A MESSAGE FROM THE SCHOOL BOARD PRESIDENT
Dear Community Members,
It’s hard to believe that another school year is nearly over. That
means it’s also budget time for the Fox Chapel Area School
District. I am happy to report that we are able to present a
proposed final budget to the public that contains no tax increase.
There are a few things about the budget that I’d like to bring to
your attention. One of the ways that we are able to keep taxes
down is the cooperation between the Fox Chapel Educators
Association, the School Board, and the administration that
resulted in an Early Retirement Incentive (ERI) package for
our district’s professional staff members. Although it’s difficult
to have so many quality, longtime teachers retire, we will be
reducing expenses by either replacing those teachers with
teachers on the lower end of the salary scale, or with existing
teachers able to accommodate additional classes. After many
conversations with our superintendent, district office staff, and
building principals, I am confident that these longstanding staff
members will be replaced with teachers worthy of Fox Chapel
Area’s high standards. A top-notch education and maintaining
the highest levels of programs for our students remain
the priority.
The money we invest in the education of our children repeatedly
pays off, and the academic performance of our students
continues to be among the highest in the region. Recently, the
Pittsburgh Business Times 2019 Honor Roll Rank places the
district at number two in Southwestern Pennsylvania (out of 103
districts), up two spots from 2018. Additionally, the district was
ranked number five in the state (out of 493 districts), up from
number eight last year.
Our students are also thriving in our arts, music, athletics,
and other extracurricular activities and programs. The
Board, administration, and staff also remain committed to the
continued excellence of our visual and performance arts, as well
as extracurriculars. Yes, academic performance is important, but
we know that so much is also learned outside the classroom.
Working as a true team has enabled us to accomplish great
things – all while having our millage rate in the lower third of
all the districts in Allegheny County. We can only do this as a
partnership with not just our parents, but also our residents
without children in our schools. We all understand that an
outstanding school district adds great value to our homes and
properties. We thank you for your continuing investment in our
schools and our students.
The money we invest in the
education of our children
repeatedly pays off, and the
academic performance of our
students continues to be among
the highest in the region.
Sincerely,
Terry Wirginis
School Board President
FOX CHAPEL AREA
❘
SUMMER 2019
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