Dear Parents, Staff and Community Members,
As you probably are aware, this will be my last message as the Manchester Superintendent of Schools. I will be retiring as of June 30, 2008, completing eleven years as your Superintendent. Working in Manchester has, without a doubt, been the high point of my forty year career in education; which included positions with public school districts, colleges, private schools, federal poverty programs and the State Department of Education. None of these positions matched the feeling of accomplishment and personal happiness that I have experienced in Manchester.
As one of my last acts as Superintendent, I would urge all residents to vote in the upcoming April 15, 2008, election. Although your outstanding Board of Education members are running unopposed, your vote is absolutely necessary in deciding the budget question. The unofficial motto of the district has always been “a quality education at a reasonable cost”. That has not changed, with a tax increase of only 3.6 cents. Manchester’s school taxes have risen a total of twenty cents in eleven years. At the same time, our students are going to colleges and universities in larger numbers; scores on State tests continue to rise; facilities have been renovated and a Full Day Kindergarten is being planned for September, 2008. These are only a few of the many goals we have achieved. All of Manchester’s successes have been, without a doubt, a team effort; a team comprised of an outstanding Board of Education, our Business Administrator Peter Corigliano, district directors, administrators, teachers and support staff. When you add to this group, parents, community members and a municipal government that have supported our schools, your only result can be a winning team.
Please remember to vote and thank you for the past eleven years!
