Dear Putnam Valley Community: 

As spring nears, many are anxious for warmer temperatures and bright sunshine as we emerge from our winter hibernation. We have reached the conclusion of a successful winter athletic season with accolades and honors across many sports, including league, sectional, and regional championships, as well as, fantastic showings in state tournaments. Our Middle School performance of The Lion King and our Elementary School performance of Annie brought pure joy to packed auditoriums and left a lasting impression on all who attended. The evenings were filled with impressive student performances, vibrant scenery, and exceptional costumes.  Kudos to all involved in putting on these spectacular productions. Be sure to mark your calendars and don’t miss the PVHS TheatreWorks production of Something Rotten on April 28, 29, and 30. This show promises a lot of laughs and a lot of talent. 

After many months of work, the district is preparing to present a final school budget to the Board of Education for adoption.  This budget is designed to meet our academic, extracurricular, and student wellness needs while also considering our taxpayers.  Our proposed budget remains below the allowable tax levy limit set by New York State, as we have every year since the inception of the cap.  Our anticipated tax levy increase is expected to fall between 2.45% and 2.5%.  Additional foundation aid from New York State has allowed the District to not depend on reserves to balance our budget, instead allowing those funds to be used for their intended purpose. For example, we expect to replace much of the high school roof without needing to go out to taxpayers to ask for approval to borrow the money needed to complete the work. The proposed budget maintains all staffing and programs. 

When you come to vote on Tuesday, May 16, the ballot will include two propositions for the school district, the budget/spending plan for the 2023-2024 school year and a request to allow the district to establish a line of credit to fund the purchase of buses (if needed) during the next five years. The ballot will also include the election for a Board of Education Trustee. 

In addition, the Putnam Valley Town Library has made the decision to invoke Section 259 of the New York State Education Law (NYSED) to put its own proposition onto the school budget ballot.  This was a decision reached by the Putnam Valley Town Library Trustees; the School District must comply with this request as per NYSED law. It is important to note that despite the fact that the library proposition will share the same ballot, there is no other connection between the two budgets. Funding for the two entities does not overlap.  

I hope you take a few minutes to read through this newsletter and enjoy some of the many reasons to be proud of Putnam Valley students and staff. 

Enjoy the Spring break!

Sincerely, 

Dr. Jeremy Luft 

Superintendent of Schools 

Senior Hafsah Ba-Yunus has been selected as a finalist for the National Security Language for Youth Initiative sponsored by U.S. Department of State. NYSLI-Y has more than 3500 applicants each year, and they accept around 15% of the applicants. Hafsah will be attending the Arabic program in Rabat, Morocco.

As we begin the career exploration process, we introduce middle school students to Naviance, our school’s online program. A new initiative our MS school counselor, Kendall Coleman, is working on this year is a Career Fair on May 5, 2023! This career fair will allow our students to see real professionals from a wide range of careers, hear about what day-to-day life is like in those jobs, and ask questions along the way. If you are interested in volunteering for the career fair to share your experience, please reach out to Kendall Coleman at kcoleman@pvcsd.org.