A collective sigh of relief was heard at out house last week - and many others - when the announcement was made that Aidan's school will not be close after this school year. Like many school districts, the Baldwinsville Central School Distict has a budget gap - $4.3 million in our case. One idea being considered to save money is to close one of the five elementary schools. Enrollment has declined over the years, and we have lost the equivalent of one school’s enrollment, so it makes sense to close one. The two oldest schools were up for consideration, one of which is the school that Aidan now attends and the other school was the one he attended when we first moved to B'ville.
The sensible, tax-paying side of me agrees wholeheartedly with closing a school; although the savings of approximately $1.3 million does not close the gap, it makes progress toward closing it. But the emotional side of me did not want Aidan to have to change schools AGAIN. When he started attending his current school, he said to me that he hoped he could stay there and not have to change schools again. The prospect of having to tell him that his school was closing made my stomach and heart ache.
So the announcement that no school will be closed after the 2011-2012 school year was welcome news. The Board of Education decided that the time frame for closing a school next year was "not adequate to create a transition plan for students, staff, and the community". Very true, but I do think they need to start NOW in planning for a closure and transition, so they will be ready for the 2013-2014 school year. And Aidan will not be affected by that decision because in B'ville, students move to one middle school for grades 6 and 7.
While I am all for cost-savings and doing what makes good fiscal sense, I am still selfishly happy that Aidan will not be affected. What does that make me? Some may say a hypocrite but I say a concerned mom.
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Success
On this last day of the month, I am taking a look at my February resolutions and evaluating my performance.
My first resolution was to finish the wrap that I am knitting for my Aunt Eula. Although I did not finish, I made significant progress and it is probably 90% complete. I say "probably" because I am still not sure how long I want it to be, but I can say that I am ever so close to having it done and it looks lovely.
Resolution #2 was to exercise for 30 minutes, three times each week and I came incredibly close to meeting that goal. Most often I walked but when the weather did not cooperate, I used exercise videos. Last week's winter break threw a wrench into my plans, but I am proud to say that I met my goal every other week. True geek that I am, I determined that three times a week in the month of February equaled 13, and I exercised 12 times.
So while I technically did not meet my goals, I am declaring success...I kept working at my goals and I came extremely close to meeting both of them. The point of setting goals/resolutions is to inspire me, and that is how I feel at the close of February: inspired to not give up just because I did not exactly reach my goals.
For March, I am going to keep the same two resolutions from February, and I am adding one more: stop snacking. I am a terrible snacker, particularly when I am cooking dinner; even though I know that I am making a delicious meal that will soon be served, I can't resist a snack here and there. I'm not talking about tasting the food that I am cooking, I am talking about eating foods totally unrelated to the meal being prepared.
Just so you know, I do not plan on adding a resolution each month - no way am I going to be keeping up with twelve by the end of 2012! I think three is a manageable number and I want to set myself up for success, not failure.
My first resolution was to finish the wrap that I am knitting for my Aunt Eula. Although I did not finish, I made significant progress and it is probably 90% complete. I say "probably" because I am still not sure how long I want it to be, but I can say that I am ever so close to having it done and it looks lovely.
Resolution #2 was to exercise for 30 minutes, three times each week and I came incredibly close to meeting that goal. Most often I walked but when the weather did not cooperate, I used exercise videos. Last week's winter break threw a wrench into my plans, but I am proud to say that I met my goal every other week. True geek that I am, I determined that three times a week in the month of February equaled 13, and I exercised 12 times.
So while I technically did not meet my goals, I am declaring success...I kept working at my goals and I came extremely close to meeting both of them. The point of setting goals/resolutions is to inspire me, and that is how I feel at the close of February: inspired to not give up just because I did not exactly reach my goals.
For March, I am going to keep the same two resolutions from February, and I am adding one more: stop snacking. I am a terrible snacker, particularly when I am cooking dinner; even though I know that I am making a delicious meal that will soon be served, I can't resist a snack here and there. I'm not talking about tasting the food that I am cooking, I am talking about eating foods totally unrelated to the meal being prepared.
Just so you know, I do not plan on adding a resolution each month - no way am I going to be keeping up with twelve by the end of 2012! I think three is a manageable number and I want to set myself up for success, not failure.
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