Whitko What's Your Take?

Facility Project

2012-01-17T14:38:00.000-05:00

Last night the Whitko Board accepted the recommendation of the 25 year Facility Goal Committee. Part of the committee recommendation was to renovate South Whitley Elementary and build a new Pierceton Elementary. Now starts the long process of getting firm ideas of what is feasible based on the principle we are not going to raise taxes to do this. We are blessed that the debt of the middle school is getting paid off so we can do this without raising taxes if the committee numbers are correct.

There is more documentation on our web page. As I said it will now be a long process. We need to find our architect, financial advisor and others that will make up our planning team. Once we get firmer ideas of specific needs, costs and possible layouts of facilities we will move into the design work. This is where we get more specific on exact site locations if we are to build a new Pierceton. The committee hoped it could be located on the existing campus. Below is a possible timeline. Please note the Board is very much interested in community input so you'll be hearing about meetings once we have something to present. I will be updating this timeline as we move forward.

A Possible Timeline for School Construction (It depends on when we feel the community, Board, and administration have enough information to move to the next steps. The green is complete and you'll see there is a lot of work ahead.
2 – 3 months (July – Sept 2011)

Pre- A Determine the path to follow with the Board and administrative. (Board Goal)

2 – 4 Months (Sept – Dec 2011)
A. Preliminary Board Goal Planning:

1. Recognize and define present and long term needs.
2. Analyze existing buildings, site requirements, transportation needs, finances and budget, grade structure, joint use of facilities, etc.
3. Review School Building Guidelines
4. Develop broad goal recommendations with community committee input

1 – 2 Months (Jan – Feb 2012)

B. Program

1. Update philosophy and goals, prepare educational program.
2. Select architect
3. Translate to architectural program.
4. Define quality of construction and level of maintenance.
5. Review and approval by School Board.
6. Prepare timetable for planning and construction
7. Estimate cost/budget.
8. Some community input but mostly sharing of ideas

2 – 4 Months (March-April 2012)
C. Development of Preliminary Drawings

1. Prepare preliminary plans and specifications based on approved architectural program.
2. Estimate cost
3. Community input
4. Review and approval by School Board

6 months (May 2012 – November 2012)
D. The referendum process which would be either the primary election in May 2013, general election in November 2012 or a special election. We could start the process in May 2012 with what is called our 1028 hearing for a November 2012 election or in January 2013 for May 2013 election.
(Tons of community input!)
Presuming referendum passage …

6 – 8 Months (November 2012 – July 2013)(May 2013- July 2013)
E. Development of Contract Documents

1. Set timetable
2. Complete financial arrangements
3. Develop approved preliminary plans into final working drawings and specifications
4. Estimate cost
5. Review and approval by School Board

2 -3 Months (August – September 2013)
F. Contract Administration
1. Review State procurement requirements
2. Receive and analyze bids
3. Execute contract and bonds
4. Provide for adequate supervision of construction

18 – 24 Months (September 2013- September 2015)
G. Execution of Contract

TOTAL TIME

31 – 45 Months

We could make our first Debt service payment in 2015 the way our debt is structured right now. This would work out fine as we are renovating SWES. If we were to build a new PES we could not make a debt service payment on that part of the project until after occupancy.

Big enough to deliver and small enough to care.

2011-12-15T14:27:00.002-05:00

People often ask me why Whitko? What makes you special as a school system? I must respond that our caring atmosphere of high expectations separates us from the crowd. While we can’t offer the exact experiences you may receive at a larger school system, through the use of technology, we can offer about any course a student would want. AP, yes we have that. Dual Credit courses, we have those, too! Ag or career preparation, you bet. We have the highest graduation rate in the area, yes that’s Whitko. Up to date secondary facilities, you bet! Our middle school is just 17 years young and has state of the art technology infrastructure, large classrooms for problem-based learning and the best outdoor facilities in the conference. Our high school was renovated only 5 years ago and, likewise, has state of the art technology infrastructure and almost a one-to-one student computer ratio.

One of the greatest strengths is students get known here and grown here. We know our kids and love them all, even those that for some reason are unsuccessful. This atmosphere of caring allows us to design instruction tailored to meet the needs of each student. We do this by differentiating the instruction within and between classes. We believe you take students from where they are to where they need to be and for some that may mean more time or a variation in assignment. For others, it may mean grouping them with peers to master materials. Whatever the strategy, we strive to meet the needs of the individual. Beyond the striving academically, we also strive to make our students great people.

Whitko High School always has students in various clubs excel in community service. Last year, the SADD organization held huge drives and events to benefit the community. The National Honor Society has students active in community projects. Our middle school Clean World Association does more than monitor the environment, they also do food drives and community outreach. The Peacekeepers group trains students to intercede with their peers that may be having some type of problem. Our elementary schools have Bulldog and Cubs awards to encourage students caught doing good to continue that behavior in and out of school.

I could and will later go on and on about things like these. Truly, Whitko is big enough to deliver and small enough to care. Keep checking back to hear more examples of our schools’ success.

Whitko Studies Facilities

2011-11-02T13:53:00.000-04:00

The Board of Education recently adopted the following Goal:

In order to provide the most appropriate, well maintained, and effective educational environment for our students, and do it in the most fiscally appropriate manner, the Board will, by the end of the 2011-2012 school year, have in place a 25 year Facilities Plan that includes the maintenance, renovations and anticipated new facilities that are necessary to carry out the instructional programs for our children.

A community and school committee of 25 members is working up a recommended plan to present to the Board for their review. The committee has met 3 times already reviewing the current status of our facilities and will meet at least a few more times to develop the plan. The idea is to have a short range 3-5 year part of the plan, a 5-15 year part of the plan and a long range part of the plan that may go beyond the 25 years. We want to make sure we proactively provide what our community needs for the education of the children.

Why the goal?

Schools have only 2 sources of funds for maintaining schools.

