This letter is to commend the community of Hicksville and those who have chosen to be candidates for the Hicksville Board of Education. I am proud to have represented the public of this town on the board for the past three years. I thank all of you out there for supporting me in the last election and hope I have met your expectations.

I was worried, however, that there would not be enough concerned citizens in our town to run for the vacant seats on the board, but am pleased to learn that we have some very dedicated and qualified candidates on the ballot. My name will also appear on the ballot as I am very concerned about the education of our children in this town while also being worried about where the funds will come from to educate them. I look forward, with your support if elected, to serving the community of Hicksville for another three years.

There has been much improvement in our schools in the past three years, including those supported by the bond issue that was passed by a very caring and intelligent community. These improvements range from new roofs, boilers, bathrooms (which were sorely needed), computers, building exteriors and parking lots, to educational computer software and new books, laptop computers for all secondary faculty, a Wide Access Network (WAN) and a school website. I am proud to have been part of this exciting undertaking, which could never have been possible without the enormous effort and work of our superintendent, administration and staff who I commend highly.

There have also been great strides made in the accomplishments and success of our students. Our standardized test scores have risen and our students who have needed academic intervention have been well served. There have been many wonderful achievements in science, team sports and arts and literature by our talented children. From state kickline champions, science Olympiad winners, Robotic teams, state recognized gymnasts and bowlers and literature and art competition winners on the state level, to an exceptional marching band and many extremely talented orchestra and band students. Our faculty and staff have worked very hard with these talented children to help them thrive and succeed.

There is a dilemma, though, that the school district will face and has been dealing with over the past several years. It happens to be the increasing cost of all the needs and services required to run such a successful school district. The curriculum and new information that is required of our students to process and learn, requires updated, new technology. To make our district competitive with other districts in terms of the latest technology available to our students is one of the more expensive, yet imperative ventures. Unfortunately, with cuts in state aid, our budget becomes continually more difficult to balance.

Without these funds, we could raise our local tax revenue by 10 to 15 percent as most other surrounding districts have had to do. This is not feasible and puts a big burden on the senior part of our community and those on fixed incomes. The key to this dilemma is to keep our budget low and still maintain the quality of our educational facilities. We have strived to keep our tax increase below the 10 percent mark and need your support to pass our budget, which has taken the work of a very dedicated superintendent, administration and staff to accomplish.

Please come out on May 17 and support our budget for the good of our community and children. Thank you, in advance,

Caryn Calabrese