We now live in an age where e-mail,
Facebook, Twitter and blogs have become
common ways to communicate so I decided to create this page as a way
for me to keep the community informed on important issues and events
occurring at Liberty CSD.
I appreciate your interest in our school district and invite your
feedback and comments to my postings or if you have other questions
about things occurring in the district. If you would like to reach
me via Email, my address is
mvanyo@libertyk12.org.
January 30, 2012
The Board of Education will be sponsoring a Community Budget Forum
later this week and I would like to personally invite you to
attend this important event. The forum will held on Thursday,
February 2nd at 7 pm in the high school auditorium. The goal of
the forum is for community members to provide direct feedback to
the Board of Education as we prepare the 2012-13 budget. The new
2% tax levy cap combined with declining revenues and increasing
costs will most likely result in significant cost reductions in
the budget for the third consecutive year. With the help of
facilitators from Sullivan County BOCES, we will divide community
members into small groups to focus on questions focusing on the
budget. I would like to thank Sullivan County BOCES Superintendent
Larry Thomas for volunteering to serve as the moderator for the
event. At the end of the evening, the groups will share their
findings with the Board of Education and if time allows, there
will be an opportunity for the community to ask the Board of
Education specific budget questions.
If you have any questions about the forum, please don’t hesitate
to contact my office at 292-6990. We are asking people to RSVP if
possible so we have enough facilitators for the event, but
everyone is welcome to attend the forum even if you didn’t RSVP.
The final construction for our $35.8 million dollar capital
project will begin this week. We installed new windows in the
entire building at the elementary school except for the gym area
and the classrooms above the gym. We are replacing these windows
this week and the entire project should be completed within three
weeks. There will be no disruption to classes as the windows will
be replaced after school hours.December 1, 2011
The winter season is upon us and it is important to be prepared
for possible in-climate weather. If we have a delay in the morning
due to weather, it will either be a 2-hour delay or possibly a
3-hour delay. We contact the local media outlets and they are very
good about announcing when we need to delay or close school. We
also use our automated phone service to contact parents about
closings and delays. If you are not currently signed up to receive
this service, please contact the Judy Brink in the District Office
at 292-6171 for help.
January 18, 2012
Governor Cuomo released his Executive Budget yesterday and our
district is scheduled to receive a modest increase of
approximately $194,000 in state aid next year under his plan.
Although this is much better than what the district received the
past two years, it isn’t enough to replace the Federal Jobs Fund
money ($540,000) that expires at the end of the current fiscal
year. It appears that we are going to need to make significant
budget cuts and reductions this year to meet the new 2% tax levy
cap. I will be providing a financial update at the January 24th
Board of Education meeting. Earlier this month, the Board of
Education authorized me to organize a Community Budget Forum to
gather additional feedback from the public as we develop the
2012-13 school budget.
January 1, 2012
As we start 2012, it is important for me to remind parents to stay
active in your child’s education. We encourage parents to reach
out to teachers and administrators whenever you have questions and
use our parent portal system on the web to check the academic
progress of your child. Our school website is a great resource for
parents and don’t forget to sign up for our School News Notifier
(SNN) for additional information. The partnership between our
school district and parents is vital, so please do not be afraid
to get involved.
The new year also means changes to our school budget process. The
new 2% tax levy cap is now required starting this year. All school
districts will be required to stay within the cap unless they
decide to override the cap, but this will require a super majority
(60% of the voters) to override the cap and approve the budget. I
will be presenting an overview of the tax levy cap at the January
10th Board of Education meeting. We also have additional
information on our website about the tax levy cap and how it will
impact school districts.
December 15, 2011
Last June, we inducted seven inaugural members into the new
Liberty Wall of Fame. We had a memorable ceremony prior to our
high school graduation and recognized some truly outstanding
people. We have extended the nomination period this year until
February 15, 2012. Applications for the Wall of Fame can be found
on our website or you can call the District Office for more
information. All applications will be reviewed by a 12 member
panel serving as the Wall of Fame committee. New inductees will be
notified in the spring and the 2nd annual Liberty Wall of Fame
ceremony will be held on Saturday, June 23, 2012, prior to our
high school commencement ceremony.
School will be closed for winter break starting December 26th and
we will re-open on January 3rd.
December 1, 2011
The winter season is upon us and it is important to be prepared
for possible in-climate weather. If we have a delay in the morning
due to weather, it will either be a 2-hour delay or possibly a
3-hour delay. We contact the local media outlets and they are very
good about announcing when we need to delay or close school. We
also use our automated phone service to contact parents about
closings and delays. If you are not currently signed up to receive
this service, please contact the Judy Brink in the District Office
at 292-6171 for help.
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