Success defines school year; budget development continues
HOWARD S. SMITH Williamsville School Superintendent
As 2007 comes to an end, I would like to take this opportunity to reflect on a very successful, and very busy, first half of the school year.

In October, Casey Middle School was named a national Blue Ribbon School, one of the most prestigious education awards in the country. The Blue Ribbon Schools Program recognizes public elementary and middle schools that successfully met specific assessment and eligibility criteria during the 2005-2006 school year.

In November, Petrina Scinta Neureuter was appointed the new principal at North High School. Neureuter is a strong, well-respected teacher and leader who will continue to foster the tradition of quality instruction and student learning at North. Also last month, 13 distinguished alumni were inducted into the Williamsville Wall of Fame. I would like to publicly thank the Williamsville Education Foundation for sponsoring this spectacular event.

This week, Williamsville hosted one of the nation's leading authorities on academic standards, performance assessment, and accountability. Dr. Douglas Reeves, a prolific author and school performance expert, headlined staff development day activities for the District's nearly 900 faculty members.

His visit represents the continuing collaboration of the Western New York Leadership Consortium, formed in 2006 by the Williamsville, Sweet Home, Ken-Ton and Clarence school districts for the purpose of working together to provide more advanced training opportunities for teachers and school administrators.

The District recently received its annual external audit report and was given a strong endorsement of its fiscal health by the auditors from Lumsden & McCormick, LLP.

On the heels of this extremely positive audit, the 2008-09 budget development process has begun. The list of the major financial impact items was presented to the Board of Education in November. These items include program maintenance expenditures such as contractual obligations and rising operational costs including fuel, utility, and health insurance expenses. In addition, program enhancements and long term planning initiatives have been identified and include such items as a comprehensive plan to improve our athletic fields; the installation of an integrated emergency notification system; and a proposal to establish a girls' varsity ice hockey program.

I invite you to attend Board meetings and ask questions as the 2008-09 spending plan evolves. You can provide feedback via our Web site at www.williamsvillek12.org where you will find regular updates on the budget development process.

In addition to our third public meeting in January related to budget planning, the 2008-09 preliminary budget will be presented to the Board and community in February, a public forum will be held March 11, and further discussion will occur on March 25 prior to the Board of Education adoption on April 8.

Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to thank our community for its ongoing support of our schools and wish you all a happy, healthy, holiday season.