 7% for our region. The proposed budget would allow our district to continue offering programs and services that meet local and state standards. It reflects an acknowledgment that our capacity to meet this goal depends upon maintaining a staffing commitment that accommodates our student enrollment numbers as they continue to grow. Quite simply, reducing our budget would require reducing staff, which translates to larger class sizes and fewer program options

I invite anyone with questions or concerns to attend the Budget Hearing scheduled for May 3 or to contact me directly.

This blog will join an array of options utilized by the district as a means of keeping parents and the community in general informed about what is happening in our schools. Clearly, our web site has evolved as a very important medium for sharing information. In addition, we offer a weekly online newsletter to which anyone can subscribe. We send printed district-level newsletters to every address in the community four or five times a year. Each individual school building generates periodic newsletters, as do certain programs, such as our Dual Language program. Our school board meetings are all videotaped and can be viewed on cable channel 77. Message boards in front of the district and the high school list important dates. Important events are often noted on signs placed on the Washington Irving fence, and occasionally the Morse School fence. An automated phone dialer is available for use in instantly communicating messages to parents. We are always open to suggestions on how we can improve communications with the public in general, and parents in particular.

We periodically become aware of various “urban legends” that circulate about student behavior, particularly at the middle and high school levels. As with other aspects of our schools, we find that the best approach in helping to distinguish fact from fiction is to collect data. A committee that includes parent members and a Board member has been tracking student behavior in grades 7-12 for the past two years. In addition, this year we began tracking student attendance as we worked on ways to improve it. By clicking here, you can see the actual data that we have collected so far. We believe it tells a story of behavior that is well within acceptable limits for the size of our student population and that has generally been improving.

Extensive use of the district’s athletics fields by hundreds of children involved in recreational soccer, football, and baseball, as well as student athletes, has damaged our fields and resulted in unsafe playing conditions. Restoring and then properly maintaining fields through a natural turf approach would require us to reduce the use of our fields by local recreation programs and to schedule periodic recovery intervals for each field. Synthetic turf surfaces would provide versatile fields and safe playing conditions for both community recreation and school use. A synthetic surface allows more frequent use of each field than would be possible with natural turf and would extend fall and spring playing seasons since they are less impacted by weather than natural turf fields.

A $3,644,000 proposition on the May budget ballot seeks authorization to install a synthetic turf surface for the lower field at Washington Irving School and for the main playing field at Sleepy Hollow High School. Additional expenses included in the project budget beyond the field surface itself are limited to necessary equipment, such as goal posts and maintenance equipment. Lighting for the main field at Sleepy Hollow will be an option if sufficient funds are remaining after the turf installation expenses are covered. It would extend the opportunities to use the field, particularly during the late fall and early spring seasons.

This recommendation was preceded by a review of athletics facilities available in both villages as well as on school grounds. Click here to view the athletics facilities report that was presented to the Board of Education in January.

It is pretty apparent when you drive by our school that our construction project is in full swing. The work in front involves construction of a three-story addition containing science and general education classrooms, a new high school library, a new health center, and new middle and high school offices. What you can’t see from driving by on Broadway is the work going on behind the school where the steel framework for our new auditorium and high school gym will soon be erected.

The Washington Irving School project has been scaled back in order to keep projected costs within our overall budget. The existing building will be renovated and reconfigured to allow two grade levels to spread out in the space currently occupied by three grade levels. Much of this work will have to wait until the middle school expansion is completed and the sixth grade can move up to join the 7^th and 8^th grade in that building. This is anticipated to take place in the spring or summer of 2009.

Click here to view our most recent project newsletter. Updates on the project are provided at every school board meeting. Periodic PowerPoint presentations are linked to our web site, where we have created a special section that is devoted to our construction project.