Welcome Back from Break!

Welcome back! I hope that you all enjoyed the winter break and were able to rest and enjoy time with your family. 

Tax Exemptions Deadline: The deadline for residents to apply for tax exemptions is by March 1. Applications for all property tax exemptions may be obtained from each town assessor. For more information on what is available and how to apply, click here to read the full article about this topic.

District Superintendent Search Survey: The Board of Educations wants to know about the qualities you are looking for in a new superintendent. The superintendent search survey will close to input on February 28. Your feedback and thoughts are important to us as we move forward with the search for a new superintendent and ask that you please complete this survey. To read the full article about this topic click here.

Join Us to Celebrate Diversity: The 11th Annual Culture Fair will be held this Saturday, March 2, from 12:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the high school in the upper gym. You will enjoy a variety of cultural and ethnic displays, food tastings, along with live dancing and music. There is a lot to do for children and adults of all ages; so bring your whole family! This is free and open to the public. For more information about this event click here.

Budget Time Already: Mark your calendar to attend the budget presentation on March 6 during the Board meeting starting at 7:00 pm in the high school library.

Athletics Update: Our sports teams were very busy over the break and are finishing their seasons by capitalizing on hard work, dedication, and momentum.

• The Girls Varsity Basketball team defeated Liverpool on Sunday and are now headed to the Section 3 Championship on Friday, March 1, at 8:00 p.m. vs. CNS at the Carrier Dome. 
• The Boys Varsity Basketball team won Sunday against RFA to move on to the Boys Section 3 final on March 3, at 7:30 p.m. vs Utica Notre Dame at the Carrier Dome. 
• Last night the Boys Hockey team played Syracuse for the Section 3 championship. They fell in the 4th overtime to Syracuse 3-2. Great game by both teams! Thank you to our seniors on great careers for the blue and gold!
• West Genesee Wrestler Devin Earl competed at the NYS Championships this past weekend and placed 6th in the 160 lb. class. He is the first West Genesee Wrestler to place at the State Championships since 2005.
• West Genesee Swimmer Ryan McMahon will compete in the NYS Championship on March 1-2 in the 100 breaststroke at the Nassau Aquatics Center.
• The Varsity Cheerleaders will be competing in the NYS Championship on March 2 in Rochester.
• The Indoor Track 4x200 relay team of Esaias Brumfield, Jake Petrocci, Pat Peris, and Dan Gill will compete at the NYS Championships on March 2-3 at Ocean Breeze on Staten Island.

I hope you are able to get out to some of the upcoming events, and that you have a great week!

~Mike

A Busy Week!

My first week as Interim Superintendent has been a busy one. I want to first of all thank you for making me feel so welcome. 

Musical Evening: Last Thursday, I began my week by attending the delightful high school musical Bye Bye Birdie. The talented students danced, sang, and entertained the audience with lively musical numbers that were performed on the professional level of a Broadway show. Everything from the dancing, costumes, sets, cast, orchestra pit, and crew were outstanding.

Snow Days Update: Also, the first week brought with it a day that we had a school emergency closing followed the next day by a two-hour delay. As of today, we have used five of our six snow days. I am hoping that the weather will start to improve, and we will not need to use any additional snow days.

Visiting the Schools: I have also enjoyed visiting the schools and introducing myself to many of the staff and students. I love to see all the smiling faces as I walk through the halls. It is great to see that our students are happy and flourishing in a great learning environment.

Athletics Schedule: It is that time of the year where we now look forward to sectional games. Our teams have worked hard all year and getting into sectionals and state playoffs is certainly an exciting time for them.

