Halfway through the summer already and it seems like we just held graduation ceremonies a week ago.    Summer school is in full swing with lots of excited little ones running around the elementary as is the usual case.  No large construction projects this summer, so everyone is breathing a little easier and I haven’t heard “are they going to be done by school?” asked once this summer.  It was all worth the wait the last three years, but having a summer off from dirt and construction is a nice change.

                We are beginning to understand what the changes the legislature is meaning for our district’s funding for the future.  One major change that takes effect in 2014-15 is the funding of all-day Kindergarten.   Our district has offered full day kindergarten for a number of years at no cost, while many districts have charge a substantial sum to partake in this option.  This will be an easy change for our district as we currently utilize space for these classes. 

                One major change that could be of benefit to both our district and our taxpayers is the change in the way operating levy dollars are both funded and distributed to districts.  We are currently in the last year of a $500 per student operating levy which would need to be renewed this fall, should the board decide that is the best option.  Currently this brings in $625,000 to our district of which $44,000 is state equalization aid and is not raised from local taxes.  The state has given the authority to the board to levy $300 per student in referendum dollars which brings the district $324,000 in revenue, of which $160,000 is state equalization aid.  The state has also authorized a $424 per student location equity levy which generates $458,000 in revenue with $59,000 of this being state equalization aid. 

                So what is the bottom line on this program?  If we decide to go to a vote this fall and are successful, we generate a total of $625,000 which equates to a tax on homes with a value of $175,000 of $164 per year.  This coming school year will be the 10^th year that this has been in effect.  If the board decides to levy what the state allows, we generate a total of $782,000 which equates to a tax on homes with a value of $175,000 of $160 per year or $4 less per year for $157,000 more in revenue.   The board will be discussing and deciding on this matter at the July board meeting, and will have time for public comment during the meeting as always.  Thanks for your support of our district. 

                   As the New Year kicks off the second half of the school year, this also brings about the start of the legislative session in Minnesota. Much has been written and talked about with the Democrat/Farmer/Laborer Party being in control of both houses and the Governor’s office as the legislators start or resume their duties. I believe that a number of educational funding issues will get a look during this session, including some of the proposals made by the governor’s task force that I had written about in an earlier article. One such proposal has already come out of the Senate in SF2 regarding voluntary funding for all day kindergarten. We have offered all-day kindergarten free of charge for a number of years, while many districts charge a fee for this option. We certainly would support this effort through the legislature.
                Speaking of kindergarten, the Board of Education has been discussing the possibility of an addition to the elementary school. Why would we need this? There are a couple of reasons that the board is considering pursuing this plan. The first of these reasons being that adding space to the building would allow us to no longer lease space for pre-school classes and the community education offices. About half the cost of the addition would be paid with no tax increase as the lease cost would be shifted to the bond. In the addition would be a dedicated music room, which currently resides on the stage area of the gymnasium. While this has been utilized for the life of the building, the design of this is not a very conducive one to either the music, nor the physical education classes, as neither should be expected to be quiet during these times so as to not disturb one another.
          In the plans is a commons/meeting area that would with a step down amphitheater type area that would seat the students/parents during presentations and performances such as AAA. This would be a wonderful addition to the building. The parking lot at the elementary will also be addressed with separate drop off and pick up zones for busses and parents. A 15 foot wide walkway between the two runs directly to a new front entrance. The new entrance into the building is set up such that anyone entering the building must walk into the reception office in order to gain entry into the building. Look for us to have some meetings for public input on this possible project in the near future in our communities. Thanks for the continued support of our district.

In the interest of student and staff safety for all individuals that are in our schools on a daily basis, there are a number of things we do on a regular basis to help ensure that we all have an understanding about procedures in emergencies.  First, our principals know and have teachers review the crisis manual that our district utilizes each fall.  This manual was revised four years ago with input from the Carver County Sherriff’s Department, county mental health professionals, outside consultants, and all other public schools in Carver County.  Our district, as mandated by law, practices lock down drills on a regular basis throughout the year, the most recent being Thursday, December 13, last week.  We also plan to consult with Carver County Sherriff’s Department and hope to have them talk with staff at our district wide teacher workshop day in January, especially answering questions and concerns of staff during this time.

