A call to action for the education of our children

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

First Posted: Monday, January 19, 2015 -3:46 p.m.

To the editor:

The Cazenovia School District was ranked no. 5 for academic performance out of 432 Upstate schools by Buffalo Business First in the fall of 2014. Burton Street was recognized as a Blue Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of Education in 2012. The Cazenovia Lakers produce state, district and regional champion athletes and teams. Our district has built an award-winning music department, agriculture program and Academic Decathlon team. The list goes on. However, I am most proud that our school district and community value producing students with good character. As a district, we support that developmental process by providing opportunities to our students.

Preserving opportunities for students is the top priority of our school district. I am not convinced that our elected representatives in Albany share that same priority. They all say education is important to them, but what have they done to make a difference?

The Cazenovia School District has lost more than $6.2 million in state funding since the Gap Elimination Adjustment (GEA) was implemented in 2009 as a short term “fix” to the state budget crisis. In response to this significant reduction in state aid, the school district has cut staff, programs, increased class size, collaborated with other districts and plugged the hole in our budget with reserve funds for the past five years. We as taxpayers have also shouldered the burden.

For five years, we have met with and shared detailed information regarding the deterioration of our school finances with Senator Valesky and Assemblyman Magee. We share specific examples of how this affects our students. Our school district actively participates in a state wide group that advocates for the elimination of the Gap Elimination Adjustment and fair and equitable funding of schools. What have our elected representatives done in response to our efforts? Obviously our efforts have not been enough.

We need your help and we need the community to rally. The Cazenovia School District needs to be a priority of our elected representatives and they need to hear this from many voices. A vibrant school district is the cornerstone to an economically sound community. It supports local businesses and institutions whose employee base lives here; it produces an educated workforce; it supports home values; and it produces good people. All residents have a reason to get involved.

Our rally efforts are not going to be a sprint, but rather a marathon. The first message that we need to convey now in preparation for the governor’s budget “reveal” is that New York taxpayers demand public education to be at the top of the priority list. Write letters, send emails, make phone calls, make visits and use social media to insist that the Cazenovia School District’s funding shortfalls become a priority for our elected representatives. We expect the state’s $5 billion surplus to re-pay the borrowed funds to public schools in New York State before being directed to downstate infrastructure projects.

The Cazenovia Central School District (cazenoviacsd.com) has information and templates that you can use to express your opinion. Go there today. At a minimum, take two minutes to utilize the electronic system that will email letters to the people who need to hear from us.

We need to work together to preserve the unique opportunities we offer to our students.

LISA LOUNSBURY, MEMBER

CAZENOVIA BOARD OF EDUCATION

http://www.cazenoviarepublican.com/news/2015/jan/19/call-action-education-our-children/