From the Desk of Dr. Ed Musgrove

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Please Excuse This Belated Newsletter

There were several late breaking items at the end of April that I wanted to get into my monthly newsletter so I held on to this release until now.  As we get to the end of the school year things are normally so hectic and schedules overlap that it seems impossible to keep up.  Of course, it is also a festive time as we take time to honor the achievements of our students and staff during the past year.

When I launched this endeavor I had suggested that maybe we could think of a catchy name later but for lack of a better idea I believe the heading above pretty much sums up what I am trying to accomplish.  The topics in these monthly bulletins/letters represent those items that often warrant immediate attention or the usual annual tasks associated with keeping a district this size up and running.  So, they all certainly come across my desk.  Now some stay a little longer than others but for the most part they are all important and essential duties for keeping the system running.

An Important Notice Date Changed for Non-Renewals, Pink Slips and Extra-Duties

You may have read or noticed in news accounts earlier this year as the legislature was looking at woeful budget figures the Governor signed an emergency bill (SB 157) which modified the notice date to all employees in public schools related to non-renewals, pink slip notices and notice of reduction of salary and/or duties which used to either be April 30th or at least ninety days prior to the first day of student attendance for the latter item listed above.  This additional time allowed districts to better forecast their budgets for FY 2009.

On the eve of the original deadline we received a flash bulletin from our policy folks at KSBA that it would be wise to incorporate the emergency procedures often associated with a Governors signature on such bills with ratification at the local level by the Board of Education.  That action was taken last week at our special meeting on Tuesday, April 29th.  Thus, the due date for all notices related to the three personnel actions in the heading above will be Thursday, May 15, 2008.

On the other end of that same spectrum, KEA supported this bill recognizing the tough situation districts were in with the bleak budget numbers being used back in January.  Thus, the notice to districts is now only fifteen days prior to the first day of student attendance for a teacher to terminate his or her contract instead of thirty.  I trust you have been keeping apprised of these revised deadlines by reading your professional organizations’ journals and emails.

Bullying Gets Special Attention and Its Own Bill This Year As Well

One bill (HB 91) received a lot of attention and at times during the session it generated much debate and finally passed without the words “bully or bullying” even mentioned in its language.  It was passed as “AN ACT relating to the safety, learning and well-being of students.”  We will be looking to KSBA to provide us with some policy language on this topic.

The bill gives districts until August 31st to look at various models to address the parameters of this important and often volatile issue.  The district must then adopt their policies and procedures no later than November 30, 2008, and then update those policies and procedures every two years thereafter.  The bill requires strict timelines and mandatory reporting by any school employee “who knows or has reasonable cause to believe a school student has been the victim of any felony offense specified in K.R.S. Chapter 508 (assault, wanton endangerment, stalking, menacing, or terroristic threatening) committed by another student while on school premises, on school-sponsored transportation or at a school-sponsored event to immediately cause an oral or written report to be made to the principal of the school the student attends”.  Additionally, the principal must then notify all parents of the perpetrators and victims involved and then any or all law enforcement agencies having jurisdiction within the county or city within 48 hours.  If requested, district personnel are required to assist in the subsequent investigation.

As you can see from this much abbreviated description, we will be working very diligently with our policy writers and law enforcement officials to fully develop our policies and procedures to implement and enforce the intent of this law.

Poor Economic Times for Nearly Two-Thirds of the States Hits Kentucky, Too

In the seven years since September 11, 2001, all states have been in various forms of recovery, revenue spurts or lulls to the present where inflation and poor economic forecasts has caused over two-thirds of the nation’s states to make Draconian cuts or just barely hold even.  I was not here when the original promise was made to school district employees to get your salaries comparable to the surrounding states but the next two years will not assist in making that promise come true.  A one percent increase this year will make our base teacher’s salary only $336.00 more next year and $339.00 for 2009-2010.  Coupled with that fact is a reduction in ESS, Professional Development, Safe Schools and Teacher’s Professional Growth Fund.

