Letter from CTES Principal Regarding the Budget
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The following letter is from the Principal of the Cavendish Town Elementary School (CTES). Please note that according to the “Grand List,” 71% of Cavendish property is owned by non residents.
CAVENDISH TOWN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
P✰TRIOTS
573 Main Street Proctorsville, Vermont 05153
802-875-7758
Debra Beaupre, Principal
January 8, 2020
Dear CTES families and friends,
Budget season is in full swing and I want to be sure that you all are aware of the way things are proceeding. The board would like us to cap spending so that we are only spending $17000 per pupil. That means we have to cut certain things that we had asked for. The board is concerned about the tax impact of several fixed costs we have to incur, which is understandable. Health care is up, insurance is up and most regular items and services we buy have a price increase of one sort or another.
Margo Caufield tells me that over 50% of the homes in our little school area are owned by non-residents. This means that not as many people live and work here as may in nearby towns. I tried to create a budget that would pull from the tax base so that we would rely less on fundraising. For example, I added a line item for Keewaydin with that in mind. Fundraising is a lot of work and yes, we do make some good money, but the money mostly comes from the parents of the kids in the school. I think the budget can be a way to share some of the burden.
Jon Beamon and I created a 5-year plan of projects that need to be done to maintain the school. That is below:
5 Year Facility Projects
YEAR 1
Replace Sign - $8,500 (estimate)
Replace Oil Tank - $75,000 (estimate)
Pave Dirt Parking Lot - $40,000 (estimate)
YEAR 2
Replace Playground Equipment - $150,000 (estimate)
Add Extra Security Cameras Primary Entrance - $5,000 (estimate)
· Clean All Air Ducts - Unknown
YEAR 3
· Replace Both Boilers - $20,000 (estimate)
· Resurface Gym Floor - Unknown
· Resurface Stage Floor - Unknown
· New Cabinets and Countertops in Kitchen - Unknown
YEAR 4
· Resurface Stage Floor - Unknown
· Remodel Kitchen Cabinets and Countertops- Unknown
The board asked me to narrow it down to one that I felt was the most important. Since I have a lead on a donation for a sign with Betty M, I chose the parking lot. Rick Alexander- a board member on the facility committee- came by and we spoke about the need for the back parking lot to be done so that it isn’t dirt which does not take salt, thereby freezing and making a bumpy treacherous ice rink for the staff. He suggested the various materials that we could use. The board denied this request on the grounds that it seemed cosmetic. Pretty regularly, someone on staff slips or falls. The town plows and sands it but the weather is variable and the parking lot needs regular care. The mud freezes and then it is an ankle turning mess. In the course of this discussion, I shared that our school was the only one without a tractor/plow. The board said they should get us one but it won’t work since we are cutting to get to the $17k limit. We are the only school without a tractor.
CLASSROOM UPDATES: Jon and I also planned to remodel/fix up two classrooms a year in an effort to maintain the building. Jon would do all the work- painting, redoing the floors and repairing anything that needed fixing. That work was why we also asked for an additional summer helper so that we could accomplish more than stripping and waxing floors and doing a quick paint job in the most visible areas. The board did not support either of those ideas. I hope to engage in conversation with local partners to see if we can create a community workforce to help get some of this seen to.
MENTAL HEALTH
I asked for another day for the in-school clinician we currently have to help children who have needs in this area. This was denied. We had asked for a Home School Coordinator for the district which would give us more of a school counselor. Our school counselor, Kristen Billings, teaches classes, has groups for kids who are in need of some learning around social issues, sees children in a nontherapeutic setting.That was denied.
PLAYGROUND
The board would like us to create a playground committee to raise money and write grants for the playground to be redone. I am concerned about our ability to do that with our small base of volunteers, but we do have a grant writer in the district now who I am planning to reach out to about this idea.
SAFETY
They hope that we will find money in the shared safety grant that will help us add to our camera coverage. We get $10,000 total and share it with the three schools. At the moment, we have a few blind spots and no coverage indoors yet. The public safety team of staff, faculty and local law and safety officers will be meeting this week to discuss safety measures suggested by the recent audit we had involving our insurance company. It was prompted by the library incident but encompasses a whole lot more. There are several recommendations from the latest Safety Audit we are considering. Some that we have completed in the last few years are:
• adding cameras to the outside of the building in front, back and side,
• securing bookcases to the wall to prevent tipping,
• conducting emergency kitchen training plans,
• Regular inspection of the elevator,
• relocation of custodial office which cleared boiler room of all combustibles
Those we are working on at the moment are:
• inventory of all chemicals in the building,
• inspection of the hanging equipment in the gym,
• a regular check of the fire extinguishers in the building,
• creating enough clearance of the electrical boxes,
• updating the labels on the circuit breakers,
• looking at a new floor scrubber,
• looking for a tractor,
• acquiring a stepping stool for every classroom and office with high shelves
Everything costs money, right? We have to figure out how to do the things we want and need with creative funding. If you have ideas, suggestions or feedback, please reach out to Kate Lampherekathleen.lamphere@trsu.org, Fred Marinfred.marin@trsu.org or Doug McBridedoug.mcbride@trsu.org who are the representatives for this community or Joe Fromberger joseph.fromberger@trsu.org, who is the chair. If you wish to speak to the entire board, please do come to the next meeting on Tuesday, Jan 14 at 6 at GM.
What follows below is a staff wish list for all the things we think would make this school even better.
· sensory path
· Sensory Room for all to access
· Updated Playground with specific sensory pieces of equipment
· Preschool at our school
· Provide breakfast and lunch for our students on snow days and inservice days who struggle to have food in their homes.
· Robotics
· Increase the arts
· Indoor Rock Climbing Wall
· Repair the Outdoor Classroom Trail
· Dance and Drama Teacher who can weave in poetry instruction, math instruction, and other content areas.
· money for STEM equipment - digital sensors for light, temp; soil test kits
· more field trip funding for science/STEM
· projects that create interdependence between GMUHS students and CTES
· A dedicated fitness room
· More seating options in each classroom
· Artist in Residence to provide instruction and inspiration for an all-school project or maybe different versions of a project for all grade levels.
· PE 5 days per week
· Full-Time School Clinician
· Full-time Counselor
So that is where we are at the moment.
Please feel free to reach out to me with questions, comments or concerns. debra.beaupre@trsu.org
Deb