Andes Central School is proud to announce that Tristin Tait, daughter of Dale and Judi Tait, has been named Valedictorian for the Class of 2013 and Kelsey Little, daughter of Tom and Susie Little, has been named Salutatorian for the Class of 2013. The school community is very proud of all of their accomplishments throughout their high school careers and looks forward to their futures. They will be leading their class into the commencement ceremony, which will be held on Friday, June 21.

On another note, the Board of Education has been working diligently to prepare a school budget which will stay within/under the tax levy threshold of 4.26%. That said, the Board has proposed a tax levy increase of 2.18%, which is more than 2% below what we are legally allowed to request under a simple majority vote. We will not be replacing a retiring teacher and will be looking to combine grades 3 & 4, as we have previously done with grades PreK & K, grades 1 & 2, and grades 5 & 6. The Board is also managing increases in mandated costs such as salaries, health insurance and retirement costs and increases in energy costs.

The public hearing on the budget will take place at 7:00 on Thursday, May 9 in the Distance Learning classroom and voting on the budget and board of education member, as well as a proposition to purchase a new 35 passenger school bus, will take place on Tuesday, May 21 from 12:00 noon – 8:00 pm in the Fitness Room.

Valedictorian Tristin Tait

Our SADD Chapter will be holding a Red Cross Blood Drive on May 21 from 10:30 am – 4:30 pm. Anyone wishing to donate blood can call Jan at the school at 845-676-3166 Ext. 10 and someone will get back to you with a time, or go to the American Red Cross website and schedule your own appointment. Open House will also be held on the same date from 6:30 – 8:00 pm, and our Athletic Banquet will be held on Wednesday, May 29 at 6:00 pm. ~

Salutatorian Kelsey Little