04/04/2019
A message from our school board president..Stephanie Clark.
As many of you know, I have served on the MCS Board of Education for some years now. I have been a lifelong resident of Madison, and am a graduate of MCS. My great-grandfather, Bazil Ames, founded Madison Central School and was the first principal there. Both of my grandparents graduated from Madison, and Grandma Alma, Aunt Lois, and Stephen were all the valedictorians of their class. My dad, my brother, and numerous aunts, uncles and cousins all graduated from Madison, and soon, my son Robert will join the ranks of family alumni. My mother, although she did not go to Madison, served on the Board of Education for many, many years. Suffice it to say, this school means something to me. Staff, faculty and students at MCS all mean something to me. So many people pour their life blood into the school. Parents fund way more than they should have to, because we’re a poor district and we are repeatedly passed over when it comes to getting the aid we deserve. Teachers provide, out of their own pockets, educational materials for their classrooms, and spend so much of their free time making sure our kids have opportunities. Staff at the school go above and beyond their work hours to make sure other needs are met. I’m not the only person invested in this school - there are many. And too often, these people go unnoticed and feel unappreciated.
Parents, I appreciate you. I appreciate you figuring out how to get kids from point A to point B so they don’t miss out on valuable opportunities. I appreciate you participating in yet another fundraiser so your kids - and others - can have a richer experience than what our district can afford. I appreciate you sending in a huge list of supplies at the beginning of each school year, and I appreciate the way you look out for each other, and make sure kids that might not be your own have rides to school for extracurriculars, clothing, and food. Thank you for going above and beyond to make Small Town America work, and for taking care of each other.
Teachers, I appreciate you. I appreciate that you spend your evenings grading papers and creating learning materials because there just isn’t enough time in your day. I appreciate you spending your weekends at Target or Michael’s picking up “a few odds and ends” for your classroom. I appreciate that you make sure the kid who doesn’t have crayons or pencils or shoes with soles, does. I appreciate that you spend your lunch period talking kids off the ledge rather than eating or using the bathroom. I appreciate you keeping your desk stocked with toiletries that can be discreetly given to any child who might need them. I appreciate you caring for my kids as if they were your own - because you genuinely do, not because you’re getting paid to.
Support staff, I appreciate you. I appreciate that you have the thankless jobs that often involve cleaning up after other people, literally and figuratively. I appreciate the fact that kids know they can come to you when they’re upset, and that you lend a kind, compassionate ear and sometimes a shoulder to cry on. I appreciate that much of what you do is behind the scenes, and too often you don’t get the accolades you deserve. I appreciate the years of service you put into our school district, and how you are the backbone that binds our entire school together and supports it. I appreciate that you are often the ones who listen to complaints when things go wrong, but rarely hear the praises you deserve when things go right. I appreciate how much you care about the school, and the community as a whole.
My fellow board member and Vice President Jona Snyder posted yesterday that we are grossly underfunded when compared to neighboring districts, with regard to foundation aid. He is correct, and it is frustrating. Out of 900-plus districts in NYS, we are the 44th lowest income district, and yet each year we are shorted when it comes to state aid distributed to other comparable districts - to the tune of $1,000,000 over the past eight years. This has to be remedied. It’s unfair to all of you who pour everything you have into making sure the children of our district get the education they deserve. That’s why I’m asking you to contact your state legislators, John Salka and Rachel May, and ask them to help Madison get the funding it needs.
Thank you parents, teachers, and support staff, for all you do - every day - for Madison.
