A letter from NECSD Superintendent, Dr. J. Manning Campbell

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July 16, 2024

Dear NECSD students, families, faculty, staff, and surrounding community,

At the start of each July, as our Board leadership changes and our new fiscal year begins, I am hopeful for collaboration as new members learn the role of a Board member and work with our professionals with vast experience in our field. Unfortunately, at the moment, there is clearly tension between District leadership and among our elected officials, as evidenced by tonight’s meeting agenda. My goal is for everyone to clearly understand our roles, absorb the feedback from our community through our trustees and direct communication, and make decisions that are in the best interest of our entire community. 

Everyone will not agree with every decision that is made - and that is okay. That is to be expected. What we must do is work in a professional manner that creates an environment where we can be constructive and productive to move our district forward.  

Tonight’s agenda proposes to rescind the action taken by the previously elected Board. These items, if approved, will disregard the budget that the public approved on June 18th. Regardless of who was elected or the platform they ran on, each Board member is responsible for representing all members of our community. 

If these items are approved, positions that I have clearly stated are not needed would then need classroom space, programs, and students to teach. This means the District would incur exorbitant costs and attention away from summer programming and preparing for the new school year. The District would need to identify space in the community, negotiate with our unions, purchase/create additional programs, purchase furniture, train staff, allocate transportation, acquire materials, ensure the new space meets the needs of NYS, procure a lease, and obtain a Certificate of Occupancy - just to name a few requirements that would need additional resources and funding that has not been approved by our taxpayers.

Should this occur, be informed, that current employees, most likely from our largest group - our teachers - face the risk of layoff as our budget will not cover the costs. These added positions, would potentially lead to mid-year terminations and the termination of additional positions as we prepare next year's budget because we will not be able to retain positions with costs that are associated. As a result, this will also lead to paying unemployment benefits and salaries.

Aside from the ethical concerns, voting to disregard the consensus of the public will potentially place our District’s taxpayers under financial strain by the action in and of itself as well as likely resulting in legal implications that could be taken as a result of their decisions tonight. 

I feel as though it’s important to do my due diligence in informing the public of the potential repercussions of the proposals here tonight.  

I would like to add something and I want to be sure to note that I share these sentiments with the utmost respect for those who have volunteered their time for the Board of Education. Operating a school district is the role of the Superintendent. That is not just here in Newburgh, but in districts across New York State and throughout the United States. My team and I have decades of experience and years of education that inform our decisions. The constant attempts to undermine this role distract my team and me from focusing on our highest priority - our students.

The role of Board members is to hire and evaluate the Superintendent, establish policy, and adopt the budget. It would be irresponsible of me not to caution our Board and our community of making uninformed decisions that will likely have drastic consequences for our taxpayers and most importantly, our students. 

As I mentioned at the start of this letter, my hope is to work with our Board collaboratively, as professionals who are invested in the best interest of our scholars. I look forward to that concept being a welcomed opportunity to provide the best education possible for every child in our school district. 

Sincerely,

Dr. J. Manning Campbell
Superintendent of Schools

ATTENTION: Are your scholars or colleagues doing something great? Please contact the district Communications Team at communications@necsd.net. We’d love to visit your class or event and/or post your pictures and recap to highlight the amazing accomplishments throughout our district!