Brewster pride will prevail

The phrase “Brewster pride” was heard over and over again Saturday when 75 people met with members of the Brewster Board of Education and central office administrators for a twohour community forum to discuss the 2010-11 school budget that is currently being formulated.

The Brewster district, like others in the region, is feeling the pinch from Albany. Brewster must make up a $5.2 million deficit resulting from projected losses in state aid, $13 million in unfunded mandates, unemployment costs, an emergency repair at the C.V. Starr Intermediate School, $350,000 for the MTA Mobility Tax, higher retirement costs, and court-ordered tax certioraris.

School Board President Dr. Stephen Jambor told the audience: “The fluff is gone. We’re down to muscle and bone!”

Dr. Jambor said the “pain will not go away. My colleagues and I, along with Superintendent Dr. Jane Sandbank and her team, have spent many sleepless nights by identifying the places that could be cut and spreading the pain as evenly as possible so that no group bears a disproportionate amount of that pain.”

One parent asked Dr. Sandbank about rumors throughout the community that 30 teachers would be released in June. The superintendent set the record straight: “We are planning for 15-25 layoffs of all employees, not just teachers. Members of our rank-and-file bargaining units realize this and have cooperated by taking a salary freeze for the 2010-11 school year, including central administration, building administration, and teachers.”

Another parent was concerned about BOCES services. Dr. Sandbank assured the woman that “BOCES programs will continue. I want the public to know despite these painful reductions, 99 percent of our children returning to class next September will not realize any differences.”

One man suggested that the district encourage volunteers to meet with students and assist them in a variety of ways relating to their own experiences in the business world.

Another question centered on athletics and rumors that school sports were being slashed. Once again the panel of school officials called the rumors “completely untrue.”

Dr. Sandbank reiterated her earlier statement that “Brewster will continue to do more with less”

And Dr. Jambor forecast the “district will survive because we are a strong community with great Brewster pride.”