First Community Forum Held at Potsdam Central School District The Potsdam Board of Education hosted its first community forum of the school year on Feb 9, 2012, with 47 community members in attendance. They came together to discuss topics such as Preparing Students for the 21st Century Job Market and Balancing Educational Goals with Tax Relief. Their feedback will be used by the Board of Education as it considers long-range planning. The community forum, held in the AAK Middle School cafeteria, began with a brief opening presentation delivered by Superintendent Pat Brady. He discussed the many challenges the district is facing, including giving students the skills they need to succeed, and meeting the educational goals of the district while balancing the budget. pcs_forum1_pres2 Community members sat in small groups comprised of a mixture of community members. The discussions were led and recorded by Potsdam High School students. "I believe many participants would agree that our students did an outstanding job facilitating the conversations and recording the thoughts and ideas of the community. I was very proud of them," commented Superintendent Brady. After the initial presentation, community members were asked to discuss their thoughts on the following questions: 1. Think about the skills and knowledge which graduates need to be successful today, whether they’re your own children, people you’ve hired or people with whom you work. In your opinion: – How well-prepared are Potsdam students to succeed in college? – How well-prepared are Potsdam students to be competitive, successful employees in the 21st century job market? – What knowledge, skills or experiences should Potsdam students possess in order to succeed in college and be better, more competitive employees? 2. Local taxpayers, including those impacted by district budget reductions, are struggling with issues such as job losses, rising prices for goods and services, and increasing expenses at virtually all levels. – How has the economic downturn impacted your willingness to support the educational goals of the district and the level of school taxes used to achieve those goals? – Would you be willing to support a school budget that made reductions to existing programs and staffing levels, and that increased the average class size as a result, in order to stay within the tax levy limit? – Conversely, would you be willing to support a school budget that exceeded the tax levy limit if that meant the district would be able to maintain all of its existing educational programs and current average class size? Why? Which topics would you like to discuss with your fellow community members and/or learn more about at the community forum on Monday, Feb 27, before the school board develops a budget proposal for 2012-13? Some possible topics include: – More about the tax levy cap as it pertains to PCSD – The district’s reserve funds – Staffing levels and class sizes – Issues related to negotiating employee contracts – Maintaining school facilities – Technology in schools – Athletics and Extracurricular activities The next community forum will be held on Monday, February 27th , from 7:00-9:00 PM in the AAK Middle School Cafeteria. "We have decided to extend the length of the meeting from 8:30 to 9:00 PM to give community members a little more discussion time for each question. We expect the turnout at the next forum to be larger and we would like to make sure each person has a chance to speak," noted Superintendent Brady. In an effort to make sure that we can accommodate everyone who is interested in attending the next forum, we ask that if you or someone you know can participate and have not already done so, please RSVP by Wednesday February 22, by emailing forums@potsdam.k12.ny.us or by calling 315-265-2000 ext. 733. Information from the February 9 Community Forum · Summary of Session 1 Notes pcs_summary of notes_sess1 · Assessment Form Summary assessment Form Summary_session1 · PowerPoint Presentation pcs_forum1_pres2

 

The Potsdam Central School District is located in the village of Potsdam, New York, a rural community in St. Lawrence County. Potsdam is nestled in the foothills of the Adirondack Mountains near the St. Lawrence River. The district consists of about 230 square miles, with the village of Potsdam in the center. The village has a population of about 10,000 and is proud to be the home of Clarkson University and SUNY Potsdam.