Dear Lancaster Parents, Family, and Friends...
As the final votes were tallied on this year's school budget vote and board member election, I couldn't help but feel grateful to the community that I have served for the last 46 years, and called home for my entire life.
I have said it before, but it bears repeating. Lancaster is a community steeped in pride, wrapped up in tradition and small town values, one of the greatest of which is the value our community places on education. With a successful budget vote, the gift you give to the future, by supporting our schools, is priceless.
The payback? In the 2011-12 New York State School Report Card, our students rose to the occasion by taking nearly four times as many Advanced Placement classes than just four years ago. Your positive budget vote allows us to keep offering those AP classes.
Our Academy of Finance is noted as being one of the best in the country; our Leadership Academy was the first of its kind in the country; we are the only school district in Western New York to offer as many career academies as we do. Your positive budget vote allows us to continue offering these academies and other great educational opportunities for students, including an alternative high school program that is enabling us to keep at-risk students from dropping out–thus posting our lowest drop out rate in district history last year.
For the last several years, the State Education Department has also noted Lancaster to be the most cost-effective and administratively efficient school district in Western New York (two different measures). Thus, while we are doing our best to provide continual improvement to the education system, we are also keeping a close watch on the bottom line.
As the marching bands stride by this Memorial Weekend, the community should take pride in their investment in the future. Our marching bands are just one very colorful, harmonious example of the great product we produce. Generations of children we can all be proud of call Lancaster home.
At this time, I would like to thank our board of education for their dedicated service to the students of this community. As you know, Ken Graber was re-elected to another three year term and in July we will be welcoming Bill Gallagher to the board. I would also like to thank Brenda Christopher for her dedicated service over the last three years.
No one can predict what the future has in store but I can honestly say that with the community's ongoing support, the Lancaster Central School District will continue to be one of the most shining examples of education in Western New York. I couldn't imagine a better place to call home.
Sincerely,
Edward J. Myszka
Superintendent of Schools
