Second Verse...

Well, here we go again friends. This week, we will presenting our first version of the 2020-2021 proposed Rome City School District budget. Very much like last year, revenues continue to flat line, meaning that we can not continue to operate the way that we have been over the last decade, or maybe in a manner in which people want. Unfortunately, in public education, we have 2 main sources of revenue. Those are local taxes and state/federal aid. In the initial budget presentation, we will be highlighting how these revenue sources can not sustain our operations the way in which we are currently comprised. The single largest contributor to expenditure issues is health insurance premiums are rising at rates far faster than anyone can account for. By comparison, health insurance is expected to increase by roughly $2.5 million this year, while a 2% tax increase AND our forecasted state aid increase is only expected to increase revenue by $1.4 million. Simple math should highlight for you that we need to make $1.1 million in cuts, just to afford our health insurance for next year. That does not account for contractual salary increases, retirement contribution requirements from the state, programming needs, and much more. To continue the highlighting of revenue issues, in 2003-2004, we received more federal funding than we are currently receiving in 2020. On an increasing basis, government is expecting tax payers to foot the bill for schools, and that simply can't happen. Our local tax population has been answering the call for several years in a row now for our children and staff, and this simply isn't feasible any longer. It's time for real change to either the state aid formulas (which we can't control) or our internal operations and programming (which we can control). Like many school districts around the state, we have become comfortable with the way in which we program and exist, but that comfort is impeding our progress because we are at the point where we are cutting off limbs to spite our comfort. Ultimately, the children are the ones that hurt if our organization can not put aside selfishness for the better interests of everyone. If this where our personal lives, and our yearly bills increased, but our income did not; we would be making major changes to how we operate. Less meals out, maybe reducing the cable bill, walking more than driving, buying cheaper clothing, etc. Whatever it would be, we would make lifestyle changes to support the income we have. It is time to really move out of our comfort zone and build a new future. Our children deserve it, but more importantly, the future of our community deserves it. Our community and our school system are directly connected and we need to lead the way for all New York Schools to show them how we can survive despite the bombardment of funding stagnation from governmental bodies.

Kindergarten Registration

Dates: Monday, March 2nd through Friday, March 6th
Times: 9:10 AM to 12:00 PM and 1:00 PM to 3:10 PM

All Kindergarten registrations will take place at your child’s home school, except for evening registration on 3/4/20 (see below). Home school is determined by your address. For questions about which school your child will attend, please call the Central Registrar’s Office at 315-338-6569 or check this link: http://romecsd.org/UserFiles/Servers/Server_695381/File/Attendance%20Zones%202017-18.pdf.

EVENING REGISTRATION DATE: Wednesday, March 4th
TIME: 3:00 PM - 6:00 PM
LOCATION: District Office, 409 Bell Road, Rome, NY

The following must be provided at the time of registration:
-Original Birth Certificate (Your child must be 5 on or before
December 1, 2020 to register for Kindergarten)
-Record of current immunizations
-Proof of residency, 3 forms of residency verification required 
*Any child who will be 6 on or before December 1, 2018 must be registered for school

RFA Travel Club

The RFA Travel Club is currently looking for anyone interested in participating in their trip to Spain and Portugal in the spring of 2021. The meeting for the Spain/Portugal Trip will be held on February 27th (Thursday) at 6:00 p.m. in room 1310 at RFA. If you or your family want to learn more or enroll for the trip, this is the meeting to attend. For more information on this trip and/or the meeting, please see their flier HERE. 

Rotary Shoe Drive

Our local Rotary International Club, in conjunction with Rome Free Academy is currently conducting a shoe drive to help woman in third world countries have access to resources that will in turn allow them to better provide for their families. Anyone interested in supporting this initiative can deliver shoes (new or used) to RFA this week. There are shoe drive boxes throughout the building or in the guidance office.

Free Bully Prevention Workshop

One of our local karate dojos is sponsoring a free bullying prevention workshop on Friday, February 28th from 6:00 - 7:30 p.m. The seminar, sponsored by Bullyproof: Unleash the Hero Inside Your Kid and Sidekicks Karate, aims to give kids the tools they need to protect themselves and empower them to have the confidence to stand up for themselves and others. For more information, or to register, please see their flier HERE.

Strough Craft Fair

On Saturday, March 7th, from 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m., the Strough Middle School PTSO will be hosting their annual craft fair at Strough Middle School. Catch some early Easter shopping deals and do some fun shopping at the one and only Strough Craft Fair! There will be dozens of local vendors, plenty of parking and refreshments for sale! For more information, please contact the school.