Bill Rice's Downriver Politics, Education, and Community
The Athletic Department is pre-selling General Admission tickets ($5) for Homecoming. The price is still $5.00, but you can avoid standing in long lines and missing the kick-off by purchasing early!
Tickets will be available during lunch from Eric Painter at the High School and Todd Dishon at the Middle School.
Also, as always Student pre-sale tickets will be available at the High School for all students at a cost of $2.
As State lawmakers continue to hammer out budget details to balance a $2.8 billion deficit by October 1, 2009, funding for public schools is taking it on the chin. In its current proposed state the State budget will cut $218 of State funding per student.
Let’s put that into perspective…
Based on student numbers provided by Superintendent Russ Pickell at the September 14, 2009 School Board Meeting (1809 students projected, 1926 first-day attendance) that will be a reduction of $394,362-$419,868 to the Flat Rock School District budget.
Here are some statements from the Detroit Free Press:
Meanwhile, K-12 school administrators were left to wonder how they would cope with a $218 per-pupil funding cut — about $100 more than they were anticipating. Many had already closed schools, laid off staff and slashed programs before the June 30 deadline to have their budgets finalized.
“There’s no putting a happy face on this,” said Frank Ruggirello, spokesman for Plymouth-Canton Community Schools.
Chippewa Valley Schools was already projecting a $4-million deficit by the end of the school year; the cuts announced Wednesday will drive it up to $7 million, said Superintendent Mark Deldin.
“It will be nearly impossible to mitigate the shortfall,” Deldin said.
The cuts approved by a House and Senate conference committee are expected to be felt deeply in K-12 schools.
And similar reactions in The Detroit News:
Don Noble, lobbyist for the Michigan Education Association, said, “The $218 (per pupil) is a big hit … it’s going to mean massive layoffs, reshuffling students, increasing class size and elimination of some programs.”
Unfortunately, this is a reality. These kind of cuts were not anticipated in any Flat Rock District budget projections.
[Update: I had a discussion with Superintendent Pickell this morning (10/2/2009). Apparently my statement: "These kind of cuts were not anticipated in any District budget projections" is NOT correct. The District and Board of Education did consider this more drastic scenario and has, prior to this school year, made some adjustments in anticipation of these cuts.
That's good news! Thanks for the call Superintendent--communication is important, accurate communication is even more important."]
We need to be talking in our Parent Groups, Ram Boosters, and other parent and community groups about what is important for our childrens’ education. We need to set priorities and think of innovative solutions then let them be known to the Board of Education and Flat Rock District administrators.
I plan on being your representative in the hot seat figuring out how to manage through this–so, tell me what you think.
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While the front pages of our newspapers are talking about “green shoots” and “economic recovery” the recession is just now starting to hit our school budgets.
School funding concerns were raised multiple times at the last Flat Rock School Board Meeting. Most notably, shrinking school budgets were cited as the root cause of growing Flat Rock class sizes and might force a future request for more tax payer money from Flat Rock residents (to fund technology maintenance and bus purchases).
In a recent conversation with Superintendent Russ Pickell, at our Rotary Club meeting, I asked what I should be discussing with parents as key issues for the next four years. He didn’t mince words–budgets are going to get tighter and tough decisions are going to have to be made.
He referenced the inconsistent education funding mechanism put in place by Proposal A for Michigan. Basically, all property tax funds go up to Lansing (the State) and are then allocated back down on a per enrolled student basis.
Being a business owner and already working creatively to survive the recession thus far (I have not laid off a single employee) I am not inclined to wait like a victim for the inevitable. I want to look for innovative ways to maintain Flat Rock schools as the envy of surrounding districts.
Although I advocate talking and writing to your State Representatives and Senators about these issues, I am realistic we need to start thinking now about solutions.
Here is one innovative idea happening in neighboring Trenton, MI:
“There is nothing more difficult to deal with these days than public funding. Federal funding, state funding, county funding and local funding are all under the gun. And no matter the discussion, education often is at the top of the list of concerns.”
“The new Trenton Educational Foundation is trying to lend a hand. With public school districts across Michigan (and for that matter, across the nation) facing tough financial burdens with ever-decreasing revenue streams, the TEF was created by civic-minded entrepreneurs to provide learning “enhancements” that aren’t available through traditional funding sources.”
Read the rest of the article. Then please come back and leave your thoughts and comments below.
Here are the notes I took from the Flat Rock School Board Meeting.
Superintendent Russ Pickell gave an extensive update to the Board of Education and an unusually full audience of parents and Flat Rock teachers.
Transportation for the first week of school went fairly smooth. Some of the transportation highlights:
Superintendent Pickell pro-actively addressed the question of increasing class sizes with these averages:
One of the explanations offered for the rise in class sizes was the difference between the student count projected in the January budgeting process, of 1809 and the actual first day count of 1926. The first opportunity to adjust this number is September 23, 2009–initial count day for 2009-2010 school year.
Most of the remaining discussion around class size from Superintendent Pickell and during the public question period continued to return to Proposal A and the Michigan methodology for funding public education. Superintendent Pickell urged the public to petition their State Representatives and Senators.
Despite a dramatic plunge in the graduation rate at Flat Rock High School, from 92% to 75% there was little discussion of this problem.
