By Robert L. Chakar, Jr., EdD., Superintendent
The Administration and Board of Education are currently in the process of dealing with many facility issues. We are working with the Delaware County Soil & Water Conservation District, NYS DEC and Army Corp of Engineers to repair the rock wall along the stream near our tennis courts. We are hopeful that we can begin work on this project this summer. We are also working with our state legislature to secure the funding granted to us by Senator Seward to begin the work on the rock wall project in front of the school. We have been taking care of some emergency repairs to our gymnasium roof and hope to have them completed within the next few weeks. In the near future we will be looking to put a capital project in front of the voters to be able to take care of many issues we have with our aging building.
Our graduation committee has had their first meeting and we are excited to begin planning for the 80th commencement ceremony. The ceremony for the ACS Class of 2017 will take place on Friday, June 23rd at 7 pm.
On another note, as Andes moves through the month of March and into April, the Board of Education will be working diligently in finalizing a school budget for the community to vote on in May. As you may recall, the term “2% tax levy,” is really a “2% adjusted school tax levy.” Meaning, the amount of money that a school can request is based on an 8-step formula unique to its district. Currently, under the Governor’s levy limit, and under a simple majority vote, Andes will be allowed to request of its community a tax levy increase of 1.73%.
Lastly, as we finalize our budget request to the community, we are faced with State Aid funding similar to 2007-08 school year. As always, your suggestions, questions, or comments are always appreciated. Kindly feel free to contact my office at 676-3166 ext. 103. At Andes, our community of learners thanks you for your continued support of our children.~