One woman's effort to join the Tuxedo School District continues

Thank you for publishing the article about the school issues facing the people who live in northern Tuxedo. The children from this part of Tuxedo go to schools in Monroe-Woodbury. Because of the high local interest in this topic, a public meeting will be held on Jan. 5, from 6 to 8 p.m., at the Southfields VFW Hall on Orange Turnpike. The purpose will be to brainstorm and develop strategies for getting the school assignment changed. I would like to provide a response to some comments made in the article: 1) The Monroe-Woodbury school superintendent made a statement in the article that my only issue relates to taxes and that I’m not really interested in the children. I believe that Monroe-Woodbury is so intent on retaining the northern Tuxedo children because they need them to sustain the district’s bottom line. You can access information about various school district budgets, salaries, and expenditures at: http://nyssba.org/index.php?src=news&refno=490&category=On%20Board%20Online%20Sept%2015%202008. The Monroe-Woodbury superintendent did invite me to his office but he also told me that he would not recommend the issue of releasing Tuxedo school children be added to the agenda for any school board meeting or discussion. I saw no point in wasting his time or my time. 2) The Tuxedo School System shows significant academic strength, with more students passing the state Regents exam than is the case in the Monroe-Woodbury District. Online school rating web sites praise Tuxedo’s strong academics, small size and strong involvement of teachers and administrators. 3) I have had numerous calls from area residents, some of which say that the dramatic tax hikes may make it impossible for them to stay in their homes. If it continues, they will probably have to move. The very high property taxes may also make the area unattractive to potential home buyers. 4) The residents of northern Tuxedo are entitled to know the calculations used in assessing our home values. We got a big increase while many communities around us received a decrease. And all this while home prices have declined significantly. The local assessor had been unwilling to provide requested information and a petition containing over 100 signatures of local residents requesting an audit of his calculations has been sent to John McCarey, the Director of Real Property Services in Goshen. Thank you. Cathy Herbert Tuxedo