Where to go?

Tuxedo, Warwick and Monroe-Woodbury school districts to make a pitch for 300 Greenwood Lake high school students GREENWOOD LAKE — With the fourth year of a five-year contract with the Tuxedo School District to be completed in June, the Greenwood Lake School District will next week officially begin the process of looking at where to send its high school students, knowing New York State will not allow the district to build its own high school. Although the Tuxedo district wants to maintain the existing relationship, Greenwood Lake has two new suitors looking for its business: Monroe-Woodbury and Warwick Valley. The stakes are high All three are eager to be selected by Greenwood Lake. As participants in Greenwood Lake’s preliminary due diligence process, they know the stakes are high. Area school district officials have already been working for months on their 2012-2013 school budgets. They’re grappling with how to cope with the mandated two percent cap, how that may translate into cuts or layoffs and how that might affect student programs. They hear repeated comments from the state education commissioner about how districts must look at different ways of operating, perhaps consolidating services and even consolidating districts. So any opportunity to find ways to increase revenue at a time where caps are mandated, costs are rising and revenue is declining is a welcome opportunity for school districts, particularly those who are seeing declining enrollments. Earlier this school year, Greenwood Lake officials queried the Monroe-Woodbury, Warwick Valley, Chester and the Florida school districts - in addition to Tuxedo - asking them to complete a questionnaire about their varied academic, athletic and extracurricular activities as part of its due diligence. Part of the survey process asked those districts if they would be willing to negotiate a tuition rate which fell below the Seneca Falls formula used by most districts to compute nonresident tuition charges, and which was used as part of the negotiation process between Greenwood Lake and Tuxedo, according to Greenwood Lake Superintendent of Schools Dr. Richard Brockel. After reviewing the information by interested districts, the Greenwood Lake Board of Education indicated that the Chester district is no longer a candidate, said Brockel. Florida has the survey but has not completed it, Brockel said, adding Florida informally indicated it is interested in taking some Greenwood Lake students. Ripple effect Now, the remaining suitors will now give a presentation to the Greenwood Lake board and interested community members about their programs and why they feel their districts would be best choice. For Tuxedo, which has 80 percent of its high school enrollment coming from Greenwood Lake, renewing the contract with Greenwood Lake means extending the high school’s viability - at least in terms of enrollment - for the duration of the contract period. New York State law currently allows for a maximum five-year contract. If Tuxedo is not selected, it means officials must then address how to keep the district afloat with a high school which would have lost about 300 of its 380 students. In turn, that might possibly have Tuxedo undertaking its own due diligence to see where it would send its high school students, with a possible added ripple effect of what to do with its K-8 program. For Warwick Valley, which closed Pine Island Elementary as a result of declining enrolment, bringing Greenwood Lake students into the district would bring tuition revenue. Additionally, Warwick officials are also seeking to reunify the Warwick and Greenwood Lake communities by having students who live in the Town of Warwick go to school in Warwick. Warwick voters voted down taking those students almost five years ago, causing some hard feelings within the Greenwood Lake community. For Monroe-Woodbury, which last contracted with Greenwood Lake to have its students attend the high school more than 30 years ago, it would be a full circle return to providing educational services to those students. Like Warwick, Monroe-Woodbury officials also felt in an era of cost-cutting and caps, having Greenwood Lake students attend their high school would be a good business opportunity by helping to boost its financial ability maintain to its current academic, athletic and co-curricular activities. Public workshops Greenwood Lake officials know their eventual decision will have great impact. Toward the end of the school year, its board will host public workshops at which time the choice of a high school will be discussed. Brockel said although no decision will be made immediately, the Greenwood Lake board and administration hope to put a high school choice before Greenwood Lake voters by the end of the current school year. “It’s my responsibility to get our children placed in the most comprehensive high school environment,” said Brockel. “That means academics, athletics and co-curricular activities, all at the best price for our taxpayers. That’s our responsibility as a board and as an administrative team.” Warwick Valley: One town 'We want to work together as a community’ WARWICK — The Warwick Valley School District will present its version of “What Makes You Proud of Your High School” the next day, Jan. 18 at 7 p.m. Warwick Valley, which saw enough of an enrollment decline that it closed its Pine Island Elementary School at the end of the last school year, wants to be the Greenwood Lake’s district of choice when the new contract period begins. Warwick Superintendent of School Dr. Raymond Bryant knows he also has to permanently heal any residual Greenwood Lake community wounds inflicted by Warwick voters when they voted down accepting Greenwood Lake students almost five years ago. “There has always been in interest in Greenwood Lake students, with my predecessor and the board, even though the vote didn’t go that way,” said Bryant. “Many people have approached me since I’ve been here and asked me about Greenwood Lake. They said, 'If I knew more, I would have voted differently.’ So yes, we are going courting but we are also looking to heal a wound.” Transition Bryant is equally passionate as his superintendent colleagues are about the reasons why Warwick should be Greenwood Lake’s choice. “We want to work together as a community,” he said. “We’re not as large as some high schools, we are larger than Tuxedo and we know we have the space. There’s an advantage to a school the size of Warwick. There are many opportunities here that they may not have at Tuxedo. Greenwood Lake kids grow up here. They come into Warwick to participate in youth events.” Based on Warwick’s success in transitioning Pine Island students to their new schools, Bryant knows the district has the experience to handle the process. “We have the experience to ensure a smooth transition,” he added. “We understand transition and what it means to move kids. And we’d want to work with Greenwood Lake’s middle school as part of that transition.” Large delegation While only Bryant and the High School Principal Richard Linkens are the planned presenters, Warwick plans to send a delegation of school officials, community leaders and residents to show the degree of interest it has in being the selected district. “To that end, our delegation will include our board members, our senior staff, our athletic director, our transportation director, our high school PTA president, the town supervisor, our principal and assistant principals, and anyone who might be able to answer any question later asked,” he said. “We’re coming as a delegation to say we are interested. We are one community. I would never make any negative comments about Tuxedo or Monroe-Woodbury, they are good schools. It’s just the kids are in our own community already. It just seems to make sense. The dollars and cents, we will figure that out.” Bryant added he’s even open to talking with Tuxedo about its future as well; knowing any outcome where Tuxedo is not the district of choice will greatly impact that district. He noted Warwick Town Supervisor Michael Sweeton convened a meeting last year with officials from Greenwood Lake, Tuxedo, Florida and Warwick to discuss “a vision” of how they could all work together and share services. “We agreed to talk, but it sort of fell flat,” he admitted. “But we should continue that conversation. The simple reality is that we can’t keep cutting costs because we’re hurting kids. How can we work together and how can we share together? I think that’s something we all have to look at. If we don’t do these things, the future of education is in great peril.” - Nancy Kriz Tuxedo: The incumbent 'We will report on what we are proud of in our district’ TUXEDO — The Greenwood Lake Board of Education will begin its review of school district candidates when it hears a 30 minute “What Makes You Proud of Your High School” presentation from Tuxedo School District representatives on Tuesday, Jan. 17, at 7 p.m. At that time, Tuxedo officials will discuss why Greenwood Lake should continue to send students to George F. Baker High School as well as the merits of the education those students receive at Baker. Each district’s presentation will focus discuss only on its own district and will not compare itself to others, according to officials. Tuxedo is the smallest of the three districts vying for Greenwood Lake students, and 80 percent of its student body lives in Greenwood Lake. But it holds the incumbent position. “We will report on what we are proud of in our district,” said Carol Lomascolo, Tuxedo superintendent of schools. “We’ll tell them what we do best and why we know we’re the choice. It’s an opportunity for us to showcase to the community what we are doing. ” George F. Baker High School Principal Denis Petrilak will join Lomascolo in the presentation. Thirty-year relationship Greenwood Lake students have been attending Baker High since 1981. Prior to that time, students attended the Monroe-Woodbury School District. But when student census rose (and before the new high school was built), Monroe-Woodbury could no longer accommodate non-district students and advised Greenwood Lake that it would need to seek another district. “We’ve been together for over 30 years,” said Lomascolo. “They (Greenwood Lake students) make George F. Baker what it is. It’s much more than the money to us. We’ve built an amazing program. And it’s in part because of the kids there, the parents there, the teachers there. We are the school that we are because of the students who are there. Greenwood Lake students play a big part in who we are and the success of our program.” Like her colleagues, Lomascolo is keenly aware of the financial constraints placed on districts. 