I am a senior class officer at Fonda-Fultonville Central School who is worried for the future of my district even after I graduate. The budget cuts proposed by Governor Andrew Cuomo would be devastating to the entire student body and EVERY student will be affected whether it’s through cuts to technology, music, business, foreign language, sports, clubs, or advanced courses offered by our district. The last meeting to discuss the budget was attended by approximately forty people, most of them being faculty and staff of the district. How can the community vote on a budget for the upcoming school year if they are not attending the meetings that discuss the most crucial and devastating budget cuts of our school’s history? The Fonda-Fultonville Central School District has been a leader as well as a role model to the other schools in the Capital Region for as long as I remember. With some of the highest test scores and graduation rates in the area, how we can strip this from the students who work so hard and have so much pride in the work they do?
I have been fortunate to be able to attend such a wonderful school for most of my education and I would not have wanted to go anywhere else. There is always something to do or someone to talk to if you need anything. I have been lucky enough to be involved with many groups, sports, and activities offered at our school. I have also been able to choose classes from the many courses offered by our business department including marketing, accounting, financial management, and computer courses. These courses have prepared me to pursue an education in Business Administration and have given me the skills I need to have great confidence going into the future. These teachers care about each student and truly want to see each and every student succeed. I have also been able to participate in band, art, technology, advanced college courses, Soccer, Track, Cross-Country, and have been inducted into the National Honor Society. If our district’s funding is cut as much as it is projected, every single one of these activities will be eliminated. While I have been academically successful, some students don’t react to the same environment as others and aren’t as driven to succeed. Often these students come to school solely for the elective classes offered, so that they can work on a project that they enjoy doing and might want to pursue in the future. Without these classes and programs to keep these kids in school, who says they will stay enrolled?
Now is the time to contact Governor Cuomo and fight for our District before it’s too late. The students of this district deserve the best education possible and the budget cuts proposed will not permit that to take place.
A list of our local representatives and their contact information is on the school district’s website www.fondafultonvilleschools.org
Interview with:
Monica Wendell, Grade 11
“I like my art, music, and college programs. Students are going to be sad because the programs they’ve known to love won’t be offered next year. The community will also be saddened because their students will be losing their valuable education thanks to Governor Andrew Cuomo.”
Interview with:
Nikki Hathaway, High School librarian, Fonda-Fultonville High School
-The budget effects would affect the students the most
-There would be no variety of quality classes and with major cuts in technology students would be far behind competing students. It would also affect the other aspects of student’s lives because they’d never be introduced to chorus and band.
-There should be research to see what would have the biggest impact on the students to see what we cut first.
“What incentives will they have to make students come to school?”
“Where are you Governor Cuomo?”
“It’s strictly Cuomo’s fault.”
-Wish Cuomo would visit rural schools (not necessary Fonda) to see how much kids are there to learn.
-Board of Education should figure out each township’s increase of taxes
“If we knew the real facts not propaganda a wiser choice would be made”
-Every kid in the school should have an iPad
-Someone needs to tell the community how many of the teachers and staff give back (Teachers pay for raffles to donate money every Friday. They also give lunch money /tissues/pens/paper) “Are we supposed to toot our own horn? That’s not very Christian.”
“We have the best students. It’s sad someone failed the system.”
-Voter’s should decide to bring back kindergarten, sports, & the fine arts back into the budget. The community will say yes.”
“How will students compete with other students for college?”
-If students have no extracurricular activates they could lose a spot in the college they want to get into.
Interview with:
Kristin M., Parent/taxpayer
“I think education programs are definitely more important than extracurricular but I hate to see my programs get cut completely because I know how much my kids enjoyed them in school. As a taxpayer I don’t want to face a huge tax increase so I think that the administration and the teachers should work together to find a compromise that’s acceptable to everybody. The school board and the teachers need to be aware that the economy is still struggling and taxpayers can’t afford to keep dishing out unlimited funds.”
Jesse Mars
