The Board of Education has decided to offer a weekly update on the m= ost recent board meeting, offering a more narrative version of the meeting highlights than what you will get from the meeting minutes

February 11, 2009

The Board of Education will provide updates on the most recent board meeting, offering a more narrative version of the meeting highlights than you will get from the minutes. Please note that the meeting minut= es, posted on the Canfield Avenue School website upon approval, cover all matte= rs discussed and actions taken, so are more comprehensive in that respect.

We are primarily engaged now in developing the budget = for the 2009-2010 school year. State aid figures will be delayed = until after Governor’s budget address, which awaits legislative authorizati= on of its postponement until March 10 or 12.&= nbsp; So for now are using 2008-09 state aid numbers in our revenue projections.

Dover tuition for our middle- and high school students is a huge piece of our gen= eral fund budget - over 30% for which we have virtually no control. We still await these numbers from = Dover.

State administrative guidelines call for average class= sizes to be greater than fifteen, and limiting paraprofessional staffing outside = of special education. We are in = the midst of reviewing our paraprofessional staffing to determine what is requi= red to meet Individual Education Plans (IEPs, for k= ids with special needs) and what is required to ensure the safety of our studen= ts despite potential challenges by the NJDOE. It will be difficult to sustain our current level of paraprofessional staffing in the Pre-K(4), Kindergarten, and First Grade..

Maintaining educational quality requires the advanceme= nt of direly needed capital projects. Through an anticipated contribution of 40% by the state and a fairly healthy capital reserve account of $200,000 we plan to complete the work on our fire alarm system and begin the first phase of a heating/ventilating upgrade in the Gr= ade 1-3 wing.

We are considering a reduction in the number of class sections, probably by 1, and a reduction in special education personnel. We hope to accomplish this through attrition.

These are the questions and challenges we face in just= about every budget year, but this year we must be especially sensitive in light of the economic conditions confronting all of our families and residents. We encourage your input in this pr= ocess even as we await more details on key revenue and cost components of the budget. Our next meeting is M= onday evening, February 23 at 7:30 PM in the school library.

Paul Breda

President, Mine Hill Board of Education