New Suffolk School receives nearly $40,000 donation
The New Suffolk Common School District is one step closer to filling its $80,000 budget hole, thanks to a sizable donation from a benefactor who wishes to remain anonymous, school board president Tony Dill announced Tuesday.
“We will be receiving, by the end of the week, a substantial donation from an anonymous individual that will make a significant dent in our debt,” Mr. Dill told The Suffolk Times. “This will, in effect, restore a little less than half of the money that we need.”
The district experienced a significant increase in expenses when a teacher who had been on special assignment unexpectedly returned to the district this year, leaving the district about $80,000 short for the 2014-15 school year.
Mr. Dill said the contribution comes at the perfect time, as the district needed to settle on a funding source before December.
The bequest, which Mr. Dill said was just under $40,000, will keep the district fully funded through January, when tax revenue starts to come in.
“We are still going to have to seek additional funds, but this will buy us some more time to keep looking throughout the spring and into the coming summer,” he said. “It’s a huge help. It gives me some encouragement that, very possibly, we will find some more donations or grants. I just hope that we can find the rest of it.”
Martha Kennelly, who returned to the district this school year after serving on special assignment as director of the Mid East Suffolk Teacher Center in Ridge, is set to unveil her first round of newly created curricula for the school on Monday.
Ms. Kennelly is scheduled to meet with district Superintendent Michael Comanda for an assessment of her work thus far. She’s working on creating new curricula for all grades that reflect New York State Common Core standards.
The district’s next regularly scheduled board meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 12, at 7 p.m.
