Dear Batavia Families and Community,
As we approach the coming weeks, we in the “school business” like to call this period of time “budget season.” It is a time when Boards of Education, school leaders, and communities come together to ponder a variety of items related to school budgets: revenue (where does the money come from), expenditures (what are our priorities for programming), reserves (how much do we want to use from our “savings”) and tax levy (how much community support are we asking for?).
These bolded items (and others) will be addressed in a special print edition of BCSDNews. We are required each year to notify our community of our budget, and we of course will be doing so, but….we are also going to showcase in this same edition a variety of student programs at BCSD that we can all take collective pride in. I encourage you to look for this in your mailbox next Friday, May 5, as it will arrive with your Pennysaver.
We celebrated Administrative Professionals Day this past Wednesday, and we want to give a special thanks and recognition to our talented and dedicated BCSD clerical staff at all of our schools and District Office for all that they do behind and in front of the scenes: calmly and patiently answering phone calls, greeting parents and students, and keeping our schools running smoothly with their special touches and styles. Thank you!
Thank you all for your patience and understanding during our lockout last week. I am especially proud of our staff and students for “staying the course” during this unexpected event. I thank our families for following the directions in the text messages and emails, and allowing us to do our jobs here to keep our students safe. After each and every event—planned or otherwise—we debrief as a District, listen to comments and questions from staff and families, and adjust when and where needed. I also want to remind our families that in addition to the safety measures I have previously described, each school has security aides who faithfully patrol and remain vigilant throughout the school day, and we are appreciative of their efforts as well.
While the weather as of late has not been the best, we are in the middle of the spring sports season and our teams are off to a fantastic start. This past Wednesday, I was proud to bring along four of our student-athletes to discuss their teams and season on my monthly WBTA 1490 appearance. These four students were articulate, confident and proud—they represented all of BCSD well!
At a recent Board of Education meeting, an updated 2022-23 School Calendar was approved.
Here’s what’s changed:
We removed one Staff Professional Development Day (Our last late arrival day will be Friday, May 12)
We added an additional day off for Memorial Day Weekend on Friday, May 26
The last day of school is now Wednesday, June 21 (half-day for UPK-8th students)
Click here to view, download and print the updated calendar.
For any questions, please reach out to your student's Main Office.
BHS: 585-343-2480, ext 2000
BMS: 585-343-2480, ext 3000
John Kennedy Intermediate: 585-343-2480, ext 5000
Jackson Primary/Robert Morris: 585-343-2480, ext 4000
We hope our families, staff, and students will enjoy the extra long weekend around Memorial Day!
One of my favorite visits to our schools is when we have guest authors, and I especially enjoyed my visit to John Kennedy this week. Our students met author Laurence Pringle, who has written a number of children’s books about animals—another one of my favorite topics. At the session I attended, I was so impressed with our student’s attentiveness, and boy, did they know their books when Mr. Pringle read famous lines from famous children's books. Kudos JK!
I look forward to Jackson’s Family Reading night next week on May 5th when I get a chance to read one of my favorite children’s books!
Please be on the lookout for that special edition of BCSDNews that I referred to earlier, and the budget for the 2023-23 will be formally presented on May 8, at 6:00 pm.
Voting will take place from 11 am-9 pm at BHS and Robert Morris, and additional details will be forthcoming.
In the meantime, enjoy the weather, enjoy all of our sports (we are especially excited about our inaugural Girls Flag Football Team) and concerts, and find time to read a book—or better yet—read one with your children!
Thank you…
Sincerely,
Jason A. Smith
Superintendent of Schools
585-343-2480, ext 1000
jasonsmith@bataviacsd.org