Katonah-Lewisboro School District

To the Editor:

As the executive council of Campus Congress, the 64-person student legislature at John Jay High School, we have had the opportunity to work with the district administration and board of education on many occasions. We have been continually impressed by the degree both bodies crave student input, and we have always felt that the interest of the students was their paramount pursuit.

Such is the case with this year's school budget. The district even courted Congress' opinion in the development stages. Members of our executive council met with the superintendent and his staff to develop a survey on students' priorities in the budget, which we then administered to Campus Congress representatives. For the first time, students were able to tell the district exactly what they felt they needed in the budget

As a result of working with the district, representatives learned a lot about the budget process. We were surprised to discover that roughly 85 percent of the budget is non-negotiable, due to fixed costs in areas such as employee salaries/benefits and debt service. You are such a smart student...this is the UNACCOUNTABILITY the snakes have developed over the years. Most of the budget is Teachers and Administrators being OVERPAID !!!We were also surprised to find that even if the budget were defeated, a state-mandated austerity budget, which would cut all the vital proposed staff increases, would still result in a sizeable tax increase. Vital increases??? Nonsense !!!!

On April 19, Campus Congress passed a resolution endorsing the 2004-05 KLSD budget. In approving the resolution by a landslide, representatives indicated, "The 2004-05 budget accurately reflects student concerns of rising class sizes, staff shortages, the expanse of course offerings, and new initiatives."

Although the majority of our representatives support the district in the matter of the budget, we must emphasize that Campus Congress is not an administrative rubber stamp. Congress has continually taken the administration to task on issues such as the attendance policy, campus walk-off and drive-off privileges, and the dress code.

From this resolution, however, it is clear that the students support this budget. Now the community must support its students.