Fall Creek PTA

Albany Petition for Education

Jim Semp (jimsemp@yahoo.com) is spearheading the following petition which will be delivered to Rep. Barbara Lifton, Senator Winner and the Governor.  You can help by downloading the petition here and collecting signatures.  The text reads as follows:

We, the undersigned, demand that the drastic cuts to New York state aid to schools in the Ithaca City School District, and to schools throughout the Tompkins, Seneca and Tioga county areas, be stopped.  Restore funding to our schools !!!  Also, we demand that unfunded mandates for our schools be reduced and eliminated to the highest degree possible in 2010, so that our school districts can balance their budgets, but not on the backs of our students and teachers. without restoration of aid and reductions in unfunded mandates, schools will close, teachers will be fired, class sizes will balloon, and course offerings will plummet: all combining to severely reduce the quality of primary and secondary education in our communities.

Fall Creek will remain open for 2010-11!

Hello Fall Creek Community Members,

Good news tonight: The school board voted 5-4 tonight to take the closing of Fall Creek off the table. At least for this coming school year.

Voting for this resolution were: Jay True, Beth Kunz, Brad Grainger, Rob Ainslie and Scott Perez.

Against were: Eldred Harris, Josh Bornstein, Seth Peacock, and Sean Eversley-Bradwell.

So it was a close vote – and with assurances from several board members that this may be considered in the 2011-12 year.

The superintendent finally presented the cost savings associated with this proposal. And while at the bottom of the sheet she said this would reduce the school budget by $1 million, her itemized figures listed only about $900,000 in savings. Also, as board members pointed out, without this plan, the superintendent had planned to reduce three teachers (two at BJM and one at FC) by combining classes. So that while closing FC would eliminate 6 teachers, that is a net of only 3. That means the cost savings under the plan would be $730,000 compared to not closing it.

During this discussion, some of the things that mattered to board members were that the combined school (BJM and FC) would have about 500 students. That’s just too big, Beth Kunz said. Also, board members were concerned that redistricting will be required in two to three years – so you would be making major shifts in kids within a couple of years.

Look for more details coming up on our web site in the coming days. And for now, enjoy the kids and the atmosphere at Fall Creek, which is all the more precious to many of us after considering its possible loss. Thank you everyone for your time and energy put into saving Fall Creek and please consider sustaining your work to both keep Fall Creek open for the long run and to help the district find creative ways to cut its budget and work toward the goals of equity and excellence.

Rebecca James
Fall Creek PTA President

Latest Media Coverage

Here is the latest round of media coverage related to the proposal to close Fall Creek:

Ithaca Journal:

• Feb 23 Article: Fall Creek Elementary School’s supporters march to prevent closure
• Feb 19 Commentary: Save Fall Creek
• Feb 15 Commentary: Keep Fall Creek Open

News 10 Now: Feb 23 Video: Group looks to keep school open

Ithaca Independent: Feb 21: Fall Creek Parents Plan School Protest March

Push for Tuesday

It’s time for our BIG PUSH to get the message to the school board that our school should stay open! If you can get the word out throughout the neighborhood and beyond, it will let the board know that not only are parents concerned, but many people in Ithaca value the school’s presence. Ready to help out?  Here’s what you can do – go door to door and distribute the following:

• A map showing the Protest March/Walking School Bus for Tuesday – Please distribute as widely as possible!
• A flyer updating the issue and encouraging people to contact the school board.
• Sample letter to the board geared toward people in the neighborhood & beyond.  Additional sample letters can be downloaded here and here
• Our petition

You can also pick up all of this material at the SOS Coffee in the school lobby Monday and Tuesday morning at the start of the school day. Please join us! T-shirts will be for sale and buttons and/or stickers will be available.

Upcoming School Board Meetings

The Fall Creek PTA encourages people to attend all of these school board meetings.  Wear your Fall Creek t-shirts and “Fall Creek Works!” stickers. To check in with the people coordinating our attendance at meetings, please contact politicalaction@fallcreekpta.org.  School board meetings are held in the district office building at 400 Lake St.

The next regular board meeting to watch for is TUE FEB 23 at 7PM.  We’d like to see a large turnout in support of Fall Creek School.

