Dear Friends,

We held the first of several “town hall meetings” in October to share thoughts, ideas and concerns with regard to the state of the economy and its impact on our school community. As all of us are very much aware, we are in the midst of challenging economic times. While schools are often insulated from matters in the larger world, we realize full well that this is not the case today.

Throughout my career, I have come to appreciate the immeasurable importance of schools as bastions of predictability during uncertain times. We want to assure you that when your children are dropped off at school, they will be embraced by a school community that is faithfully committed to their education and their well being.

St. Margaret’s has come a long way in its relatively brief 30-year history. We have been led by a Board of Trustees that has been highly proactive in establishing policies and practices that will now be even more critical in the times ahead. Most importantly, these controls enable us to sustain our commitment to provide the highest quality education possible for our students. In addition, the strength of St. Margaret’s is illustrated in a variety of other ways. We have an established and experienced faculty and staff. Our key administrative leadership positions are stable. We are fully enrolled. We have worked within a balanced budget for the past 5 years. We have a substantial financial aid budget to support families with demonstrated need. We have been proactive in developing reserves to see us through difficult times, and we have lived and continue to live within our means. We are deeply appreciative of the honest and straightforward conversation that took place during our first Town Hall meeting. Given the response, we would like to come together again several more times this year to continue the discussion, the first of which will be on Thursday, Dec. 4 at 7:00 p.m. in Sillers Hall. In addition, we have created an online form (http://calendar.smes.org/main/about/special.html) for the anonymous submission of sensitive questions or concerns to be discussed at our next gathering.

As many people have acknowledged over the years, the strength of St. Margaret’s is and has always been the ability and the willingness of our school community to come together in challenging times to care for our children and support each other. The times may become even more challenging, but together we will be prepared to meet them.

Sincerely,

Marcus D. Hurlbut
Headmaster