Full Notification

June 3, 2021

Dear Sherman School Community,

On May 7th, the Board’s Leadership Team sent a letter to the entire Sherman community regarding the failure of the May 1st referendum to approve the Board of Education’s budget for the 2021-2022 school year.  

The Board of Education met on Sunday, May 23rd, for a comprehensive review of the feedback we received from 107 residents who participated in the survey.  The candid feedback that we received was very helpful to the Board and resulted in a number of strategies that will be implemented in the near  future, including:

● Greater collaboration with our in-town partners to raise awareness about the referendum date and the opportunity to vote
● More detailed information about educational costs in an environment where there is declining student enrollment
● Enhanced and more predictable Board level communication to the school community through social media and newspaper channels
● The addition of a regularly scheduled Board of Education Workshop meeting each month to promote more efficient and consistent communication with the public

The Board appreciated the concerns raised by a large number of participants regarding Board actions associated with the possible building project, including the process that the Board followed over the past several months. The volunteers who serve their community on the Board of Education have only the best intentions for our students and our school community and appreciate that others in town may disagree with decisions and actions taken. The Board respects and values each opinion and takes to heart the
feedback received, both positive and negative.

The Board of Education has submitted a revised 2021-2022 budget that reflects information about costs that became known after the Budget was originally adopted by the Board on March 3rd. As a result, a revised budget of 9,319,821 representing a .065 reduction from the 2020-2021 school year has been submitted for consideration. The budget vote will take place on Saturday, June 5, 2021, from 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM at Charter Hall.

Sincerely,
Jeff Melendez