One, like a home owner, is a mortgage or home equity loan. In the schools case it is called a bond sale. Those bonds are then paid off with property tax collections over a number of years. That is how large projects are funded like Whitko Middle School 17 years ago and the Whitko High School 4 years ago.

The other fund is called Capital Projects. This fund pays for maintaining the buildings but over the years as the state has provided less money to send to school for buying technology, or paying utilities, these costs have shifted to the Capital Projects fund and have decreased the funds available for maintenance. Capital Projects now is barely keeping up with roof replacement, driveway sealing and technology. We fear as the middle and high school begin to need more maintenance the fund will not be able to keep up.

Additionally our elementary buildings have not been substantially renovated since the 1980s and are showing their age.

Rather than wait the Board wants a plan to address the issue of keeping appropriate educational facilities for our kids.

Grading Changes at Grades 3-5

2011-08-31T12:58:00.000-04:00

The change to assessing student work both by a standards based rubric of 1-4 and a letter grade has begun. This undoubtedly will be confusing for a little while as the two systems are not alike. The standards based score states if a student has mastered the work at a particular time. The grade letter score indicates the overall average work presented over time.

Okay that’s confusing and I wrote it. Here is an example.

Student 1 received a standard grade of "2" based on the rubric below.

1. The student’s work does not demonstrate mastery of the standards.

2. The student’s work demonstrates partial mastery of the standards.

3. The student’s work demonstrates adequate mastery of the standards.

4. The student’s work demonstrates superior mastery of the standards.

The same student received a "C" letter grade indicating their body of work on the assignment or course met between 70% and 80% of the criteria for that work based on the scale below.

90 – 100 A

80 - 89 B

70 - 79 C

60 - 69 D

59 or below F

It could be possible that over a grading period or project a student masters the standard at the very end but did not do well during the grading period or unit. In that case a student could see a final standard score of "3" and yet have a letter grade of "D" for the bulk of the work was not satisfactory. Likewise a student could grasp the standard early on in the grading period or unit and do well on all the assigned work. Their standard grade could also be a 3 but their letter grade could be a B or higher.

Again I realize this is a bit confusing, we are trying to indicate to everyone both does the student understand the standard and do they indicate appropriate work along the way to that understanding.

Assessment Program

2011-07-07T16:20:00.001-04:00

The Assessment Committee met today and refined our district wide assessment program. The following assessments will be given with some questions remaining on the transition to these for some building from existing assessments.

Primary-

• Running Records – A measure of reading skills is an addition to SWES (PES end of September and end of May official collection, 4 data points per child per year) (SWES—materials, training and data collection done by February 2012, data collection May 2012, fully implemented by 2012-2013 school year)

• Primary MAP – Is an achievement test that measures growth this is an addition to PES (August 23 , January 9, May 14) – Kdg Winter/Spring only

• Writing Prompts – As named this is a writing assessment modeled after the state test and rubric based. This is an addition to SWES (need training to learn how to score them, need prompts and rubrics, training and data collection done by February 2012, data collection May 2012, fully implemented by 2012-2013 school year)

• DIBELS – A reading assessment will no long be administered

• COGAT – HA identification in K-2--October

• Coming IREAD (spring)

• Kingore – formerly used in HA identification will no long be administered
• Standford 10 — formerly used in HA identification will no long be administered
• SIGs – A HA identification test is given to the pool of nominated HA students –January

Intermediate

• ISTEP - Our State achievement test is given March 5-14, April 30-May 9

• MAP - Is an achievement test that measures growth given three times a year. August 23 , January 9, May 14

• Running Records – A measure of reading skills is an addition to SWES (SWES—materials, training and data collection done by February 2012, data collection May 2012, fully implemented by 2012-2013 school year)

• Writing Prompts – As named this is a writing assessment modeled after the state test and rubric based. This is an addition to SWES (need training to learn how to score them, need prompts and rubrics, training and data collection done by February 2012, data collection May 2012, fully implemented by 2012-2013 school year)

• OLSAT— HA identification - October

• SIGs – Administered to a pool of nominated HA students in 3rd and 5th –January

Middle School

• ISTEP — Our State achievement test is given March 5-14, April 30-May 9

• MAP — Is an achievement test that measures growth given three times a year. August 23 , January 9, May 9

• OLSAT— HA identification - October

• SIGs – Administered to a pool of nominated HA students in 7th –January

High School

• Practice SAT – An achievement test given to students in Grade 9 in October
• PSAT – An achievement test given to students in Grade10 & some 11 in October
• ASVAB – An aptitude test given to Grade 11 during October

• ECAs—Course specific achievement tests given the 2nd week of May to beginning of June

• Success Tracker with Math series is a formatitive assessment to assist instructional decisions given throughout the school year

Report Card Revisions

2011-07-06T14:52:00.000-04:00

The Report Card Committee met July 7, 2011. The past year we have been discussing needed changes to help parents have better information about their student's progress. Our meeting today led to some changes in our report cards. There will be letter grades included with standards grades on the 3rd, 4th and 5th grade report cards. (New examples coming soon!) The Kindergarten will have the new core standards in place of the Indiana Academic Standards. We rewrote the four point teacher rubric to be clearer and the 4 point parent rubric on the report card to be friendly.

Our group also talked about how to communicate this well with parents and staff. We will launch a campaign to educate about grades and grading for the elementary groups as school starts in August. Look for more details soon.

Legislative Actions

2011-04-18T13:13:00.000-04:00

Well the legislature is creating to a flurry of activity during these last days as you might expect. Several bills are very disappointing and it feels like we in public education are the whipping boys once again. Great news about increased funding is overshadowed by the stripping of teacher rights in bargaining, the transfers of public funds to cover vouchers, teacher evaluation processes changing and more red tape for our business offices and administrators. All these well intentioned efforts to help us restructure public education and improve student achievement really miss the Whitko mark of “Excellence for All.”