The bill authorizing this increase did stipulate that the one percent was in addition to any normal rank or step increase attained by the staff.  However, the legislature did relax some restrictions on how we can spend some of our restricted funds at least giving districts more latitude in covering the essential needs during these lean times.  However, as educators we have seen these fluctuations come and go but I am always impressed that as an industry unable to adjust our costs to inflation we will be at work every day serving children.  I am sure you recall your parents using analogies to make you feel better when the household budget did not support what you and your brothers and sisters wanted to buy or do something exciting and fun.  However, I learned over time just how smart and pragmatic those statements uttered by my parents proved to be.

We must continue to put the education of children first as we move out of these difficult times and remember that for many of our families that qualify for free and reduced meals their struggle is far harder than ours.  I hope you know that over the past two years we have tried to show all our employees that we will cut out any unnecessary items in our budget leaving intact those items which best serve the teachers and students in the classroom.  You should always feel free to let me or your building principal know it there are still any items or expenditures which do not assist in completing our educational mission.  You may know of something we missed.

Changes to the 2008-2009 Calendar

At the regular April meeting an adjustment was made to next year’s calendar.  Of course the calendar always gets lots of attention, especially this year when missing seven days caused us to go into June for the make up and created a Monday evening graduation.  Even with this beneficial change we only have a three day leeway for makeup next year before we go into May 31st and the first week of June.

The portfolio day next year has been moved to May 19th or the election date which a change in the law two years ago allows school employees to work but prohibits students from attending.  This gained us one day thus the last day of school would be Wednesday, May 27th if we do not miss any days.  I have already indicated that if we have missed any days by the end of January 2009 that the first day of inclement weather make up would be on Monday, February 16th.  The only other possible change I can foresee is the possibility of building in some delayed-start days for building-level teacher in-service opportunities.

I have checked with Mrs. Akers and there may be some latitude in next year’s calendar to consider asking the Board to support this new and inventive way to get some shared collegial training at the start of the day instead of at the end of the day when schedules and tiredness set in.  This idea is also a major component of the “Professional Learning Communities” theory and practice circulating throughout our nation and in our own district.

I asked the Clark County Education Association to give me at least two members to begin studying the 2009-2010 calendar for possible variations to the long-held ideas and practices regarding the school calendar.  The two CCEA representatives will be Jan Horn and Ruthann Sharrock.  I have also asked CCEA to choose one classified employee to serve on this calendar committee to work throughout the fall and give their input to the administration as we work toward developing three or four options for subsequent staff and Board approval.

I will go ahead and put one or two issues out there for all staff, parents and students to ponder which I believe need some open and active debate.   They are the practice of a week break in the fall and a two-week break at Christmas when that day falls on a Thursday or Friday.  Again, we may not change anything but I believe that as the AMO (Annual Measurable Objective) under NCLB continues to go up we must honestly look at losing those days early in the year or risk of not meeting those stringent bench marks.  I know many Americans believe the NCLB will possibly go away in this next election but I would not count on that happening anytime soon.  Remember that law was originally passed by a large bipartisan effort in both the House and Senate.  I do not see either of those bodies giving up that easily on this far reaching and ambitious national goal.  Stay tuned and we will all know in November if modifications are possible.

The Programming Plan Versus the Funding Plan for the New High School

At our last special Board meeting on Thursday, May 1st, the Board was given an update by our architects on the planning phase of the new building developed by a large committee comprised of over thirty high school staff, administrators, Board members, students, parents and central office personnel.  Along with that concise report explaining the differences between the wish list and the actual programming list that we need and can afford, Joe Nance of Ross, Sinclair and Associates gave an updated report on our financial potential now and into the future.

To assist your review of these two important documents we have cleaned up the documents which contained a lot of preliminary work on our web site and given it one of the starred headlines icons to quickly take you to this latest information.  That should assist you in more quickly understanding our current status after two or three months of committee work.

The colorized chart developed by the architect presents the past three months work in four columns.  The left hand column is the KDE State Standards for a building to eventually accommodate 1,900 students.  The next column represented the “Wish List” we began with if money were not an issue.  The next or third column provided the Phase 1 Project that we can currently afford based upon Mr. Nance’s document also posted to that site.  The fourth, far right column represents future phases of the building when funding is available.  As you can see, each column has many different ranges and the committee worked very hard to get us to this stage of development.

