Dear Community Members:

I am honored to serve as the Superintendent of the Beacon City School District.

We work on the budget year-round by listening to constituents, analyzing current programs, and prioritizing programs and positions for upcoming years.  This year along with meeting with staff, community members, and PTOs, I also met with about 150 students from grades 5-12 in over 10 different focus groups to discuss their hopes and dreams for the school district and the school budget.  This listening process helps us refine and improve the budget process on a continual basis.

During this school year, the Beacon City School District embarked on a journey to begin a strategic planning process.  A strategic planning committee comprised of teachers, parents, community members, administrators, and board members worked throughout the school year to develop a mission statement, belief statements,  and a list of desired skills, abilities, and attributes that we want all of our students to leave our school district embodying. I feel that the 2019-2020 budget proposal is a strong initial reflection of this strategic work.  

The budget development process also took place at many board meetings over the last several months with each department head discussing their budget proposal with the Board of Education.  You can find all of the presentations to the board here:  https://www.beaconk12.org/domain/418 .

The result of this very involved process is a proposed 2019-2020 budget of $73,563,000 with a levy increase of 4.4 percent.  The proposed budget is an increase of 3.1 percent from last year.

The proposed 2019-2020 budget specifically supports several key initiatives in the district.  The budget further reduces elementary class sizes, continues the funding of the fourth-grade instrumental music program which was grant funded this year,  and adds a business teacher, social worker, and a half-time art teacher to Beacon High School. Additionally, the budget supports increased coursework at Beacon High School including expanded computer science offerings, introduction to Italian, an additional AP English class, and other electives.  Finally, our access to technology tools continues to expand with Beacon High School offering a 1:1 Chromebook program for its students and high school classrooms will gain interactive teaching screens.

I am very proud to put this budget in front of the community.  Please let me know if you have questions, suggestions, or feedback.

Please remember to vote on Tuesday, May 21, 2019.  The polls are open from 7:00 am until 9:00 pm.

Matt Landahl, Superintendent of Schools

A message from The Wellness Committee

Did you know that the Beacon City School District has a Wellness Policy? It’s all about promoting healthy students and staff. Last year, the Wellness Committee updated the policy to make sure students have the tools they need to learn and grow into healthy adults. Positive changes, like more outdoor recess and more access to fresh lunch options, support growing minds and bodies, and help create a lifetime of healthy habits. Over the next few months, we’ll share details about the policy, what it means, and more resources to help families boost those habits home.

You find the complete Wellness Policy here, or request a copy by calling your school’s main office at 845-838-6900.

More info about physical and emotional wellness for kids and parents can be found at infoaboutkids.org. At parenttoolkit.com/topics/health-and-wellness, get tips on everything from building good eating habits to helping teens learn how to make positive personal choices.

Beacon High School - Beacon Pride Mural

The Beacon High School students worked very hard alongside Joe Pimentel to complete the Beacon Pride Mural.  We are all very excited to see all of their hard work come to fruition.