As members of the communities that make up the Town of Webb School district we have always been extremely supportive, and rightfully proud of our students.
The community support has allowed us to provide our students with opportunities that are difficult to maintain in a very small district.
Our quality academic programs have helped our students succeed at top national schools, Cornell, University of Chicago, Middlebury, Bucknell, NYU, and Harvard to name a few.
Equally important are the opportunities to participate in sports and extracurricular activities which provide a lifetime of benefits that are difficult to quantify, but easy to recognize.
These opportunities are more expensive in a small school especially one like Webb that covers a large geographic area.
In spite of the costs, the school board has managed to keep our tax rate at a level that is one of the lowest in the state, due in part to the large amount of taxable NY State land.
In light of this I would like to address on a conceptual level, the letter that former superintendent Gooley wrote, in which he listed a series of cuts he would like to see in the 2014 budget.
I worked with Mr. Gooley for a number of years, have a positive relationship with him, and believe he cares about students.
That being said I STRONGLY disagree with budgetary decisions he made in his last years as superintendent that have compromised program quality and student opportunities, and regret that he is focused on promoting additional cuts.
When Mr. Gooley talks about the small budget increases of the last two years, he fails to note that the percentage increases are based on a budget that he had been involved in slashing.
Just as the state imposed a cap on the percentage increase that can occur in any year, budget decreases promoted by Mr. Gooley of 11.9% in 2009, 11.7% in 2010, and 8.3% in 2011 produced an almost 30% lower basis for future budgets.
The cuts that Mr. Gooley created, coupled with increases in mandated expenses, make it very difficult for the school board to address the negative effects on the students produced by the staffing cuts that Mr. Gooley instituted.
While declining enrollment over the past ten years allowed for some budgetary savings that had little effect on program, the large cuts Mr. Gooley focused on in his later years as superintendent were promoted without fully evaluating long-term consequences on our students.
Due to the excess staffing cuts created by Mr. Gooley courses have been dropped, many teachers are now required to teach classes outside their area of expertise, and to prepare daily lessons that range from sixth grade to twelfth grade.
While the school has an outstanding and hardworking staff, quality has inevitably been compromised.
While the minimal 2.03% budget increase proposed by the school board cannot address the consequences of Mr. Gooley’s 30% cuts, we can certainly not afford to slash that further as proposed by Mr. Gooley.
I am confident that we will continue to fully support our students and the superintendent and school board’s efforts to maintain the quality of our school.
Thank you for reading.
Ron Smith Old Forge