After reviewing the presentations from both the architect and financial advisor it was determined to proceed with the proposed Phase 1 plan until we know where the building will be built.  Once that major decision is made we can then reconsider adding the Freshman Academy wing of the building on as an alternate bid when we get to the bidding portion of the construction project. Until we have a better cost projection based upon site acquisition and development costs it is impossible to know exactly where we are with funding the new building.  However, no official Board action has been voted on at this time.

We are still very much into the preliminary planning and assessment phase of this project.  But with the work that has been accomplished it will make the decision-making process much easier when that time comes.  I want to thank all the committee members and our consultants who have worked tirelessly over the past few months to get us to this point.  To see these latest documents look for the highlight icon on our web site titled “Current Data and Facts on New HS Construction.”

Changes to Our Preschool Program for 2008-09

The idea of a centralized preschool facility that was only a remote possibility a few months ago became a reality at our regular Board meeting on May 20th.  A redistricting committee which began meeting in March was looking at various scenarios about the overcrowding in our elementary buildings and one major underlying issue was the need for a location to house at least 200 of our preschool students.  Since beginning an expanded all day program two years ago we have had to constantly work to find enough suitable space in the buildings or in modular classrooms across the district.  This factor was forcing administrators and site-based councils to move existing programs around year after year to accommodate the natural growth of the K-5 population as well as maintain the preschool programs.  The administration visited two sites meeting the criteria to potentially house that many preschool children and eventually those visits and interests culminated in a lease with a local nonprofit entity called People Helping People housed at 19 Wainscott Avenue.  Executing this lease gives us a two to three year reprieve on notifying many families across the district that their children would have to relocate as early as next year to accommodate the district’s growth in all areas but especially the preschool program.

After reviewing the current related costs as well as some new cost projections for the 2008-09 school year it became evident that a lease for nearly 11,000 square feet with eleven classrooms was the way to proceed with growing the program and accommodating those needs until the four-year facility plan is fully implemented across the district.  Mr. Stump and Mr. Roden visited the facility several times and the proposed plans were designed with their needs in mind for a “Center of Quality” which we could not achieve in our numerous satellite and modular units.  A fully functional commercial kitchen is also available to serve the needs of both the staff and students on site.  I am very excited about the potential this lease provides to the district in serving our youngest students and as we move toward occupancy we will schedule visits so you and patrons of our district can see the benefits this facility will bring to our program.  As late as Friday of that week Mr. Stump’s feet were still not planted firmly back on the ground.  I believe they call that still walking in the clouds.

The Two Week Marathon is Over

This week all the tests have been returned to the central office and Pat and Virginia are boxing them all up for shipment on Wednesday, May 7th.  There are only 125 boxes or more so you can imagine the hustle and bustle going on in those offices for the rest of this week.  In conjunction with that activity was the district-wide portfolio scoring process going on all over the district.  This year I was determined to immerse myself into that process to have a better understanding of that key element of our instructional plan.

I practice participated in the process with the high school teachers and attended some of the required training in one of the elementary buildings.  The one thing that stood out most during the training session was the human tendency to read into any of the writing one’s own biases.  However, that is the challenge we as educators have is - to judge objectively in a profession that for many years was a subjective vocation.  I can remember when my pedagogy was based on what I knew about the student and parents and became an active participant in the child’s growth and development.  But with the rise of the importance of data, statistics and accountability that part had to go.  Now, I am not advocating that the other way was better but somehow I always seemed to derive just a little more sense of accomplishment when my personal assessment (grades and comments on the report card) meant as much if not more than the annual achievement test.

So, teachers and staff I applaud your efforts and know that the last two weeks have been stressful.  I firmly believe that the efforts we put forth this year will result in improved test scores when we get the results back this fall.

Teacher and Nurses Appreciation Week

On behalf of the Board of Education and the central office staff, I want to extend to all of our teachers and school nurses a heart-felt “THANK YOU” during this special week set aside annually to recognize your hard work and devotion to our students.