Remember most of these things are only aimed at teachers and administrators. How support staff salaries and benefits are determined has not changed. The attempt from down state is to have us tie negotiations, evaluation and student achievement into one package. I have told many people if education knew how to do this they would have done it 100 years ago.

SB575

I’ll start my reflections around SB 575 the teacher bargaining bill. This bill was intended to help corporations that had complex teacher contracts get flexibility from their agreements. I guess there must be places these changes need made but not at Whitko Community Schools. I reviewed our contract in light of the legislation and can say there are only a few items that are not already state law. Changing what we can print in the book won’t change how we do business. The recall language and the hours as discussable rather than negotiable are two somewhat big issues. The other big issue is evaluation and it has a bill of its own.

We are now restricted to salary, insurance, leaves, and retirement. The other items will still need to be discussed but can’t be in future contracts. (Depending on who says that it means after July1, after it passes the Senate or after the current contract expires) This either gives administration greater flexibility, greater accountability or greater confusion depending on the issue. I am glad we are a group that talks things through and we will continue those efforts as we move forward.

SB001

Then there is this new teacher preparation, licensing and evaluation bill. It starts by adding a part to the business office that requires us to get trained in operational efficiencies and that be reported on the state website.

This bill makes everyone either a probationary or professional teacher rather than the non-permanent, semi-permanent or permanent. The intent is to get away from perceived tenure rulings from the courts and IEERB in the past. Again this won’t really impact how we do business. What does is the new evaluation language.

The new evaluation language ties student achievement and to salary adjustments. The idea was taken from business that if your students perform well you get more money! The problem is the lack of clear definitions of performs. The greater issue is linking that to the teacher evaluation. The bill is clear if you teach a subject tested by a state test that must impact your evaluation. Beyond that it is up to us to figure out what rubric to rate folks on and how that translates to pay increases. Again like business we have flexibility to reward the best performing teachers. Unlike business we work with people not widgets. I am sure working together we can form a plan that will be manageable and fair to all involved. The state will be developing their model but based on what we’ve seen thus far it will need a good deal of revising to work for us.

So where do we go from here? Like we do every day we go to work. We make the education and the lives of our children the top priority. We continue to work through the details of the requirements set upon us by the state and do what is best for kids. Most importantly we strive for “Excellence for All” by improving our practice and working like the Whitko family always does. Like any family we will come through this stronger and better. It just feels real messy now and downright annoying that we can’t just be left to do the good work we do every day for our kids.

Snow Days

2011-02-25T14:44:00.001-05:00

We have certainly had an unusual winter. Earlier today, I closed school for the 8th time this year on top of several 2-hour delays. Today, we closed because of near blizzard conditions during the early morning. Other days we closed because the county had not plowed the roads in time for the buses to run. I firmly believe that if the roads had been treated before 8:00 a.m. that we could have attended school on some days this week after a two-hour delay. I believe the same would have been true about 4 other closing days this year. After speaking with county officials, I was notified that the county budgets, primarily strained due to property tax caps, could not afford the overtime it would take to treat roads beyond normal work hours. As a result, we have lost two school attendance days this week and I can remember at least two other time this winter where clearing and treatment of the county roads could have resulted in a different decision regarding the closing of school. This is a major concern given that another winter storm is set to arrive Sunday, and based on forecasts, we will likely delay or closed again Monday. Additionally, Monday's forecast indicates that we may receive more rain, snow, ice, or all of the above.

Since budget solutions to help the county's ability to prepare roads cannot be implemented to change the results that have occurred thus far, would you please consider contacting your legislator regarding this? School budgets are certainly strained but so our are counties. Contacting our state and local officials will help.

I like you hope we do not need to have further delays or cancellations but the safety of our students may make those things necessary.

Come on Spring!

Thanks for Voting

2010-11-05T16:09:00.000-04:00

Thanks to all who voted in Tuesday’s election regarding the Whitko Referendum Question. While of course the school system wanted the issue to pass. We much more wanted the public to have the chance to vote on the direction we should take. We understand the times we live in and the financial situations of our families. We believe the safety net is needed for schools but recognize the need to live within our budgets.

The initial question everyone is asking is, now that the referendum question did not pass, now what? The answer is like we’ve said all along. We wait and see what funding is in the next couple years. The whole idea from the start is to have the referendum pass as an additional safety net.

There are NO current plans for reductions, consolidations or closings of anything. We have a balanced budget for next year, we have the availability of the Jobs Bill funds, and we have a small cash balance. Those items should carry us through the next year or two. The only factor out of our control is what the state may due in reductions or during the upcoming legislative session.

I am proud of our community and their participation in the electoral process and now we must turn our attention to making sure the state legislature meets their responsibility in wise use of the tax dollars we send them.

November 2nd

2010-10-27T11:27:00.000-04:00

Vote your conscious

Vote your heart

Vote informed

But most importantly VOTE!

This Tuesday many important considerations are up for decision. I would ask if you've not stopped and reviewed things that you do prior to Tuesday. One example is tax caps in the Indiana Constitution. We have seen how capping funding has impacted schools. The reductions we've suffered are not from tax caps but legislating away a source of revenue for the future generations does not make sense to me. It is the law now. Legislators can change it as needed if other revenue sources improve. I just can't wrap my head around deciding someone else’s future.

Another item is our referendum. I honestly believe this will be common in Indiana as the local residents will once again be asked to fund their own services from local funds and not state revenues. Cities and towns will continue to look for ways to provide services to residents. I have to stop and think like everyone else. What services do I want to not have? No snow removal, no fire protections, no road repairs, no police protection or something else. I believe we should pay for the services we are asking our governments to provide. I hope we all pay attention to what our elected representatives do with the funds they have and let them know when they are off base.

I really want to encourage you to get involved in the political process and understand this is from someone who does not like politics.

I hope you support the referendum question and Vote Yes for Whitko on Tuesday.

How did the $1.25 million in reductions last year affect our community?

