Please note this letter was emailed to all families on March 27, 2025. If you did not receive this email please update your contact information with your building’s main office. If you are a community member and would like to receive community updates regarding the school budget please feel free to sign up for our community messenger list by clicking here.
Dear Berlin Community Members,
I am reaching out to provide the latest updates regarding budget development, updates to the current year school calendar, and in particular “give back” snow days, and to share the board approved 2025-2026 School Calendar.
When I reached out earlier this month, I provided the links to access all information related to budget development and our process to date. The Budget Information Page has and will continue to be updated throughout the process.
The board met again on Tuesday, March 18, 2025; the budget presentation that evening focused on salary projections and staffing. At present the gap between anticipated revenues and expenditures is substantial, resulting in a sizable gap.
While the possibility exists additional funding may be available once the NYS Budget is finalized, school districts in general, have very limited options to increase revenue, thus the work to establish a balanced budget lies primarily in reducing expenses. The administrative team is working diligently to identify areas where that is possible. As indicated in my earlier communication, the process will not unfold without difficult conversations and decisions.
We continue to encourage all members of our Berlin School Community to actively engage and stay informed as the process continues, by attending meetings, or watching the live streams, and monitoring the information that has and will continue to be posted to the district webpage. Our ultimate goal is to develop a budget that will best meet the needs of our students while achieving fiscal responsibility.
On a related note, there are three open seats for the Board of Education. Information about running for the board can be found here. The deadline for submitting a petition is April 21, 2025.
To date, the district has used only 2 of 6 emergency closing days. As a result the 2024-2025 calendar has been revised to include the following “give back days” if no more snow days are needed there will be no school on the following dates in the following order: Friday May 2nd,Tuesday May 27th, Friday May 23rd, and Thursday May 22nd. Additionally the board approved the 2025 – 2026 Calendar.
The next budget presentation is scheduled for Thursday, April 3, 2025 at 7:15 PM in the MSHS Auditorium.
Respectfully,
Dr. Maureen Long