'Fiscal responsibility’ “Every district is dealing with the two percent cap,” she said. “Every school district is dealing with cuts. It’s important for them (Greenwood Lake) to know that we want to work with them and consolidate where we can. If there’s something we can merge, where we can, if we’re not doing it now, we should be doing it. We want to do that and we we’re willing to do that. We have a fiscal responsibility to both Greenwood Lake and Tuxedo.” Lomascolo’s wish list is to create a relationship with Greenwood Lake that extends beyond a five-year period. “We want a long-term partnership with them,” she added. “Once every five years, we go through this struggle. It’s not just the district, it’s the families. I’d like to work with Greenwood Lake to come up with solutions so we don’t go through this upheaval all the time. It’s hard on the community in the midst of all the other difficult things going on. Education is changing rapidly with new mandates and unfunded mandates. In order to survive, we need to look at developing long-term relationships with consolidations and mergers wherever possible.” - Nancy Kriz Monroe-Woodbury: Connections 'Having a healthy student enrollment helps us to maintain our programs in all areas’ CENTRAL VALLEY — Monroe-Woodbury, the largest of the districts looking to be the choice for Greenwood Lake’s high school students, is confident it can offer those students an enriching experience. Its “What Makes You Proud of Your High School” presentation is set for Thursday, Jan. 26. “We have the academic programs, the sports programs, the co-curricular programs and the special ed programs that can benefit Greenwood Lake students,” Superintendent of Schools Edward Mehrhof said. “I believe Monroe-Woodbury has one of the finest academic, sports, and extracurricular programs in the county. We would welcome their (Greenwood Lake’s) children. And it is a good, solid business opportunity for the district. The addition of Greenwood Lake students would be an enriching factor to our district.” GWL connections High School principal David Bernsley will join Mehrhof in the district’s presentation. Mehrhof believed there were many benefits to Greenwood Lake students being part of Monroe-Woodbury district. “Large districts have many more wonderful opportunities to present all kinds of programs,” he said. “There’s wider diversity. It’s just a larger program.” Prior to 1981, Greenwood Lake high school students attended Monroe-Woodbury High School. In fact, Mehrhof himself is a former Greenwood Lake resident who graduated from Monroe-Woodbury and he attested to the quality education he received during his student tenure. “When Monroe-Woodbury had overcrowding issues and space was a problem, we told Greenwood Lake we could no longer contract with them,” he added. “That was before the new high school was built. We now can accommodate the Greenwood Lake students in this building.” Enrollment declines Like other districts, Monroe-Woodbury has seen a K-12 enrollment decline of 200 students over the past three years. “If we retain our enrollment, we can retain our current instructional and extracurricular programs in a time when we’re facing many financial challenges,” said Mehrhof. “Having a healthy student enrollment helps us to maintain our programs in all areas. This is a district that has seen declining enrollment.” Mehrhof noted that with the state education commissioner constantly talking about school district mergers, the possibility exist those small districts might not exist in the future. “Fifty years ago, there were about 3,000 districts in New York State,” he said. “Now there are about 700. I won’t be surprised if this is the beginning of consolidation in Orange County.” Like his colleagues, Mehrhof stressed this was a very preliminary process which could go in many directions. “I’m happy to present to them,” he added. “Then, we’ll wait to hear from them and then get information from the Monroe-Woodbury Board of Education to assess their interest on this.” - Nancy Kriz By the numbers George F. Baker Tuxedo High School enrollment: Approximately 380 students, with approximately 300 coming from Greenwood Lake Warwick Valley High School enrollment: Approximately 1,400 students Monroe-Woodbury High School enrollment: Approximately 2,400 students What is the Seneca Falls formula? The Seneca Falls formula, or the non-resident tuition formula, is used to compute nonresident tuition charges when the accounting records of the school district providing the instruction are not maintained in a manner which would indicate the net cost of educating such pupils. It’s generally used for all regular education and special education nonresident students educated in programs within the school district. Source: The State Aid and Financial Planning Service at www.sap.questar.org. Weighing in on the issue Greenwood Lake “It’s my responsibility to get our children placed in the most comprehensive high school environment. That means academics, athletics and co-curricular activities, all at the best price for our taxpayers. That’s our responsibility as a board and as an administrative team.” Dr. Richard Brockel, Greenwood Lake superintendent of schools Tuxedo “We’ve been together over 30 years. They (Greenwood Lake students) make George F. Baker what it is. It’s much more than the money to us. We’ve built an amazing program. And it’s in part because of the kids there, the parents there, the teachers there. We are the school that we are because of the students who are there. Greenwood Lake students play a big part in who we are and the success of our program.” Carol Lomascolo, Tuxedo superintendent of schools Warwick Valley “We want to work together as a community. We’re not as large as some high schools, we are larger than Tuxedo and we know we have the space. There’s an advantage to a school the size of Warwick. There are many opportunities here that they may not have at Tuxedo. Greenwood Lake kids grow up here. They come into Warwick to participate in youth events.” Dr. Raymond Bryant, Warwick Valley superintendent of schools. Monroe-Woodbury “We have the academic programs, the sports programs, the co-curricular programs and the special ed programs that can benefit Greenwood Lake students. I believe Monroe-Woodbury has one of the finest academic, sports and extracurricular programs in the county. We would welcome their (Greenwood Lake’s) children. And it is a good, solid business opportunity for the district.” Edward Mehrhof, Monroe-Woodbury superintendent of schools