The upcoming contests for our teams are:

• February 15: Hockey hosts Liverpool at 6:30 p.m. tonight for a Section 3 Quarter-Final game (if victorious, they will host a Section 3 Semi-Final game on February 20)
• February 16: Boys Swimming and Diving both compete in the NYS Qualifiers at Nottingham
• February 19: Girls Basketball hosts Corcoran at 5:00 p.m. in a Section 3 Quarter-Final game (if victorious they would play in the Section 3 Semi-Final at OCC on February 22)
• February 19: Boys Basketball hosts the winner of Bville/Utica at 7:00 p.m. in a Section 3 Quarter-Final game (if victorious they would play in the Section 3 Semi-Final at OCC on February 24)
• February 22-23: Devin Earl, wrestler, will be competing at the NYS Championships in Albany
• March 1-2: Track 4x200 Relay team of Esaias Brumfield, Jake Petrocci, Pat Peris, Dan Gill will compete at the NYS Championship
• March 2: Varsity Cheerleaders will be competing in the NYS Championship in Rochester

If you have the opportunity this week, I encourage you to go out and support our teams. 

We have a lot to be proud of here at West Genesee. I look forward to meeting many of you so please feel free to introduce yourself to me if you see me at a school or out in the community. 

Enjoy this week off and time with your families. Hopefully when we come back we can begin to see some signs of warmer weather.

~Mike

Message from the Interim Superintendent

Dear Faculty, Staff, and Community Members,

My name is Michael Schiedo and I am honored to be appointed as your Interim Superintendent. I have 34 years of experience in education, 20 of those years as an administrator, with the last nine years as a Superintendent of Schools (three years at Lyncourt UFSD, and six years at Chittenango Central School District).

I am also very familiar with the Onondaga-Cortland-Madison BOCES and know many of the local component school district superintendents on a professional level. I believe that it is through dedication and commitment that a school district provides excellent programs, opportunities, and experiences for its students. I look forward to joining the exceptional collection of colleagues at the West Genesee Central School District while the search process begins for a new Superintendent of Schools.

The District has an outstanding academic and extracurricular reputation. My role as Interim Superintendent will be to facilitate a smooth transition as we continue to move the District in a positive direction forward during this process. I am here to provide leadership and support with this extremely talented group of administrators, teachers, and support staff.

The District and community are very fortunate to have a Board of Education that is committed to excellence. With each decision they make, this dedicated group of volunteers continue to keep the best interest of all students in mind. I will spend the first couple of months collaborating and planning with our Board, as well as the administrative team, faculty, and support staff.

Personally, I am very excited to begin my work in the West Genesee Central School District. I look forward to meeting everyone. Please feel free to stop by my office to say hello and introduce yourself, or stop me in the hallways or at events as you see me over the next few months. You will find me both visible and accessible.

Sincerely,

Michael Schiedo
Interim Superintendent of Schools

Message to the Staff and Community: Next Steps

It has certainly been a pleasure to meet so many of you during these past two weeks and serve as your Acting Superintendent. I cannot tell you how impressed I am with the hard work you do each day and the high standards of excellence you uphold to provide a quality education for all West Genesee students. I can assure you that your current District administrators, including the Board of Education, are dedicated to finding the best possible Superintendent to lead you and our students into the future.

As I explained in my previous message, my role as your Acting Superintendent is short-term and coming to an end soon. I wear two distinct hats as a District Superintendent — one as the chief executive officer of the BOCES, and the other as a local representative to the New York State Commissioner of Education. In this latter role, which includes assisting local school districts in times of need, I have been honored to wear a third hat as your Acting Superintendent. Soon, however, I will be handing that baton to a long-term Interim Superintendent for West Genesee Schools. Once that occurs, the search will begin for a more permanent Superintendent. I must say, it will certainly be easier for me to wear two hats instead of three!

At Wednesday night’s Board of Education meeting, which starts at 7:00 p.m. in the West Genesee High School library, I will outline and discuss these three phases of the transition. (You can find the meeting agenda on the District website.) I will also discuss how the Board of Education, if it chooses, can use my services as a District Superintendent to conduct a long-term Superintendent search. Again, assisting districts with these searches is part of my responsibilities as a state representative, which means it comes at no charge to the District. Finally, as part of this transition, we will also be appointing an Substitute Executive High School Principal at Wednesday’s Board meeting.

Whatever the future brings, it has truly been a pleasure to serve you.

I hope all of you have an excellent week.

Sincerely,

Jody Manning, Ed.D.