61°
LEWISBORO, N.Y. With the New Year approaching, Katonah-Lewisboro School Superintendent Dr. Paul Kreutzer has laid out a set of goals he liked to see accomplished in 2012.
His goals include adopting a fiscally responsible budget, developing a long-range facilities plan, developing a long-range academic plan and reaching a collective bargaining agreement with the Katonah-Lewisboro Support Staff Association and the Nurses Association.
A lot of the goals are connected, Kreutzer said. If we can come to a positive contract settlement, then we can look to maintain our programs and revamp what we have in technology.
Kreutzer said hed like to see the level of technological access for students increase by embracing the technology rather than thwarting it.
When kids come to school we often treat them like they are getting on an: airplane, shut down your cell phone, your laptop, he said. We want to embrace it. We can provide them with filtered Internet and programs and expand outside the brick and mortar wall. Embrace online learning and podcasts and maybe even create virtual study groups on the weekends.
Kreutzer said that while the district has a long-range facilities plan in place, he liked to see it tweaked and put into action. Many of the tenets Kreutzer proposes include making the schools buildings more energy efficient, which he said would save money.
We like to call it going green for green, he said. What can we do that is green or sustainable with a return on our investment? The boilers in John Jay Middle School need to be replaced and we want something long lasting with little emission and high heat delivery.
Kreutzer said that while its all well and good to have a wish list for the facilities plan, he wants to turn it into a to-do list.
We are getting more aggressive on it, he said. A lot of good people are doing these things, getting organized and moving in a single direction.
For the long range academic plan, Kreutzer said that a lot of what the district is doing is from scratch.
We want to create a systemic response when a child does not learn from the basic learning model, he said.
He added that he wants to see the district create a plan that complies with state mandates, but is consistent with the districts values.
In order to fully our districts goals, we will be creating various sub-categories within them and establishing committees to focus on these particular areas, he said. We will be soliciting participation from parents and other taxpayers, staff members, students, business owners, local government, and others to participate on the committees we will sponsor. Specifically, we are looking for those interested in the areas of safety and technology.
After the first of the year, the district will also engage in a tax cap road show a series of presentations throughout the community that will provide information about the 2 percent property tax cap. Kreutzer said the district realizes residents have questions regarding the impact of the cap and wants to address them. He said the district will be announcing the dates and locations of the tax cap road show locations in the near feature.
Like us on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter
Click here to follow Daily Voice Lewisboro and receive free news updates.
