It's terribly unfair for [a district that has] submitted their budget on time, has received accolades in student achievement, and have never asked for additional state aid before. It puts us in a very difficult position.
We knew this year we had to look at tightening our belt.
Everything remains the same [with the new building], but we are taking a closer look at the internal housing concept and adding a full service emergency generator at [an additional] cost to the Board of Education that will provide an added refuge for the community in the event of a natural or unforeseen disaster. It is an added expense for the district, but one that is well worth it.
The amount of approved aid is based on projected enrollment, and although we had a good number, we were a little bit high in our projected amount.
There are some areas where we could be more aggressive for cost efficiency. We went into this year knowing it was a time for belt tightening, and now I guess we just have to adjust one more notch.
We always tried to be sensitive with the land acquisition proposals. All the land is acquired for Gilmore School and the Magnet School, which was a much larger land acquisition and was to be our Renaissance Project.
We've always worked cooperatively with the department, and we're only asking for cost of living increases.
In July [2005] the SCC came out with the final list, and we had two projects that made it on. They were the athletic field project at Jose Marti Middle School and the new Columbus School on 15th street and Palisade Avenue. It is my understanding that they have acquired all the property needed for Columbus school, including the controversial 1501 Palisade Ave.
We have been working hard with the SCC to move our projects forward. We are in a good position, and it's minimal inconvenience to the neighborhood.
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