2010-10-15T12:42:00.000-04:00

How did the $1.25 million in reductions last year affect our community?

These are ballpark numbers since we can’t know each person’s individual finances but some things we know are:

• About $70,000 less in state sales tax and $30,000 less in state income tax. This adds to the state deficit and that has caused our deficit.

• About $1 million less in income that would have fed into the area economy.

• 26 fewer people stopping in for gas, groceries and other services since individuals no longer drive to work here.

In the school it has meant:

• larger class sizes;

• staff working longer to get the tasks complete;

• offices having a harder time responding to needs; and

• changes in instructional practices some good but most just to be able to manage more students per staff member.

The same can be said for any business that has had to let staff go. One difference is we will still have the 1800 students show up tomorrow no matter how many adults are here to work with them. We want to do our best and are committed to doing so even with the economic conditions. I just thought it was interesting how the broader economy is affected as we often think only how the school was affected.

Thanks for the continued support as we strive for Excellence for All.

Referendum Update

2010-10-05T10:50:00.000-04:00

These are some comments/rumors we’ve heard regarding the referendum. Yes, it is a small sampling, but I wanted to share what is really happening. Here are some facts as of today:

• We still need the referendum question to pass but are not in crisis mode.

• We project the 2010 budget to end where we did in 2009, which is great!

• The 2011 budget is balanced. (That only means our reductions were accurate, not that we don’t need some people and resources to perform better.)

• The current plans are not to raise tax money from the referendum this year if passed (pending state reductions to our funding).

• We are not close to closing or consolidating.

• We may need to make facility renovations sometime, but closing South Whitley Elementary is just way down the line if ever

• There is a public meeting October 5th at 6:30 pm at Whitko High School in the Auditorium (child care provided) to try to share the following:

     o What the referendum question means

           No taxes if the budget is balanced without them

           No current property tax supports salaries or benefits

    o Where we have been financially and programmatically

    o Where we are now

    o Where we’d like to be

    o Where we could potentially be

• There is an options committee looking at how to provide services more effectively or efficiently, increase revenue through other means, and/or provide additional resources to assist the schools.

• The amount of funding we received from the federal government Jobs Bill is 27% of the $1.25 million we reduced…or looking at it another way, 2/3 of one year’s reduction. So, if the State reduces us a similar amount to last year, we would need to make up another $150,000 or so.

• We need people to vote yes

• From an email yesterday: Dr. Bennett still advises districts to plan for the worst case scenario as the fiscal indicators are not positive as of today.

• From 9/9/10 Indianapolis Business Journal: Report: State must cut spending, hike taxes or both

Not trying to be Chicken Little but it may sound like the sky is falling

“Gentlemen, we have run out of money. It is time to start thinking. ”Sir Ernest Rutherford, Nobel Laureate (Physics)

• We need the Referendum to pass November 2nd

• As of September 27th Dr Bennett was still saying expect a similar cut (half a million)

• As of September 27th Dr. Larry DeBoer Economics professor indicates 1.2 Billion shortfall for 2012 and 2013 for Indiana

• As of September 30 our Options Committee agreed we can’t cut people’s jobs to get out of the problem we are as thin as we can get.

• As of October 1st our former State Senator indicates a 1.1 Billion shortfall for Indiana

• We are protecting our students from the impending further reductions in state support.

o More reductions mean cuts in staff or programs

• The figures haven’t changed we are still balanced on paper for 2011 and 2012. The problem is the unknown state support.

What can you do?

     • Talk it up!

     • Hold a coffee time for a board member, Tom or Steve to talk to a few folks.

     • Place a sign!

     • Help the Referendum Committee (Contact Georgia Tenney at WMS or Jorell Tucker Board member)

o Call

o Canvas

• Vote!

SO is it as bad as all that? Yes. We can make more adjustments but nothing that doesn’t hurt students and staff. We will stay open and will endure these hard times but I must be honest things will not go back to normal (whatever that is) soon.

Recent News - State Health Coverage

2010-08-12T15:26:00.000-04:00

Much press has been made lately about schools saving dollars by switching to the State Health Insurance Program. WNDU Recently stated “A new study shows that public schools in Indiana would save an estimated $297-million by making health insurance changes”. Obviously it depends how you do your figures. That $297 million was extrapolated from looking at schools that did participate and saved money. They had extremely high costs for their insurance and the state plan was a good move for them. It is not necessarily a good move for everyone.

Whitko has reviewed the current state health insurance program. The program would cost us more and our employees would have reduced benefits. If you did a state wide review you would find about 260 districts are like ours and would spend more by participating in the State Health Plan while about 50 would save using the plan.

We will continue to analyze our insurance premiums and benefits. The state plan is not what is right for us now.

Results from Past Referendum at WHS

2010-08-12T14:07:00.000-04:00

During our recent discussions some patrons asked about the things they were told regarding the high school renovation. Apparently the previous administration indicated renovating the high school would improve achievement. Here are a few samples of how the tax dollars you invested paid off.

• The 4 year Graduation Rate increased 3.88% and is now above the state average by more than 3%

• The number of students pursuing post secondary education went up 10.4% and is now at the state average.

• SAT Scores went up by an average of 15.75 points. The most recent scores were above the state average. (This is amazing considering more students are taking the tests)

• We now have certificated programs in welding and culinary arts.

• Art awards have even increased but we were great before.

• The number of students taking and passing Advanced Placement courses went up.

I was very pleased to see how the work paid off and I hope you are as well.

Recent News - Govenor Daniel's Statement

2010-08-12T12:48:00.000-04:00

The following comments were from Governor Daniels last night according to the Channel 15 (Fort Wayne) web site:

“School districts on the other hand are pleased to get some relief. Many of them had to cut teachers and close schools during the 2009-2010 school year. The Indiana public education budget was cut by $300 million last year, and there are rumors there will be an equal or greater cut in the middle of this school year. Governor Daniels said Wednesday he doesn't expect to cut public education again to stay in the black.”

