BUDGET OVERVIEW
Building budgets in normal times is always a challenge. The Board of Education is constantly weighing student programming with the fiscal responsibility to the taxpayer. In this budget cycle, the Groton Central School District is facing additional challenges brought on by a pandemic. In order to reopen schools, the district has had over $250,000 in unanticipated costs. (Remember, the Board of Education approves the budget in April, long before we knew what the fall and reopening would bring.) In addition, we started the school year with Governor Cuomo withholding up to 20% in various aid and grant categories.
Since the Governor’s preliminary executive budget run was announced on January 19, we have been able to realize some financial relief, as the Governor has now assured school districts that he will be reinstating all withheld aid from the summer and fall. In addition, he is promising to reinstate some of the transportation costs districts incurred last spring when schools were mandated to deliver food and school supplies to students. However, the overall budget picture for Groton is less than positive. Foundation aide, the crux of aid that comes to school districts, is once again flat. Overall, the Groton Central School District’s aid package from the state reflects a 1.6% increase from the 2019-2020 school year. This increase, however, takes into account estimates in BOCES and transportation costs for the present year. As a result, the aid run is overstated by about $200,000, and means Groton is actually looking at a slight decrease in total aid for the 2021-22 school year.
In addition, the Governor is proposing combining several aid categories into one, a move that will reduce school district ability to predict revenue for upcoming years and also allow the Governor to make future cuts to school aid without having to specifically identify where the cut is coming from. Combining the aid categories may also lead to less BOCES aid for districts, a move that will limit rural, high need districts such as Groton from offering similar programming as wealthier schools because a shared service will no longer be guaranteed to be a reimbursable cost.
Although the financial picture across the state is bleak because of COVID-19, please be assured the District and Board of Education are doing everything possible to maintain student programming while building a budget that takes into account the fiscal needs of the community. Decision making will be centered around the District’s vision, mission and core belief statements with every effort being made to preserve opportunities for our youth (see below). We will continue to update the community on the budget picture as it develops over the next couple of months.
Mission
Empower all students to reach their fullest potential and thrive in a diverse, ever-changing world.
Vision
Ignite the passion for learning and inspire unique pathways to success.
Core Beliefs
Students are our first priority. No exceptions.
All can learn and grow.
We encourage creative and innovative thinking.
Data informs our decisions.
We act with integrity, professionalism, trust, and fairness.
All deserve a safe, secure, and nurturing environment.
We treat each individual with respect, compassion, and dignity.
We promote family and community involvement.
|
|
ATHLETICS UPDATE
On Friday, January 25, 2021, Governor Cuomo announced he was lifting the moratorium on high-risk sports as of February 1 and that the decision to actually commence with these activities would now be made at a local level through the county department of health. The Tompkins County Department of Health has since approved the start of high-risk sports, including basketball and wrestling for the Winter I sports season, and football and volleyball for the Winter II sports season. Although individual games will be permitted, the county has not approved any tournament play at this time.
We are excited to have our students once again have the opportunity to participate in sports here at Groton. In order to best ensure their safety and well-being, we will be following the IAC League protocols for athletic competitions during the pandemic. Some of the highlights from this document are listed below:
-
All athletes will be required to wear masks at all times during the competition. Appropriate mask breaks will be permitted throughout the contest.
- Schools will be following all cleaning and disinfection protocols as are outlined in the reopening plans.
- Athletes will be expected to arrive at athletic contests fully dressed in their team uniforms, as the use of locker room facilities will be limited.
-
In order to keep population density down, no spectators will be allowed at any of the athletic practices or contests. Groton has set up a camera in the Jr-Sr High gymnasium and will be able to live stream the events for parents to watch via video.
- Student-athletes will need to bring their own water bottles to each practice and contest.
To see the IAC League protocols in its entirety, please click on this link: IAC League Athletics Re-Opening Plan. This document is also posted to our website, and coaches will be distributing it to all student-athletes during the first week of practice.
- Basketball and wrestling teams will begin practicing on Monday, February 1st.
- Volleyball, soccer, football, and cross country are in the Winter II sports season, and will commence in March.
- Softball, baseball, and track are still considered spring sports and will have a start date in mid to late April.
