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Massena Central schedules budget forum for March 7

Posted 2/27/13

MASSENA -- The Massena Board of Education will host a community budget forum at 6 p.m. on Thursday, March. 7, at Jefferson Elementary. The evening will begin with a brief presentation of the …

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Massena Central schedules budget forum for March 7

Posted

MASSENA -- The Massena Board of Education will host a community budget forum at 6 p.m. on Thursday, March. 7, at Jefferson Elementary.

The evening will begin with a brief presentation of the district’s current finances and a look at budget projections. Attendees will then break into small groups to answer specific questions about the things they feel are important to a pre-K-through-12 education. The evening will close with each small group reporting its results back to everyone attending.

School districts across New York stand at a funding cliff, according to the forum announcement from the district. Increasing costs paired with cuts in promised state aid leave them without the resources to provide students with a sound, basic education, the statement said.

Massena Central School District is better off than many districts, because it has reserves that will delay the tragedy currently playing out in some North Country schools. The facts are, however, that Massena’s good fortune is short-lived. The district’s business office and the board of education finance committee forecast that if expenses continue to rise at current rates, those reserves would be exhausted by 2015-16. Without a change in school funding, the board will have no choice but to make deep cuts to academic and extracurricular programs, the statement said.

Residents will be encouraged to register in advance to ensure there is an adequate amount of materials.

Further registration details will be posted on the school district’s website, www.mcs.k12.ny.us.