"I think we can do that without asking anymore from any of the places including schools," said Daniels.

If this comes true it further reduces the amount of funding we may need from the referendum measure. That would be terrific! We must remember however that one part of the referendum is to have adequate funding available for seven years not just one year. That being said hooray if the State of Indiana does not need to make further education funding cuts.

Recent events - Jobs Bill Impact

2010-08-12T12:38:00.000-04:00

Please understand this is conjecture on our part at this time.
Based on what we know today and looking at how things went with the last stimulus funding it appears the $207 million that Indiana will get from the Jobs Bill translates to 2.7% of the State’s K-12 educational budget. That 2.7% should be between $250 and $290 thousand for Whitko depending on what % the state retains for administrative costs. If the rumors are accurate that the State was expecting to reduce K-12 funding by 5%, I believe what will happen is we will just get a smaller reduction. We had estimated our need (possible reduction) at $500,000 so if we are guessing correct the bill funding will cut our reduction about in half.

We are Whitko

2010-07-22T09:07:00.000-04:00

Whenever issues regarding funding come up in our current Indiana economic climate, individuals begin to speculate and rumors start flying. Let me answer a couple of those rumors.

Whitko is closing its doors!

This simple answer in no we are not. We are far from that. If we talk about the maximum amount of the referendum we are only talking about 12% of what it takes in general fund to run our schools. Yes, we need to address the funding shortfall created during this economic downturn. Yes it is serious but the sky is not falling and we are Whitko so we will figure out what we need to do in solving this issue.

If this referendum passes we'll just create a budget that uses the maximum amount.

If the administration was so inclined the Board you elected would never allow that. In fact the draft budget we are working on is balanced for 2011, meaning that no additional tax would be levied in 2011. That balance would only be changed if the state further reduced what they said they are going to fund. The Board and administration are committed to balanced budgets. Our problem continues to be the politics of when the state will say you are reduced by a certain amount. We simply, by law, cannot reduce significant amounts once the school year starts. I hate to be pessimistic but I must say that politically I do not expect any reductions to be announced until after the November elections. The timing if that occurs will make it extremely difficult to make expenditure changes on the fly.

I obviously hope you will support our referendum and vote YES on the question in November but I also realize you may choose not to support the referendum. My desire is simply that you consider the facts shared previously on this blog and that will appear as we look at various options. I only want you to make an informed choice. These are your Whitko Schools help us make them what you want them to be.

Referendum

2010-07-06T10:16:00.000-04:00

Did you every have one of those tasks you did not want to do but knew it was the right thing?

The School Board and I are faced with just that situation. We do not want to ask for a tax increase but yet we know we must for the good of all our children and the community they will grow up in.

Last year we reduced our general fund budget by more than 10%. This was due to state funding shortfalls and we all know the economy is just not doing great right now. That 10% means when school opens next fall we will have 26 fewer adults trying to do the same or even better at providing the quality education and services our students deserve.

Now the state hints they may reduce us another 5 to 10%. We simply cannot provide what our children deserve with that hanging over our heads. Of course we will continue to look for further savings but there comes a point where we simply need more funding to be able to “Keep our Schools Excellent for All”.

That is why I recommended to the Board a referendum that would provide a property tax option to make up what the state shorts us in the funding. More details will be shared in public meetings and mailing but until then I have attached a couple items that will answer some questions regarding the upcoming referendum.

Please support our kids and help us provide the education they need for their futures.

Email questions or comments to steve.clason@whitko.org

Questions and Answers About the Referendum

How we got here and what we've done. Watch for this to be updated!

Board Meeting and Reductions

2010-05-19T15:21:00.000-04:00

The May Board meeting was a particularly difficult one as we had to take the final vote that eliminated 13 certified and an equal number of non-certified positions. State reductions have created a situation where, even with those reductions, we estimate our budget has a $1,775 cushion. We can run school, but we are not able to supply the same attention to children that we all want.

The state has suggested they may be having a similar reduction next year. There is no place in our budget that we can do that and have a reasonable educational program for students. The Board is going to look at a possible referendum to create local revenue from property taxes. We know this is not popular with anyone, but we also know our children are worth it. Keep checking this blog for updates on what this means. Right now, it is an idea - nothing more. But, we are in high gear trying to figure out what it will mean for everyone.

The news just keeps being negative when we look at the state funding. Three of four months, the state has received revenue below budget estimates. They, too, are taking actions to stretch their fund, but unfortunately, those actions hurt our efforts. One example is the federal grant money that flows through the Department of Education. It used to flow to us prior to our expending it. Now all grant funds are reimbursable, which means we must pay the bill from our General Fund (that was cut) and then turn in a claim for the state to reimburse. This will, in the long run, not impact budget but increases both our management overhead and our cash flow. We may have to borrow while waiting for them to pay what they owe.

Speaking of the federal level, we learned last week that our Title 1 allocation was decreased by over $40,000. I know - it seems strange to us that as our families are having a tougher time (meaning more are in need of assistance), this program (that is supposed to be based on assistance need) is reduced. I think that tells us that from the local and state perspective, the recession impact is definitely not over.

In other action, the Board passed the pay to participate in athletics proposal. That means a high school student they would pay $80 to participate in sports, a middle school student $50, and an elementary student $30. This was the initial proposal and we will be adjusting this on the fly as revenue to athletics increases and individual sports are reviewed in more detail.

I share all this to let you know we are not out of the financial woods yet and are continuing to look at every avenue to make Whitko Schools the best place for all our children. I continue to ask anyone with ideas to share them.

Plan A with some details

2010-03-08T14:08:00.008-05:00

Here is the plan that was shared with the Board Monday night.