The athletic director will be sending out start dates for those sports in the near future. Should you have any questions regarding the start of athletics here at Groton, please contact the athletic director, Mark Triolo, at mtriolo@grotoncs.org or by calling the Jr-Sr High main office.
|
|
Princeton IgniteSTEM
Virtual Design Challenge
Who would've thought that high schoolers would volunteer to come to school on a Saturday to do academic work? Well, that is exactly what happened on Saturday, January 16. 45 students from GHS voluntarily came to school to compete in the national Princeton IgniteSTEM Virtual Design Challenge. This was a one-day competitive event filled with engaging workshops and prizes to encourage students to collaborate with each other while solving real-life problems. IgniteSTEM is a branch of Princeton University's Entrepreneurship Club, a non-profit dedicated to transforming K-12 education through innovative approaches found in hackathons, design thinking, and maker spaces. With the mentorship of Groton faculty and Princeton undergrads, our students were guided through the design thinking process to unleash their creativity through ideation, prototyping and refining their designs. They started the day with a presentation by Dr. John Danner, an entrepreneurship specialist and professor from Princeton University, followed by a Q&A. Then they met the other participants from across the nation through virtual games and competed in a Kahoot trivia game. Groton represented well with Kennedy Mayo taking first place and Aiden Harriott taking third among .... students across ... states. This ignited Groton's competitive spirit as they began the real work. The challenge: "Natural disasters in the United States can be incredibly destructive to property - even if everyone gets out of harm's way. If we had to build more houses, buildings, and complexes in high-risk areas, how would you design structures to be maximally storm resistant?" Teams then had to conduct research on different types of storms (thunderstorms, tornadoes, hurricanes, etc.) and their overall impact. From there they decided what problem they were going to address through structural design. The brainstorming phases generated tons of creative ideas. Once each team settled on one idea they began to refine it and visualize it using technology apps like Revit, Google Draw, and others to physically sketch out their idea. The event culminated in a presentation of each team's solution to a specific storm. We are proud to report that Groton's "Team Twisters" (Rachel Cargian, Emma Kennett, Dylan Sedorus, Hailey Van Alstine, Framke Vitale, and mentor, Angela Shurtleff) took second place among ... teams! We also had several teams earn honorable mentions. It was an absolutely awesome day and we are so glad we were able to give our students this amazing opportunity to collaborate and think creatively. Not only did they meet the challenge - they exceeded it!
|
|
|
Little Authors
Building on youngsters' natural curiosity, the first-grade team embarked on a nonfiction writing journey that put the pencil in the hands of their students as creators of their own texts. Nonfiction writing gives students a unique way to learn about the world around them while simultaneously learning to read and write. In small groups, students researched an animal of their choosing, everything from meerkats to frogs. As a team, they captured their learning by creating their own nonfiction books or informational posters. Students shared their final products with their classmates and other faculty in the school.
|
|
|
|
A reminder to all parents and guardians of the Class of 2021: If your child is applying to college or planning to apply to college please complete the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) as soon as possible. After February 1, the size of financial aid packages begins to decrease. If you need assistance, please look for the resources under the Financial Aid section in the Seniors College Preparation Google Classroom, check out: fafsa.gov or contact Ms. Schmid (mschmid@grotoncs.org).
|
|
|
|
CTE Students of the Month
Congratulations to our first semester CTE Students of the Month for your exemplary behavior, eagerness to learn, hard work, positive attitudes, and exceptional contributions to your programs!
OCTOBER 2020
Samantha Cargian, Auto Technology
Robert Houston, Heavy Equipment
Mya Griffin, Nurse Assisting & Health Occupations
Brennan Brockway, Heavy Equipment
Isaac Hall, Welding
NOVEMBER 2020
Demitri Brooks, Jr., CEP
Anthony Moore, Auto Technology
DECEMBER 2020
Madelyn Redfield, Early Childhood
Cory Ayers, Heavy Equipment
|
|
|
|
Math Geniuses
Starting next month, fifth grade is starting a friendly math competition. Each day, students will complete one quick math problem, and for every correct response, students will earn points. These points will be totaled up and tracked on an Among Us character. The first class to fill up (color in) their Among Us character wins! Let the competition begin!
|
|
|
Morning Pre-Screenings
Please remember to complete your child's daily health screenings prior to 7:30 am to help us ensure a safe and smooth start to each day! We appreciate your support! Thank you!
|
|
GROTON CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT
WWW.GROTONCS.ORG
400 PERU ROAD, GROTON, NY 13073
(607) 898-5301
|
|
|
|
|
|
|