The Hopatcong Borough Public Schools provide our young people with a wonderful environment to grow and learn thanks to the efforts of our teachers, staff, administrators, maintenance, custodial, and other members of our school community. Hello, I am Dr. Charles Maranzano, Jr., and it is an honor to serve Hopatcong Borough as Superintendent of Schools. Thank you for welcoming me as the newest member of your school community.
One of the first assignments for your new superintendent was to visit and inspect all of our school facilities. As we prepared for the opening days of school it became obvious that the overall condition of our buildings was excellent due to the diligent work of our staff. Maintaining aging facilities that serve thousands of people each school day is no easy task and as each of you visit our schools this fall season I am confident you will agree that our maintenance and custodial team accomplished much this summer.
Our educators returned a few days prior to the official opening of schools with a positive outlook and renewed energy for their teaching assignments. The administrative team prepared schedules, materials, and processes to ensure a meaningful opening of school. All of the additional people who make our schools operational: office staff, cafeteria workers, bus drives and others demonstrated enthusiasm about the 2009-2010 opening weeks of our schools. Your School Board members expressed solidarity in their pride for the condition of our schools. Students arrived with a new sense of purpose and so we are fully operational.
As I travel to opening ceremonies and back to school events, it is obvious that the parents, guardians and community members are extremely proud of our schools. Members of your City Council took advantage of an opportunity to tour our schools prior to opening day and this occasion offered an informal chance for our School Board to renew a mutual commitment with Council for the purpose of moving our educational mission forward. We look forward to doing good things together.
The idea that we are all partners in the efforts to improve the condition of public education with children as our central focus is expressed in all of our views and philosophy. This is no easy task however as the difficult economic times have imposed significant reductions in funding and forces schools to do far more today with even less resources. We are asking our community members to lend their support to our efforts to deliver quality educational services in these difficult and uncertain times.
Please consider your public schools as an investment in the future of not only Hopatcong Borough but for American society as well. John W. Whitehead poetically expressed it this way, “Children are a living message we send to a time we will not see.” Our children are the future and they deserve our very best efforts today and tomorrow.
It is the sincere hope that our public schools will be worthy of your commitment as we undertake the formidable challenges that present themselves to our school community. We will work very hard to deliver quality educational services to all in return we ask for you to invest your time, energy, and support for the teachers and children in our schools. Again, thank you for giving me the opportunity to lead the Hopatcong educational team forward during the 2009-2010 school year.