                In order to help with building security at the middle school and high school, both offices have been remodeled within the last two years and now the entrances into the building are within view of the office staff and each person entering the building will be seen.  We have also gone to having only the high school and middle school entrances open that face Morse Street during the school day, thus both entrances are visible.  The high school entrance is monitored by a live and recordable video feed and the middle school entrance will have this capability in the very near future.

                The elementary school has only one entrance open during the school day and we are in the process of getting this monitored with a live and recordable video feed as well.  In the plans that are drawn for the elementary addition, anyone entering the building would have to do so through the elementary main office, and this was a concern we wished to have addressed as we laid out these plans. 

                Finally, having the staff we do at Central and an understanding of how they care about kids is a real asset for us.  Thanks for your continued support of our kids. 

Time for those winter concerts already, some years we have a bunch of snow for them, but I for one, am okay with not seeing too much of the white stuff.  I know the music department will entertain the audience (I write this Monday morning) and as always, our outstanding student musicians will be showcased.  I look forward to seeing them all.

                Last week two groups working at the request of the Governor and Minnesota Department of Education submitted their recommendations to the Commissioner of Education, Brenda Caselius, regarding two issues that have been concerns for a number of years.  One deals with the use of high stakes graduation exams for granting of a diploma and the other revolves around making the school funding formula more equitable across the state.

                This time I wish to share a bit of information about the school funding group’s work and ideas sent to the department.  One idea that are a kind of a back to the future deals with the reinstatement of the general education levy which is equalized across all property in the state, and for districts such as ours, would also replace the first $300 per pupil of our currently $500 per pupil operating referendum.  The state average operating referendum is at $1,035 per student for current FY 13, so some districts would have more replaced and some less than ours.  Also the equalizing factors would be increased and indexed to the state average tax base per student, thus keeping up with inflation. 

                Funding would be provided to districts for all day/ every day kindergarten for low income students.  We currently provide this service at no cost to our students and parents, while many districts charge a fee for this program.  Nearly $200 million will be added to the special education funding for districts across the state.  This would reduce the cross-subsidy for school districts to about $432 million state-wide.  Cross-subsidy refers to the amount of dollars taken from regular education funds to pay for additional costs incurred in education of students receiving special education services.  There are some other changes as well, and more information will be out shortly as the recommendations make their rounds through all the circles, political and otherwise. 

                In the next couple columns I will talk about the assessment committee’s recommendation, of which I was privileged to be a part of, and also about the ideas for the possible addition to the elementary school currently being discussed by the school board.  As always, thanks for your continued support of Central Schools and our students.

Even with the weather outside being rather hot the first few days of school, the climate inside the building was very comfortable. After a long couple of summers of construction work, the HVAC project and the remodels of various offices and auditorium has nearly come to a close. While the workers continue to strive to get the systems balanced, there have been very few issues with the completion of the project (other than the fact that we seem to run right up to the last day). Our staff, students, and visitors to events have all been very grateful that we were given the opportunity to have this work completed and ready for the start of the year. Many thanks to all again who supported Central in our efforts to keep our buildings functional for many years into the future.
        Speaking of improvements, the State of Minnesota received approval to use a different system to meet the requirements of NCLB this past year. The measurement system used currently is called a Multiple Measurement Report or seeing how we love acronyms in education a MMR. This system was first utilized in spring of 2011 and used two years’ data. The summer of 2012 was the first year that single year data was used and I can say that Central is extremely proud of the results that came from this program. Out of a possible 100%, our Elementary received a 77.63%, our Middle School received an 83.11%, and our High School earned 89.91%.
        Our Elementary also became a “celebration eligible” school, meaning that we can apply for recognition from the Minnesota Department of Education, being in the top of the rankings for title I schools. Our other buildings would have been eligible as well, but did not utilize title I dollars in 2012. As we look at comparisons with other schools and districts both locally and across the state, when we average these scores and include all buildings in the districts, there are very few districts across the state that can match this performance. We are extremely proud of our students, staff, parents and communities that have made these results possible, both educationally and for the physical plant. We look forward to continued improvement in both of these areas as we look long range, our district is situated to be leaders.

