
March 21, 2024

March 21, 2024
Dear Lockport City School District Learning Community,
In an effort to ensure transparency, I am writing to share that during last night’s Board of Education meeting, the Board and I discussed key components of the proposed 2024-2025 budget. Specifically, we discussed:
- District goals for the 2024- 2025 budget
- The most current proposed budget summary (including the proposed expenditure budget, projected revenue budget, tax levy request, current tax levy and the maximum tax levy increase)
- The loss of all American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds and the elimination of all ARPA funded positions - This involves a total of 47.25 positions - 33 Lockport Educators Association (LEA) positions and 11 Lockport School Employees Association (LSEA) positions
- The district has the ability and commitment to potentially rehire over 80% of LEA and 70% of LSEA employees who are currently working in ARPA funded positions
- The reduction in administrative staffing and the reallocation of district funds to better meet the academic and social - emotional needs of our students who attend schools that have been identified by New York State Education Department of Education as a: Targeted Support and Improvement School (TSI), Additional Targeted Support and Improvement School (ATSI) or Potential Target Support and Improvement School (PTSI); and
- The proposed capital project which will be a part of this year's budget vote which involves needed roofing repairs for three of our schools (Aaron Mossell Junior High School, Emmet Belknap Intermediate School and Lockport High School).
A copy of the slideshow presentation that was shared with the Board of Education is now
available online at https://www.lockportschools.org/domain/1723. In addition, community members will be able to view the meeting on LCTV as soon as they post it to https://lctv.net/.
I want to assure our entire community that all decisions regarding staffing and budgets have been meticulously crafted to align with the district's 2024-2029 strategic plan. Our labor relations team, including LSEA and LEA leadership, along with our Human Resources department have worked collaboratively to find ways to: optimize funding, maintain staffing and program continuity and consistency for our students while also remaining focused on ensuring that our staff have the resources needed to meet the academic and social-emotional needs of our students.
As we move forward with finalizing our budget please know that we will ensure that this year’s budget is:
- Fiscally sound - not excessive to our taxpayers, staying within the tax levy limit cap
- Flexible - providing flexibility within the general fund budget codes
- Foolproof - providing for emergencies should they occur
- Flowing - has enough cash available in case state aid is late or withheld; and
- Aligned - has proper programming and support included that are aligned with the district strategic plans - goals.
With that said, I will continue to provide updates as we work to finalize our budget. Your support of our schools is valuable and I thank all of you for your unwavering commitment to the success and well-being of our students.
Sincerely,
Mathis Calvin, III, Ed. D.
Superintendent of Lockport City School District