Voices

Correcting an error: Keeping grades 7 and 8 at Marlboro will cost more

MARLBORO — To my fellow members of the Marlboro community: I write this to accept responsibility and to make a correction.

I was a co-signer of a letter that was mailed to the residents of Marlboro which contained an incorrect statement, and I alone am responsible for this.

The letter mentioned Principal Wayne Kermenski as agreeing that the costs of keeping grades 7 and 8 at Marlboro compared to paying tuition for them to attend other schools would essentially be a wash. This was true when the letter was drafted.

But Wayne sent me a note after the January school board meeting to remind me that the board had added some funds to the budget which would increase the cost of keeping grades 7 and 8 at Marlboro.

Through my oversight I did not relay this information to the other co-signer of the letter, Nelli Sargsyan, so Nelli was not aware that the draft letter should have been corrected.

Because of this blunder, I misquoted Wayne, misled Nelli, and misinformed the readers of the letter. This is my attempt to correct the information and take responsibility for the error.

The correction: If the budget that the school board has proposed is approved by the voters in March, the cost of educating grades 7 and 8 at Marlboro will be higher than paying tuition for them to attend other schools by $65,000. This translates into an increase in the school budget of 1.7% and a tax impact of the same amount.

Please share this with other members of the community.

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