While much of what has taken place, or not taken place, in the legislature this spring has become the equivalent of a political football, there is something happening that affects all schools in Minnesota. The Minnesota Department of Education requested, and was subsequently granted, a waiver from the current Elementary and Secondary Education Act rules under the current accountability system. This act is more commonly known as No Child Left Behind (NCLB).
We are currently in the season of assessments, where each child is given a one day, one shot chance at getting to the level of proficiency deemed necessary by the testing gurus at MDE. This is a very important time for our district, as we have taken great pride in the fact that our district has not been “on the list” of schools listed as failing under the current system. There is a very complicated formula used to determine whether schools or districts made “AYP” (adequate yearly progress) under the current testing standards, and even some folks at the department had difficulty explaining the system to schools.
Changes to this system will result in more measures than just the one time shot at testing to be included in the calculation of AYP. Schools will now be given an annual Multiple Measurements Rating (MMR). This rating is calculated using data from the following four measures; Proficiency, Student Growth, Achievement Gap Closure, and Graduation Rate. We at Central have always been on the student growth bandwagon as a more true measure of what students learn, as all students learn at different rates, come from varying backgrounds, transfer into and out of school districts, and like every other human being on the planet, have good days and not so good days. This part of the change we view as a positive, as staff at Central has always done a great job of meeting kids where they are and taking them forward.
Graduation Rate and Achievement Gap Closure are not of great concern for Central at this particular time, as we always graduate over 98% of our students, usually 100% and our gaps for our sub-groups are somewhat smaller than what the state shows.
Since we are in the assessment season now, talk with your students about these tests and help them understand the importance of these. These assessments are also a pre-cursor to the required Graduation Exams that are administered as part of the MCA’s in 10th and 11th grades. Thanks for your support.

Wow, what a change for our spring activities folks from one year to the next. Last year we battled snow and cold weather all the way through the seasons and nearly right up until the end of them. This year, of course, coaches are able to get their kids outside and even on the fields and track early which will obviously help them with their workouts as they begin their seasons. However, (knock wood) we know that even though Tuesday was the official start of spring, mother nature can surprise us through April and May.
I can remember when I first arrived here seven years ago that the even year sessions at the Capitol were reserved for what was referred to as a “bonding year”. During this session there were very few bills that were introduced, according to my recollection, other than what the state lawmakers decided what was going to be construction projects for which bonds were to be sold. This seemed to make the session relatively short and somewhat simple, although the lawmaking process is never simple.
This program is quite a contrast to what is happening at the Capitol currently, much of which doesn’t seem to get a lot of coverage in the media. One bill that is getting some attention is the right to work constitutional amendment which the Senate Judiciary Committee passed to place the question on a ballot for the public decide by vote. This bill would give workers the choice to opt out of joining a union and paying dues. This must still be passed by the full Senate and the House has not scheduled a hearing on this yet.
There is also a bill to use $430 million from the state’s newly found reserves to pay back the school shift to fund the districts at 70.2% (currently at 60%) of our aid that is due. However, there always seems to be a however, this also includes some language that is not supported by a number of groups throughout the state, including what is called LIFO. LIFO stands for last in first out, which under current law is how schools must lay off teachers in the event of budget cutting scenarios. New language would add other factors to this, including teacher evaluation and others. I wouldn’t expect this bill, even if passed to make a great deal of difference in the way schools have gone about this process. More in a couple weeks. Have a great spring break. Thanks for your support of our kids.