Plan A is prior to serious discussions with various employee groups. We needed to tell people that we were talking about their jobs prior to discussing them publically. Feel free so send me questions or ideas.
http://www.whitko.org/staff/steve.clason/plan%20a.pdf

Budget Reductions

2010-03-01T10:29:00.000-05:00

Last week was not pleasant and this week is also difficult for the Whitko family as we wrestle with the changes forced by reductions in State support. I know many questions have and will come up as we think of the impact this will have. Please email me any questions you have. steve.clason@whitko.org

Right now we want those affected to have the grace to deal with the impact on their lives. Then we can plan further.

Two plans exist regarding reductions. It needs to be reiterated these are plans just that. Many things can change in the next week and certainly by August. Neither of these plans are set in stone and both are based on we can do this with the knowledge we have today. Things like retirements, voluntary leaves, salary changes, and income changes all impact the depth of these cuts and are unknown at this time.

Some details of Plans A and B will be on this Blog most likely Wednesday. There are still a few people impacted that have not been notified. Once everyone is notified we will share the details so everyone knows the affects of these reductions and how we are working to overcome some of those affects.

Thanks to all that have been praying for us as we adjust to the reductions in state support.

Budget Consideration Presentation

2010-01-27T16:32:00.000-05:00

The presentation that was shared with Staff Monday January 25th and Tuesday January 26th can be found at Staff Presentation .

Budget Update

2010-01-18T21:10:00.000-05:00

When you read the items below you will note the cuts from expenditures in general fund are more significant than initially thought. I would be less than honest if I did not tell you these cuts will impact how Whitko educates students. I want you to continue to offer your suggestions as "Everything is on the table from if and how we do preschool to how AP Calculus is offered and everything in between." We will look at how schools are configured for example is K-2 and 3-5 more efficient at the elementary? Should grade 5 attend the WMS building. What about the middle school concept or junior high? How about middle and high school daily schedules? How about semester or trimester? What about administrative and support costs? It is all on the table! So send your ideas to me. Share your ideas with your principal or director.

I also want you to know " Nothing has been decided and when it is the affected person or persons will hear it from me." If you hear it from some other source it is just a rumor and like all cases some rumors may be true others may be false. When we have some better ideas as to the reductions being proposed I will let you know.

WCTA is working along side us to help in this very difficult process so feel free to share your ideas with your representatives if that fits your position.

Here is the current budget scoop we need to trim between $450,000 and $830,000 for 2010 and another $290,000 for 2011 as the stimulus money will not be available also the $504,000 cut in 2010 will not be made up in 2011. This is much more that was supposed in the earlier blog. So over two year we are talking $1.25 million Like I said, we together will figure this out and stand tall as Whitko always does.

State Suggested Savings

2010-01-04T15:10:00.000-05:00

Below are the State Board of Education Cost Saving Considerations given in testimony December 2009 and the Citizens Checklist form the Governor to the State Board and some initial comments related to each item. Obviously nothing is off the table completely but the issue is cutting General Fund Expenditures or increasing General Fund revenue by between $465,000 for 2010 and then another $300,000 for 2011.

Budgetary/Administrative Considerations
· Eliminate insurance payments for all school board personnel –not applicable our Board does not have this benefit
· Increase insurance deductibles – This is a negotiated Item
· Investigate moving to state employee health benefit plan or another shared plan –The State Plan would cause an increased cost not a savings
· Guarantee ALL school employees contribute equally and equitably to insurance plans – This is already true
· Freeze all expenditures at current levels – Some items are beyond our control. We already based the 2010 budget on 2008 expenditures
· Roll back budgets to prior year where appropriate-Essentially done
· Reduce all non instructional budgets – Could save portions of the categories below
o Substitutes from non-federal, non-grant funds -
o Cut non-essential travel -
o Library Materials –
o Dues and Fees –
o Summer Grounds and Painting Help –

· Consider participation fees or eliminating extracurricular activities. pay for play will be reviewed
· Creation of nonprofit foundation or endowments to support school district – Have tried to create one with no real traction
· Suspend all capital outlays until budget plan is determined This state reduction is not a Capital Projects issue it only effects General Fund and we can’t move fund between what the state calls silos so this would not help at all.
· Eliminate pay for membership into professional organizations or associations –Small amounts of funding go to this. Right now the associations are the only ones communicating with us on the cuts. We get news from them that the State has never told us about. Not all of us read the Indianapolis Star.
· Shared legal and other professional services – No impact we already do this
· Utilization of technology to deliver instructional materials – Save instructional cost and copying
· Require electronic funds transfer for all payroll and payments – minimal savings
· Limit or eliminate subscriptions and publications – see above
· Eliminate cell phone, Blackberry and pager costs – Some savings but a negotiated item
· Utilize community resources to create efficiencies and supplement programs – Unsure what resources could be used but investigating.
· Explore volunteerism within the local community – great idea
· Examine all vendor contracts in excess of $1,000 – Current practice
· Renegotiate purchasing agreements – Current practice
o o Buy bulk
o o Buy online
o o Cooperative purchasing agreements
o o Pursue inter-local agreements
o o Purchase from state QPA's

Personnel/Staffing Considerations – We will review all options but initial thoughts are below

· Suspend Hiring – This is essentially in place already we all prefer attrition
· Initiate rigorous contract negotiations within the confines of local fiscal health – No doubt this will be explored
· Freeze salaries at current levels – Done
· Suspend salary increment for biennium – Negotiated Item
· Roll back salaries to previous year levels - Negotiated Item
· Eliminate any overtime pay – not applicable
· Examine retire to rehire opportunities – not currently (legal) or acceptable in the rules from TRF and PERF if the rules change?
· Examine early retirement incentive -This presumes we have funding to create the incentive and if we had that we would not have a problem
· Furlough non instructional employees - not reasonable as who does their work?
· Reduce central office staff - we already did that last year and cut other staff salary expenses the year prior
· Reduce all administrative and clerical staff - again who does their work?
· Reduce or eliminate paid lay staff - this would impact extra-curricular positions
· Examine need for all ancillary staff – classroom assistants, resource assistants again who does their work?

