Dear Fairport Community:
It is a privilege to serve our families during the COVID-19 school closure. For the past six weeks the Fairport Central School District has provided technology resources to support online learning activities, social-emotional support to some of our students and over 10,000 breakfast and lunch meals to those in need. Looking ahead, in addition to the academic and social emotional needs that will arise from this pause, I am concerned about the economic impact of this global pandemic on our school community and District.
Governor Cuomo has provided insights into the fiscal realities of NYS and, there has been much discussion about the dramatic economic times we are entering. Cuomo has stated that education aid may be cut by 20% without additional help from the Federal Government. In order for the district to fulfill our educational imperative we will need substantial financial support from the Federal Government. I urge you to contact our representatives in Congress to advocate on behalf of our schools and children.
The Federal Government must deliver more financial aid to states and public schools. Fairport CSD relies on NYS aid to support our students and school budget. Without further Federal support, we are expecting the state to make cuts to school aid, as soon as May 1 (next week). These cuts may translate to further staff reductions, increased class sizes, delayed building work and potentially, program cuts.
I support a proposal by Senators Bill Cassidy (R-Louisiana) and Robert Menendez (D-New Jersey) to provide $500 billion to states, local governments and school districts. We are encouraging our community to contact our governmental representatives to acknowledge support for additional Federal aid to our state and our schools by May 15. See the bottom of this message for a sample letter you may use when contacting our representatives. Simply copy and paste the text for your use.
Please forward this message to your colleagues, friends and family members as well. You may find your district’s member(s) of the U.S. House of Representatives by entering a zip code here. A list with their Washington phone numbers is available here (scroll down to New York).
I appreciate your support and advocacy for our children and schools during this unprecedented era.
Sincerely,
Brett Provenzano
Superintendent of Schools
Sample Message
Dear (Senator / Congressman / Congresswoman _______):
I am contacting you to ask that you support the bi-partisan proposal by Senators Menendez and Cassidy to deliver $500 billion in federal aid to states, local governments, and public schools.
Without more help from Washington, it will not be possible for our state to avoid drastic cuts in school funding. Federal aid needs to do more than just allow the state to avoid cutting its funding.
Schools will incur extraordinary costs in the coming year, helping students recover lost ground in learning from the disruptions they are now experiencing. We also expect the strains which families are enduring now will increase the need for student mental health services, once regular classes resume. There should be funding targeted specifically for schools.
Again, I kindly ask that you please support additional federal aid to our state and our schools.
Sincerely,
(your name)