Superintendent of Schools
- Beacon City School District
- BCSD Superintendent Updates
BCSD Superintendent Updates
-
Superintendent Update - March 21, 2024
Posted by Victoria Jackson on 3/27/2024Superintendent Weekly Update - March 21, 2024
I want to share some important calendar updates with you. I also wanted to wish you a great Spring Break, I hope everyone enjoys some family time!
Friday, March 22 is a Half Day for Professional Development
BHS dismisses at 10:30, RMS at 11:00, Elementary Schools at 11:40.
Spring Break March 25-April 1- Students Return on Tuesday, April 2
Eclipse Day- Monday, April 8- BCSD is open and on a regular schedule
On April 8, portions of New York will be along the path of a solar eclipse. Locally, this will be experienced as a partial eclipse occurring in the afternoon. There will be no changes to the regularly scheduled instructional day. We will discuss and teach about the eclipse in our schools however we are not purchasing eclipse glasses for students because we have some liability issues with ensuring that every student wears them appropriately. If you want to pick up your child early on this day because you want to experience the partial eclipse with them or have other concerns, please feel free to do so. The schools will be prepared to handle early checkouts on this day and we will not be giving tests or quizzes on this day either. Click here for a great resource about the eclipse: https://eclipse.aas.org/
eclipse-america-2024 Eid al-Fitr- Wednesday, April 10- BCSD is Closed for Students
This is just a reminder as it has been on our calendar all year as we are closed for the Muslim holiday commemorating the end of Ramadan.
Snow Give Back Day- Thursday, May 23- BCSD will be closed
We used three full snow days this year and according to the district formula (based on our contracts) we give a day back. Per our adopted calendar, Thursday, May 23 is now closed for students. The Memorial Day weekend BCSD schools are now closed Thursday, May 23 through Tuesday, May 28. Even if we use one more snow day (it can snow in April) we would still have the one give back day.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Sincerely
Matt Landahl
-
A Message from the BCSD Board of Education - Budget Advocacy
Posted by Victoria Jackson on 3/15/2024Dear Beacon Community:
Below is a message from the BCSD Board of Education regarding Governor Hochul's proposed budget which I wholeheartedly endorse. After this message, I am also including the Board of Education's letter to lawmakers and I am attaching it in pdf format as well. Let us know if you have any questions.
Matt Landahl
Beacon’s school district may lose more than $1 million in Foundation Aid for the 2024-25 school year. Send a message to your state representatives and help us protect our budget.
What is Foundation Aid?
School Districts in New York get funding from the state, known as State Aid. In Beacon, State Aid accounts for nearly 50% of our budget. The majority of State Aid comes from what’s called Foundation Aid. Foundation Aid is calculated using a formula that was created more than a decade ago. Each school district receives a different amount of Foundation Aid, based on several different factors that go into the formula.
What is changing this year?
In Governor Hochul’s proposed budget for 2024-25, there are significant changes to the amount of Foundation Aid districts are receiving (see State Aid amounts for all districts here). These changes appear to be the result of tweaks to the Foundation Aid formula, as well as a proposal to end the “hold harmless” provision. This provision ensures that no school district receives less Foundation Aid than it did in the previous year.
What does this mean?
Beacon is among the districts that would be most impacted by this change. In the Governor’s proposed budget, we’re facing a loss of more than $1.2 million in Foundation Aid. That’s a cut of 6%. Based on the current formula, the district was expecting an increase of about $639,000, or 3%. With this unexpected change, we would have to consider cuts to our PreK program, extracurriculars and clubs, and mental health supports in order to balance the budget.
What happens now?
Both the State Senate and Assembly have released their own State budget proposals (or one-house budgets), and now negotiations with the Governor will begin. Both houses are supporting a restoration of Foundation Aid, keeping the hold harmless provision, and a minimum increase of 3% for all districts.
What can we do?
The Beacon City School District has been advocating on this issue since the Governor’s budget was announced. Adding voices from the school community will help amplify the message that these cuts to Foundation Aid are unacceptable and detrimental to students in our district. This is a powerful reminder for legislators as they enter budget negotiations.
The district has sent a message to State legislators, and you can do the same.
Send a message through an education advocacy platform like the Alliance for Quality Education (actionnetwork.org/letters/
massive-school-funding- or the Lower Hudson Education Coalition (https://www.lhec.org/threats-take-action-today) votervoice.html ).Or
Email or call your representatives directly:
- NY Assembly Anil Beephan - beephana@nyassembly.gov, 518-455-5725, 845-221-2202
- NY Assembly Jonathan Jacobson - jacobsonj@nyassembly.gov, 518-455-5762, 845-562-0888, 845-763-7011
- NY State Senate Robert Rolison - rolison@nysenate.gov, 518-455-2945, 845-229-0106
- Chair, Assembly Committee on Education Michael Benedetto - benedettom@nyassembly.gov, 518-455-5296, 718-892-2235, 718-320-2220
- Chair, Senate Committee on Education Shelley B. Mayer - smayer@nysenate.gov, 518-455-2031, 914-934-5250
- NY State Education Dept. Commissioner Betty Rosa - commissioner@nysed.gov
- NY State Governor Hochul - Governor.Hochul@exec.ny.gov, 518-474-8390
You can use the email templates on the above education advocacy platforms, or take info from the Board of Education’s letter to create a more personalized message.
