President’s Corner

Summer 2023

As I conclude my first year as President of the Catholic Schools of Broome County, I would like to express my gratitude to all the constituents who have contributed to our collective achievements. Your support and collaboration have been instrumental in driving the Catholic Schools of Broome County forward.

The Strategic Planning Committee, established in November 2022, is composed of parents, faculty, administration, board members, and students, have been meeting regularly. The committee collaborated to establish CSBC beliefs and values and create a draft Mission Statement which has been posted on the CSBC website and School Messenger App for feedback. It conducted a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) survey and received more than 350 responses from parents, faculty, staff, and SCC students. The committee analyzed the feedback to identify common trends and will begin creating action plans for each trend with detailed goals and objectives.

Our Curriculum Committee, established in September 2022, is composed of parents, administration, curriculum coordinators from each elementary building, and content area coordinators at SCC. The committee has been actively working on aligning our curriculum and instructional practices horizontally across all elementary schools, as well as vertically Pre-K-12. The committee developed a full day of professional development for our faculty in March 2022, with two more planned days in the areas of ELA and Math, as well as two full days of follow-up workshops in August 2023.

The Marketing Committee, reestablished in May 2023, will be working closely with our new Director of Admissions and Marketing, Ms. Khala Hurd, who started on July 5th. Khala will be instrumental in bringing our marketing into the digital age with many new targeted initiatives that have the goal of growing our enrollment. Of course, we recognize that all of you are our biggest ambassadors of our schools and we ask you to continue to tell the Greater Binghamton Community that there is a strong Catholic educational alternative to public schools.

Our Finance Committee continues to do an excellent job overseeing the finances of CSBC together with Jason Giblin ’91, CFO. This group is responsible for developing and overseeing our almost $8,000,000 annual operating budget. We have once again ended the year in line with our approved budget, with very little debt, and restricted and unrestricted cash reserves. They have accomplished this with what we feel are modest tuition increases for 2023-2024 while once again implementing historically high increases in faculty compensation for the next school year.

Throughout February and March, I had the privilege of joining Jon Sarra ‘93, Chairman of the Board of Directors; Jason Giblin ‘91, CFO; Jaclyn Boushie- Bombard, Director of Development and Major Gifts; and Kimberly Johnson ‘96, Executive Director of Advancement and President of the CSBC Foundation, in presenting the CSBC Annual Report at PTO/PTG meetings across all four school buildings. The report encompassed essential information on financial operations, development and advancement, curriculum development, 2021-2022 NYS Assessment and Regents data, as well as highlighting the accomplishments of our 2022 Senior Class. To ensure accessibility, the presentation was shared on the CSBC website in April.

Through the leadership of Kim and Jaclyn in our Development Office, the support of the CSBC Foundation, and the generosity of hundreds of donors, with events such as Halfway to St. Patrick’s Day, The Post-Parade Party, and our Annual Day of Giving, we have netted over $250,000 this year in support of tuition assistance, faculty compensation/development, and other budgetary support. All of these funds will directly benefit our four schools.

Furthermore, I am thrilled to announce that we have received a generous donation enabling us to purchase three school buses. These buses will be instrumental in transporting our students for field trips and athletic events, resulting in substantial cost savings for our transportation needs.

Looking ahead, we are excited to share that we will soon be making an announcement regarding an innovative project at the former priest home adjacent to the CSBC. This endeavor will be largely funded by a very generous restricted donation, along with a second Capital Campaign, which will contribute significantly to enhancing and securing the financial future of the CSBC.

As I reflect on the accomplishments of this past year, I want to again extend my gratitude to each and every one of you for your commitment and support. Together we will continue to provide an exceptional Catholic education to our students and make a positive impact in the Greater Binghamton Community.

Thank you!

Tracy Caezza
President, Catholic Schools of Broome County