Operating/Capital Project Considerations
· Close underutilized buildings - NA
· Reduce or mothball square footage in existing buildings - done
· Track and monitor monthly utilities and other fixed costs - done
· Consider budget plans or prepaid plans - done
· Examine the outsourcing of transportation, cafeteria and janitorial services – again this change impacts different funds with the exception of janitorial but who then cleans the buildings?
· Reduce or eliminate school vehicle inventories (helps with initial purchase only and then we would pay to have snow removed and other maintenance items addressed)
· Monitor school facility usage for the potential of establishing hours of operation - Done
· Sell or lease surplus property or facilities - NA
· Freeze all building projects that are not general fund budget neutral - NA
· Freeze all nonessential building upgrades - Again this is a different fund and does not impact these current needed reductions

Policy Considerations
· Shared services inside and outside school districts – already doing this
· Evaluate benefits of school consolidation – we already are sharing services, would consolidation save operating costs?
· Operating referendum - This could be considered
· Written policies to support anonymous reporting and investigation of claims of fraud, waste and abuse – In place in Whistle-Blower policies
· Investigate programs designed to retain and recruit students - Recruit away from ?
· Examine corporations grade level delivery system - Some investigation of a K-2 and 3-5 arrangement has been brought up. Other options do not seem remotely feasible
· Increase student/teacher ratio; larger classes; team teaching – Has been happening slowly
· Examine partnerships with local government - We do partner with the city on things like salt and sand.

Legislative Considerations (These are out of our hands)
· All for transportation and capital funds to be used for 2010 General Fund shortfall
· Allow a levy access transfer
· Local Option Income Tax (LOIT) for schools
· Delay circuit breaker
· Require a state hiring salary freeze for all state-funded employees
· Change referendum language

Indiana State Board of Education Citizens’ Checklist
The Governor asked Citizens to use this checklist to determine if your school corporation has taken these actions to increase savings and efficiency. (These are covered above)
· Refrain from all salary and benefits increases for all school employees
· Reduce insurance costs by changing plans, including joining the state health plan
· Reduce school administration and school board compensation packages
· Suspend 403(b), 401(a) and 457(b) matches for all employees
· Institute a corporation hiring freeze
· Eliminate memberships in professional associations and reduce travel expenses
· Effectively outsourced transportation and custodial services and direct savings to the Rainy Day Fund
· Sold, leased, or closed underutilized buildings
· Reduced or rolled back operational and programmatic budgets to previous year levels
· Reviewed school consolidation options within the corporation and between corporations.

Budget Expenditures General Fund 2009

2009-12-30T08:08:00.000-05:00

With all the talk about cutting the state support for schools I though some details of how we spend our general fund money should be shared. Here is a quick rundown of how $11,745,485 was spent in 2009.

Employee Benefits and salary $ 10,710,305.70
Substitutes $ 146,629.91 Includes sick and personal days
(From Professional Development , 227 days 215.5 non-Federal at $80 = $17,200 so realistically might save $12,500)
Staff Development $ 24,545.46 Some savings possible
Contracted Services $ 42,407.24 Fixed
Utilities $ 160,159.28 Some savings possible
(Utilities show this low because $384,000 is spent through Capital Project Fund)
Other services $ 28,015.99 Fixed
Property Insurance $ 89,211.75 Fixed
Board Expenses $ 3,193.22 This was down ~$5000 from prior years.
Tuition $ 102,204.81 TROY/YIC, School for Blind, not our control
Travel $ 33,507.48 Down $10,000 from 2008
(Maximum save additional $24000)
Dues Fees $ 19,633.18 Some savings possible
Supplies $ 345,163.12 Up $26, 719 from 2008 need to save here
Library Materials $ 27,396.55
Equipment $ 28,704.28 (Truck – once every three year purchase)
Bank Charges $ 7,601.04 Fixed
Offset Temp loan $ - 23,248.79 Not in 2010

Those that read my newsletter know that we need to trim between $450,000 and $830,000 for 2010 and another $290,000 for 2011 as the stimulus money will not be available also the $504,000 cut in 2010 will not be made up in 2011. So over two year we are talking $1.25 million Like I said, we together will figure this out and stand tall as Whitko always does.

Remember that General Fund is the only fund imapcted by the state reduction in funding. Capital Projects that pays for most utilities and repairs is not affected nor is transportation which pays for busses and their related expenses.

Alternative Education

2009-10-27T13:36:00.001-04:00

Another cooperative effort we are involved with is creating alternative educational opportunities for various students. You know if a student is disruptive we do not have great options for their continued education beyond homebound instruction or expulsion. One alternative we are working on would be an alternative to expulsion option for those students that we want to continue their education (that would be all of them) and yet realize their behavior or circumstances will not allow them to remain in our facilities.
A second alternative is to look at option for students that simply fail to thrive often referred to as dropout prevention or credit recovery. Many high school students find themselves in situations where they need additional credits, or due to circumstances are not able to put in a full school day or they just don’t get it in a traditional setting even with differentiation. We are looking at how we can provide services for these children as well.
In both of the above don’t get me wrong. Our first and best choice is kids staying in schools and doing their assigned work. The dropout and graduation rates don’t lie and they say we have some kids that we are not reaching through traditional means. One group we are talking with is called The Crossings. They run alternative schools in various areas like Frankfort, East Noble, Goshen, and Elkhart to name a few. Their CEO is a former principal of a high school and they have a good program. Check it out to see what we are thinking about.
All I can tell you for sure is I support every child and the development and education of that child. If that is at our traditional setting great but if it means better education for them based on their specific needs and needs we cannot meet due to whatever circumstances (like money) then we will look at ways outside the norm to help them. I cherish any ideas you come across in how to help out children flourish in their education.