Below is a copy of the letter that the BCSD Board of Education has sent to state lawmakers.
March X, 2024
Name
Title
Address
Dear ________________,
We write to you on behalf of the Beacon City School District (BCSD), which faces some of the most drastic cuts in proposed Foundation Aid. As you negotiate the State budget with Governor Hochul, we want to make sure you know what’s at stake.
The Governor’s budget reverses all recent progress to fully funding Foundation Aid. Under the existing Foundation Aid formula, we would receive an increase of about $639,000 (+3%). But Gov. Hochul’s proposal leaves us with a decrease of $1,268,492 (-6%) in Foundation Aid.
This unexpected change in Foundation Aid — made possible by the Governor’s proposal to end the “hold harmless” provision that ensures each district receives at least the same amount as it did in the previous year — is the symptom of a broken system.
Such a significant loss of funding would require deep cuts to our budget. In our district, we may need to make cuts to our PreK program, extracurriculars and clubs, and mental health supports. Each of these cuts represents a lost opportunity for students. In the same year that we’re losing Federal Covid funding and dealing with a record-high increase in education costs, these Foundation Aid cuts turn a budgetary hardship into a crisis.
As Board Members, we’re the fiduciary stewards of our school district. We review the budget and the plan for each department, well in advance of presenting it to voters for approval in May. That same timely, consistent stewardship should apply at the State level. The proposed Foundation Aid cuts, followed by weeks of political negotiation, leave districts like ours scrambling to plan around worst cases, with many assurances — but no guarantees — that funding will be restored.
We ask that you restore Foundation Aid to expected levels based on the existing formula and keep the “hold harmless” provision to ensure school districts don’t have to reduce programs year-to-year. In the longer term, the State should update the aid formula to make it more equitable and predictable.
Thank you for your continued support of our community and for considering our concerns. If you require additional information, please call BCSD Superintendent Matthew Landahl at 845-838-6900.
Sincerely,
Beacon Board of Education
Attachments:
3_24_BCSD_BOE_budget_advocacy_letter_to_Hochul.pdf (69.4 KB) -
Superintendent Update - March 8, 2024
Posted by Victoria Jackson on 3/8/2024Superintendent Weekly Update
Congratulations and Good luck!!
Anthony Borromeo will be representing Beacon High School at States in Bowling. He finished the season in the top 5 in our section, qualifying him for the composite team at States. He and 4 other athletes from different schools will bowl together on a composite team at the State Championships in Bowling in Syracuse this weekend! Congrats and good luck this weekend!
Capital Project Work Happening this SummerI attached a pdf to this email listing all of the work happening at all of our schools this summer from the 2021 Capital Project. Let me know if you have any questions. I am setting up times to discuss all things capital project, especially with the new, proposed project for the vote on May 21. Our first discussion is at the South Avenue PTA meeting on Tuesday, March 12 and the rest are being scheduled for April.
2024-2025 CalendarHere is the link to see the BCSD calendar for next year: https://bit.ly/3PdM19h
One note, we will set the BHS 2025 graduation date in September/October of next year because that is when we can work with Heritage Financial Park to set the date.
Free Swim Lessons for Kids at Beacon High School through Beacon Rec!
All classes are American Red Cross Learn to Swim Level I, II, and III. Swim classes are free and available to all Dutchess County residents funded in part by NYS OCFS and Dutchess County Division of Youth Services. Registration opens on March 12th at 10 am on myrec.com (account required). Thanks to the City of Beacon Recreation Department for putting this together!
BCSD Student Film Festival!
Pre-K Registration
Looking for something to do on Saturday?!
Have a great weekend!
Matt Landahl
Attachments:
Capital_Work_Summer_2024.docx.pdf (51.5 KB)
Recent
By Month
- March 2024
- February 2024
- January 2024
- December 2023
- November 2023
- October 2023
- September 2023
- June 2023
- May 2023
- April 2023
- March 2023
- February 2023
- January 2023
- December 2022
- November 2022
- October 2022
- September 2022
- June 2022
- May 2022
- April 2022
- March 2022
- January 2022
- December 2021
- November 2021
- October 2021
- September 2021
- August 2021
- June 2021
- May 2021
- April 2021
- March 2021
- February 2021
- January 2021
- December 2020
- November 2020
- October 2020
- August 2020
- July 2020
- June 2020
- May 2020
- April 2020
- March 2020
- February 2020
- January 2020
- December 2019
- November 2019
- October 2019
- September 2019
- July 2019
- June 2019
- May 2019
- April 2019
- March 2019
- February 2019
- January 2019
- December 2018
- November 2018
- October 2018
- September 2018
- August 2018
- June 2018
- April 2018
- March 2018
- February 2018
- January 2018
- December 2017
- November 2017