By CRAIG FREILICH

NORWOOD – Norwood-Norfolk Central School Superintendent Elizabeth Kirnie says she is afraid that if there are any problems caused by the new state property tax cap, they will fall on rural school districts like Norwood-Norfolk.

And if the trend toward less state aid and more demands on school districts continues, she’s not sure where it will lead.

“We’ve all read about the two-percent property tax cap, but we’re finding that it’s two percent figured with different formulas which tend to put rural North Country school districts at a disadvantage,” Kirnie said, as she and her staff prepare for the new school year.

“We’re looking at heightened requirements for state assessments and ‘cut scores,’” Kirnie said. The new State Regents’ reform agenda is to improve the number of students who have college- or career-ready skills, Kirnie said, “all while they systematically remove finances and our ability to get students where they should be. To say we superintendents are frustrated understates it.”

The edicts from Albany have raised the testing score standards because the Regents say the old standards “were no longer predictive of college success,” she said.

“So now we have a pool of students who are required to receive academic intervention services – which means more teacher hours to deliver those services outside of the core curriculum. The student schedules are ready, but in the end they might need to take time from other things. It could be an art or music class they can’t take.

“We’ve had to reduce staff already, and when we look two or three years ahead, with no promise of an increase in state aid, I’m not sure how much longer we can keep this working.”

And the less prosperous school districts, Kirnie said, feel cuts in state aid more than those that are in more affluent areas.

But she says she is grateful for the way staff have responded.

“We have had to eliminate some technical classes, and we won’t have the same amount of library coverage we have had. Most students won’t notice much of a difference, because teachers are stepping up and filling the gaps.”

“We are past the days when administrators and the board can craft a budget on existing resources,” Kirnie said. “We anticipate a successful year that focuses on the needs of the students,” but to maintain that focus in coming years the community will have to be more involved, she said.

“We plan to engage the community in discussions on what they want for their children and the district, and to address all the issues of concern.

“As school choices need to be made, we need to know those choices are in harmony with families as well.”