New Tech High

2009-10-27T13:26:00.001-04:00

In case you’ve missed the news there is a lot of talk about developing a New Tech High School in Whitley County. The news coverage has been about where to locate the facility and how it would be funded. The news also seems to think only Whitley Consolidated students would go there. Truth is this is a county wide effort and Whitko, Smith Green and Whitley Consolidated would all play a part in this effort. Groups like Tops 2015 and Orthoworks have been promoting the need for differently trained students to help our community remain vital in their economic stability. They are clearly behind the training that would be New Tech like.
We have been talking about the need for a variety of opportunities for our students. New Tech like vocational education is just another such opportunity. The basics of New Tech include: Relationships Problem Based Learning, 21st Century Skills, Interdisciplinary course structures, a focus area like STEM, and yes, technology as a learning tool.
I recently visited Columbus Indiana and reviewed their Signature Academy (http://www.bcsc.k12.in.us/csant/site/default.asp) . I was very impressed with the students, facility and the outcomes I saw in the learning process. One of my most focused concerns is student engagement. In my teaching career and in my administrative career I have constantly been challenged by students not reaching their full potential and the apparent lack of motivation. I have heard the same from many of you. New Tech is one way that some of our students will be more engaged. It is not for everyone but check out the links above and see what everyone is talking about!

Response To Intervention

2009-09-23T17:41:00.000-04:00

Today we met to discuss how our corporation would continue our implementation of RtI (Response to Intervention). Team of teachers, counselors and administrators met to look at what we were already doing and how to formalize the process and make others aware of the process.
RTI is:
· Response to Intervention is a framework for prevention, advancement, and early intervention, which involves determining whether ALL students are learning, and progressing academically and behaviorally.
· Intended to help as many students as possible meet proficiency standards.
· An opportunity to integrate all school initiatives in our buildings including school improvement, general education, Title I, special education, high ability students and family partnerships.
· Focuses the entire instructional system on the success of ALL learners.
· NOT waiting for the child to fail before attempting more intensive instructional interventions.

RTI is not:
· A stand-alone special education initiative.
· A means for just getting more students into special education.
· A method for just increasing or decreasing special education numbers.
· Focused primarily on disability determination and documented through a checklist.
· Just limited to beginning reading (K-2nd grade) since it should involve multiple grade levels and content areas (reading, math, behavior).

Many of Whitko’s teachers and administrators have logged many hours traveling to sites and receiving training, hosting presenters and trainers to train staff who have been released from the classroom for the day, spent hours upon hours researching individually or as a team possible interventions to use, networked extensively with other school teams to get this RtI thing figured out.

As a result of today’s facilitated workshop we are even going to be better at what we do best which is serving the educational needs of every child.

If you have ideas or questions about RtI Reply to this blog site.

Community Ventures

2009-08-18T14:16:00.000-04:00

Whitko is involved with several community ventures. BioCrossroads is working with a large group of community organizations and individuals to support our orthopedic industries. TOpS 2015 is working with the defense industries. The efforts of both groups is to provide quality trained modern workforces to maintain and improve our economic viability in these and other related areas. Our part is providing great graduates with STEM and 21st Century Skills. During the next year you will be hearing more about these. As you learn more ask your questions and post your comments so we can all learn from each other.

Board Goals

2009-08-12T14:41:00.000-04:00

We have great programs at Whitko. Sometimes it seems they are not tied together well and not publicized well. The Board recognizes this and want to do better at planning and promoting. As you look at the Board Goals what other things should we include in the goals? What should we be very specific about? Any other opinions related to these goals that you want to share would be great!

Goal on Instructional Plan
Recognizing our responsibility to educate the future leaders of our society, by January 15, 2010, Whitko Community Schools will adopt a five year development plan to address the needs of our instructional program in a changing society. The plan will address fulfilling our mission of delivering a differentiated curriculum to our students. Some components of the plan will include development or advancement of:
· Student preparation in 21st Century Skills;
· STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) integration;
· Vocational Education Expansion
· Dropout prevention – credit recovery
· Alternative educational opportunities
· High Ability Programming
· Further development of RtI (Response to Intervention);
· Programming for Special Needs students;
· Increased AP and post secondary opportunities.
All components will be based on “best practice” and the most current research.

Goal on Communication
To continue our focus on promoting Whitko Community Schools, we will further the implementation of the communication plan that was adopted January 1, 2009. This year’s focus will include:
· Continuation of components of the plan already in place;
· Increased external communication with a focus on sharing our story;
· A larger web presence;
· Developing true business partnerships;
· Increased student input and feedback; and
· Reaching those patrons without current students.

Add your thoughts and ideas.

Vision the next five years

2009-08-11T15:50:00.000-04:00

Whitko five years from now will be a school system that everyone looks to for leadership. Our facilities will continue to be first class with all the resources needed to provide a differentiated and individualized curriculum. Virtual education activities will abound. Our special programs for high ability and special needs students will compete with our engaging curriculum in other classes.

The elementary programs will be able to focus on higher learning skills as RtI has created a situation where students just are not allowed to fall behind and when students do they are immediately identified and remediated.

Our middle school program continues to involve great exploration possibilities that encorporate the standards into an activity and challenge based learning program. Students leaving middle school have a good idea what they might like to work on at Whitko High School.

Our high school provides individualzed programs for students that include increased vocational education, increased dual credit and Advanced Placement Offerings, and virtual education in subjects that are not even thought of today. The 21st century skills ans STEM education is interwoven into the fabric of the educational program. The school is so engaging that every student is involved in some co or extra curricular activity.

Whitko schools are once again the center of civic activities. Our schools are always being used by the public for various events. Events put on by the schoolsa re always packed with parents. Parents are also feeling so welcome at the schools they often drop by to see what they can do to assist us.

Over the last five years Whitko has been able to secure financial support that creates an environment of stability and growth not often shared in rural school corporations. Part of this comes from charging outside groups to see how we took a good school corporation to greatness. We often speek at conference and provide staff development for other schools.

So here is part of my Vision Whitko, What's Your Take?