School board meetings schedule subject to change: check the Board of Education web page – every Friday the agenda for the next meeting is posted.

• Thursday February 18  – 4:30 pm – Human Resource Committee BOE (Jen Demarest attending)
• Monday February 22 – 4:00 pm – Finance Committee BOE (Michael Culotta attending)
• Tuesday, February 23 – 7:00 pm – School board regular meeting, public comment allowed (Chris Mize attending)
• Monday March 1 – 4:30 pm – Student Support Services Committee BOE (attending TBD)
• Tuesday, March 2 – 6:30 pm – School board budget workshop; no public comment allowed, but public may attend
• Thursday March 4 – 3:00 pm – Curriculum and Instruction Committee BOE (attending TBD)
• Tuesday, March 9 – 7:00 pm – School board regular meeting, public comment allowed (attending Karen Rodriguez)
• Tuesday, March 16 – 6:30 pm – School board budget workshop; The superintendent will present the budget, no public comment, but public may attend
• Tuesday, March 23 – 7:00 pm – School board regular meeting, public comment allowed (Jen Demarest attending)
• Tuesday, March 30 – 6:30 pm – School board budget workshop; no public comment allowed, but public may attend
• Tuesday, April 13 – 7:00 pm – School board regular meeting, public comment allowed (Diane Conuel attending)
• Thursday, April 15 – time TBA – Budget Hearing, public comment allowed
• Tuesday, April 20 – time TBA – Meeting – Board adopts the budget
• Tuesday, April 27 – 7:00 pm – Regular meeting, public comment allowed
• Tuesday, May 11 – 7:00 pm – Budget Hearing, public comment allowed
• Tuesday, May 18 - Public vote on the school budget

Meeting Tonight!

Meeting tonight at the school from 6-7:30pm.  Child care provided.

Tonight’s meeting will be devoted to working groups. After a brief overview in the cafeteria (from principal Karen Keller & PTA President Rebecca James) and a quick description of each working group, we will break up into classrooms to meet in the groups specified below. We will formally end at 7:30, which is when parents need to pick up their children from child care. A list of who is doing what and minutes from all the groups will be available on Friday on our web site and posted in our lobby.

Here are the groups:
Number Crunching (collecting and analyzing data)
Political Action (coordinating our response to the school board, connecting with government officials at all levels, connecting to other schools/our alum)
Communications (writing fact sheets, media coordination, banners, flyers, connecting to our families without email)
Creative solutions (working toward a district-wide process that would allow for education and 2-way communication between stakeholders & the board/admin)
Neighborhood Impact (petition efforts, connecting/coordinating with the neighborhood)

More Media Coverage

Here is a roundup of recent Fall Creek media coverage:

• News 10 Now, Feb 10 (video): Ithaca district considers closing Fall Creek school
• WHCU 870 AM, Feb 10 (audio): Interview with Superintendent Judith Pastel
• WHCU 870 AM, Feb 9 (audio): Interview with Fall Creek PTA President, Rebecca James
• Ithaca Journal, Feb 3 (print): Closing of Ithaca school weighed

News 10 Coverage

News 10 coverage of possible school shutdown (Feb 5)

Featured: Rebecca James, Fall Creek PTA President

Important Meetings

7 p.m., Tuesday Feb. 9 – School Board meeting, board room, ICSD administration building, 400 Lake Street
This issue is not on the agenda, but there will be 30 minutes to address the board. That only gives time for a few speakers (and parents are meeting this weekend to plan for a variety of statements), but we think it’s critical to have a huge turnout to show our concern. Wear your Fall Creek t-shirt and try to come early, around 6pm!  We’re discouraging people bringing elementary-aged kids to the BOE meeting in order to maintain as professional an air as possible.

6 p.m.-7:30 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 10 – Strategy Meeting at Fall Creek Elementary School, child care provided.
Updates from Karen Keller and PTA President Rebecca James; break out into work groups (detailed below)

If you are able to speak at Tuesday’s BOE meeting please keep these things in mind:

1) You only have 2 minutes to speak, so keep it concise
2) Ask for a special meeting to discuss this issue
3) Stay positive
4) Don’t talk about closing other schools as a way of keeping Fall Creek open
5) Thank the Board for their work and willingness to listen

Albany Write-a-Thon starts NOW