2021-22 Budget
The annual Budget Vote and Board of Education Election took place on Tuesday and I am happy to report that the proposed 2021-22 budget was approved by an overwhelming majority. Voter turnout for this election was the highest it’s been since May 2015. Of the approximately 2,150 residents who participated in this election, more than 77% voted in favor of the proposed budget. A similar percentage voted in favor of the annual bus purchase which replaces school buses incrementally each year to ensure safety and reliability for the thousands of public and non-public students who ride our buses daily. Additionally, Mr. Todd Marquardt was elected as a new Board Trustee with a start date of July 1.
It was wonderful to have had the opportunity to speak with so many members of our community as they came to Hoover Middle School to vote on Tuesday. Since I began as your Superintendent in July 2020, this was the first gathering of this size that we were able to host which included interaction. Thank you to everyone who participated in this important election. We are grateful to the Ken-Ton School District community for your support!
The approval of the budget was a very important step as we look to the future of Ken-Ton. The budget was designed to set the District on a path toward addressing the learning loss caused by the pandemic and positioning the District for future growth and success. This sets the stage for the 2021-22 school year. Although we still do not know what the New York State requirements will be for schools, there is cause for optimism. Earlier this week, Gov. Cuomo announced the easing of many COVID-19 restrictions across the state. Over the past couple of weeks, we have seen significant progress in our community. The number of cases of COVID-19 continues to decline. We have demonstrated that we can safely open our schools and that our buildings are a safe place to be. We look forward to the 2021-22 school year and hopefully being positioned to implement our schedules for a full return of all students every day. The challenges that we are faced with coming out of the pandemic will not replicate into next school year as long as restrictions continue to diminish.
Vaccination Clinic
We are also seeing more people in our community become vaccinated. Thanks to a partnership with Rite Aid, the opportunity for vaccination has increased even more in our community for students. On Wednesday, we partnered with Rite Aid to organize a vaccination clinic for Ken-Ton School District students ages 12 and up. Families who wish to have their children vaccinated were invited to sign up for an appointment to receive the first dose of the Pfizer vaccination from Rite Aid personnel (the second dose will be administered on June 9). More than 200 middle and high school students received the vaccine and the clinic was carried out flawlessly. A special thank you to everyone who helped coordinate the clinic including Kenmore East staff and our school nurses, as well as all the families who participated.
We found there to be a great deal of interest in receiving the vaccination among families. All of the available time slots were reserved within an hour of sending out the sign-up form, and additional families signed up to be on a waiting list in the event of cancellations. Because there were so many families who wanted their student(s) to receive the vaccine but weren’t able to secure an appointment, we are in the process of coordinating a second vaccination clinic for students and will share details tomorrow. Remember, our goal is to provide an additional resource for those families who wish to take advantage of it.
Finish Strongly
With the 2020-21 school year winding to a close, I encourage all families, especially our graduating seniors, to stay focused on everything that must be completed and accomplished prior to the end of the year. Like a runner in the end of the race, our students can see the finish line and they must dig deep and finish strongly.
End-of-Year Events
As you may know, New York State has announced changes regarding capacity limits and requirements for indoor and outdoor events. We are continuing to seek guidance and clarification to determine how these changes may impact our end-of-year events. Our school buildings, especially our high schools, will be keeping families informed of these changes and how they may impact procedures and capacity limits at these events.
