Good afternoon and happy Friday,

I hope today's brief finds you doing well after another busy week around our district. Spring is here and it is so nice to see students at all of our schools enjoying the outdoors at recess and on the many field trips happening. One of those field trips has been a long time coming, as Oneida Students for Anti-Racism embarked on their much anticipated Washington D.C. trip. Two years ago OSAR won a very competitive State Farm Neighborhood Assist grant for the activism work they are doing in our community and this trip to Washington D.C. is what the students wanted to do with the money. Kudos to these students and the adults that work with them at Oneida for seeing their goals through!

This week we celebrate Teacher Appreciation Week and School Nurse Day. Teachers play a critical role in driving the success of our children’s education and lives. They are the ones who inspire and guide our kids to become future leaders, innovators and problem solvers. Join me as we honor the amazing educators in Schenectady! Your commitment and dedication to the children of Schenectady is so appreciated.

Last week wrapped up on Friday evening at miSci's Big Bang Gala. This year’s event honored the contributions of Neil Golub and Jane Golub and celebrated their vision for how miSci could become a leading regional hands-on interactive destination for students interested in science, technology, engineering, art, and math (STEAM) in the Schenectady community and beyond.

At this year’s Gala, it was announced that miSci will again gift 10,200 free, year-long Family Memberships to every student in the City of Schenectady through the newly re-named Neil Golub miMembership program. To learn more about the impact of 2022 miMembership program, please take a moment to watch the video below and learn more about how our students are taking advantage of this free membership.

On Wednesday evening I attended the 2023 Smart Transfer Early College in the High School Completion Ceremony at SUNY Schenectady. These students deserve to be celebrated as they earned their Associate Degree from SUNY Schenectady at the same time they earned their Regents diploma from Schenectady High School.

Congratulations to this amazing group of students, the future is bright for them and the future is bright for Schenectady. After school on Thursday I attended different events honoring two "Sheroes" of Schenectady schools and the Schenectady community. First, our Board of Education President, Bernice Rivera was honored by the NYS Assembly as a 2023 Woman of Distinction. Assemblyman Angelo Santabarbara was on hand to read and present the official citation. Next up it was the Strong, Smart and Bold dinner hosted by Girls Inc. of the Greater Capital Region at Wolfert's Roost Country Club. At the dinner, Tiffany Banwari, an administrative assistant in the district office, was recognized as the Girls Inc. woman of the year for her work as a mentor to young ladies in our community. Also at the dinner, the Schenectady City School District was recognized as the Community Partner of the Year!

In closing, you should have received two mailers in your mailbox in the last week. One of them explains the Schenectady Revitalization Plan 2030, and the other is an explanation of the six items Schenectady residents will be considering on Tuesday, May 16, between noon and 9 p.m. More information is available below, get informed and let your voice be heard.

Enjoy your weekend,

Anibal Soler, Jr.

Watch the video from the NYS Assembly honoring Board President, Bernice Rivera.

On May 16, Schenectady residents will be asked to vote on the proposed 2023-24 school district budget and board member elections. When residents receive their ballot they will have the option to vote on six items, the items are as follows:

Item #1: 2023-2024 Budget $265,267,298 - No impact on tax levy

Item #2: Schenectady Revitalization Plan 2030 - Tax impact zero
When you head to the polls on May 16, we are asking you to please also consider the Schenectady Revitalization Plan 2030. If approved, this plan would bring up to $300 million worth of building renovations and upgrades to our schools over the next seven years. Check your mailbox for the newsletter explaining the Schenectady Revitalization Plan 2030. This proposition must pass with a 60% super majority.

Item #3: Purchase of 530 Liberty Street, Schenectady for location of Family and Community Engagement Center. Tax impact zero
The district has identified the property at 530 Liberty St. as a purchase property for the Family and Community Engagement Center. The cost is $2.9 million. If approved by taxpayers, the facility will be used for the district's Family and Community Engagement Center (FACE) with the purpose of offering a welcoming first experience in the district and a one-stop shop for student registration, transportation, and other services and experiences. This center will also be used in the evening and on weekends for various community engagement events. We will also provide technology for families to use to register for school and to fill out an application for employment.

Item #4: Purchase of Keane Elementary School Building (Currently Owned by St. Luke's) - Tax impact zero
Voters are being asked to consider a proposal to purchase Keane Elementary School from St. Luke's. The district has been leasing the school building since July 2007 and is now seeking to purchase the school building for a one-time cost of $2 million. Purchase of this property would serve to provide much needed space for student enrollment, and in the long-term allow for expansion.

Item #5: Add a student member position to the board of education
The board is asking residents to vote on a proposition authorizing the addition of an ex-officio student member position on the board of education. A student board member will attend board meetings, sit at the board table and participate in public discussions, they will not vote or attend executive sessions.

Item #6: Elect Three Members to the Board of Education Terms for board members Bernice Rivera, Nohelani Etienne, and Princella Learry will end on June 30, 2023. Ms. Learry has announced that she will not be running for another term.

Click here for board candidate bios and polling location information.

Voting takes place at the district's 8 polling locations between noon and 9 p.m. on May 16, 2023.

Polls will be open Noon - 9 p.m.

Polling Locations (click for map):

Yates Elementary School, 725 Salina Street, 12308

Schenectady High School, 1445 the Plaza, 12308

Howe Elementary School, 1065 Baker Avenue, 12309

Paige Elementary School, 104 Elliott Avenue, 12304

Woodlawn Elementary School, 3311 Wells Avenue, 12304

Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School, 918 Stanley St., 12307

Fulton School Building, 408 Eleanor Street, 12306

Mont Pleasant Middle School, 1121 Forest Road, 12303

To learn more about the Schenectady Revitalization Plan 2030, watch the video below.

This week was International Composting Awareness Week, or ICAW for short. We love using compost in our school gardens, so Farm to School celebrated in a big way with our community partners Schenectady County Recycles!, Schenectady County Soil & Water Conservation District, and SiCM Schenectady Urban Farms.

First, we held an all day "Kids Can Compost" event at Howe Elementary, where nearly 300 students went through stations where they did Compost Trivia, winning seed packets, how red wriggler worms make the best compost, made a birdfeeder out of pinecones, and planted seeds in the school garden after improving the soil -with compost, of course - and a pollinator flower seed to take home to grow.  Grades K through 5 participated, and all had a blast!

The very next day was  the launch of the Schenectady Community Compost Project at SiCM Schenectady Urban Farm's Fehr Avenue site! This project has been in the works for almost a year now and the district is thrilled to say we'll be diverting the lunchroom food scraps from Zoller Elementary to a composting system at SiCM's Fehr Avenue Farm. This week, while the second grade classes from Zoller were on a field trip to Fehr Avenue Farm, students put their handprints on the composting system that will be turning their food scraps into healthy soil for their school garden and other gardens around the school district.

By mid-June, there will be three more community composting sites located at each one of SiCM's Urban Farms.

The partners that made this project possible are

Schenectady County Soil & Water Conservation District and Compost Facility

Schenectady Community Ministries

Schenectady County

Cornell Cooperative Extension, Schenectady County

Schenectady City School District and the Farm to School Program with Zoller School Garden

This is just the beginning of the Schenectady Community Compost Project. We hope to get all our schools composting, at least in a small way, this year through Farm to School and Schenectady County Recycles! If you are interested in getting involved with these efforts at your building, please reach out to Rebekka Henriksen at henriksenr@schenectadyschools.org

Happy International Compost Awareness Week!