An Important Message for CARD Constituents from Dr. Asessandri

[Guest guest]

DEAR CARD CONSTITUENTS: Well, it had to happen. The doom and gloom in Tallahassee has finally hit CARD. We were told yesterday that we definitely will incur a 4% mid-year budget cut for this fiscal year. What

this means is that I have to cut $60,000 from an already underfunded budget between today and June 30,2008. This is not an easy task as 93.5% of our budget is personnel. My number one priority right now is to try my best to save each and every staff person's job so we will be instituting immediate operational cuts instead through the end of the year. What this means is that we will be forced to eliminate all travel for April, May and June (including home, school and community visits). We will also be cutting down on postage, copy costs, telephone charges and other expenditures. We will try to save as much as we can this way and then also utilize some of our fundraising dollars to cover the difference. Sadly, this will not be the end of the cuts, and personnel cuts may be inevitable in 08-09. We are being told (as I know you have all heard)

that more cuts are coming from Tallahassee. These is a critical time for education and we at CARD are a Department of Education project. As you know, our friends and colleagues within the local school systems are also being cut...and even more drastically ...so this call for your understanding and support applies to the school system as well as to us at CARD. We thank you as always for your continued support of our efforts and your patience and understanding during this difficult economic times. Sincerely, Dr. Alessandri Executive Director, UM-NSU CARD *If you would like to be added to our email list or if you would like to be removed from our email list, please send an email to: jamunoz@... UM-NSU CARD is a state-funded resource and support program dedicated to improving the lives of individuals with autism and related disabilities including deaf-blindness and pervasive developmental disorders. UM-NSU CARD does not endorse specific programs or points of view presented in this email.-- ACE Chair

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