Superintendent Pickell discarded the measurement as immaterial based on three arguments:
I wasn’t satisfied with brushing off a State measurement so I did a little investigating. One brief phone call to CEPI revealed that most of the accountability for accurately reporting “Transfers Out & Exempt” falls to the District. If you are unhappy with the numbers, or a student doesn’t request records, or you think a student is being home schooled the documentation to appeal that number is pretty liberal.
Some examples (from a long list) of acceptable documentation:
That puts the first excuse on the District to report or at least properly appeal. I agree with Superintendent Pickell that there were a lot of auto workers losing jobs this last year, forcing them to move for work. Many of them were my neighbors. The fix is simple–create a process to document those transfers on exit.
As for number two. the definition of “Transfers Out & Exempt” is pretty clear that it does account for these scenarios:
“Total number of students who transferred out of the district, building, or public school system cohort (out of state, to non-public school, or home-school) at any time during the five-year period and did not return. Deceased students are also exempt.”
Finally, for number three I think this is why this vote for the Board of Education is so important. It is time to vote for more transparency and parent involvement in the schools. Hopefully, by putting more information in the hands of the parents we can resolve any “community issues” preventing our high school students from graduating.
Superintendent Pickell did offer several programs that are helping to target and save true “at-risk” students. Here are the highlights he presented:
The most concerning future issue of the night was Superintendent Pickell’s foreshadowing of the potential need for a “sinking fund” bond initiative. This would be a budgetary need to go to the community for more tax dollars. The projected budgetary short fall would be in the maintenance of the new technology put in place by the recent bond and to purchase new busses.
This “sinking fund” need is based on a pretty sure bet that the State reduces the current per student funding over the next several years.
Sorry it took me so long to write up these notes, but it was an information packed meeting with lots of public discussion. Hopefully this is a good demonstration of why this Board of Education election is going to be critical to our students, parents, teachers, and community.
Adequate Yearly Progress is a centerpiece of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. This program enacted a system of measurements to continually assess district, school, and student performance.
Michigan combines a variety of metrics, which you can read more about at the Michigan Department of Education website, to grade each district and school in Michigan. Flat Rock continues to aggressive improve our schools with several already achieving an A rating.
Here is a summary of the grades:
I encourage you to read the full Michigan AYP results and compare Flat Rock Schools performance with other area schools–I think you will be quite pleased.
Meet the Teacher Nights and Open Houses are over in the Flat Rock District. The schools look great. The new additions arguably give Flat Rock Schools some of the best learning environments in the Downriver (or even Southeastern Michigan) area.
I was particularly impressed with Simpson’s new computer lab. I will keep my eye on bright new software engineers to recruit from that classroom.
All the principals and teachers were enthusiastic and seemed ready to launch a great year.
My oldest is starting his first year at Simpson Middle School. I think that transition is always challenging. So, I was really thankful and impressed with how the teachers specifically encouraged each new sixth grader they greeted. I have to commend Principal Armstrong for creating a well organized and welcoming open house for the new parents and students.
I am an old hand at Barnes Elementary, with my second child going through and serving as the Barnes PTO treasurer, but there was a fresh new feeling in the hallways.
Barnes Elementary, the building, is getting a new face and so is the Principal’s office. Principal Smith did a wonderful job for many years and I enjoyed working with him, he will be missed in those halls. However, I got to meet and talk with Principal Sica briefly and she seems like a great addition to Flat Rock education. Simply reading the wonderful endorsements of Ms. Sica in the MonroeNews.com, gave me confidence. I also enjoyed her suggestion to vary the times of the Barnes parent group meetings–hoping to accommodate more schedules and encourage more participation.
Unfortunately, I did not get to Bobcean because it coincided with my son’s open house, but I heard that it went equally well. Principal Donaldson has done a great job taking the reigns at Bobcean and working through the challenges of enduring construction during most of her tenure.
Not having a student in Flat Rock High School yet I will be spending time getting to know those folks better. However, as a new Simpson parent I have joined the Ram Boosters and my family always enjoys catching the high schools sports throughout the year. I have meet with a few teachers and coaches already and look forward to meeting more as we approach November’s election.
I thought it was a nice touch for Superintendent Russ Pickell to invite and introduce the Board of Education to the parents at each of the school open houses. This was a first. I thought it was a great idea to give the School Board a little more exposure to the community they serve.
The start of any new school year often comes with some parent anxieties. This year the main concern was the growing class sizes at most of the schools.
It is certainly no secret that school budgets are getting tighter, even as our student populations continue to hold strong. This is potentially going to stretch class sizes for some Flat Schools and teachers. Many parents heard this reality for the first time at these open houses. However, the real concern seem to spark from some of the answers (or lack thereof) that they got to their questions.
This triggered a very good discussion on Flat Rock class sizes on our Facebook page. The final conclusion was basically: Any new school year starts with significant volatility between registration and actual attendance. This is likely to balance the classes to more acceptable sizes. However, if that is not the case we are confident that the District administration and the Board of Education will swiftly create a positive solution.
By the way, I encourage you to become a Bill Rice for School Board Facebook Fan for all the great discussions and frequent updates on Flat Rock and Michigan education. Your participation is welcome.
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Unfortunately, there are two important meetings tonight with conflicting schedules.
The first meeting is the Simpson Middle School open house. I will be attending with my oldest who is about to start his first year at Simpson. I am really looking forward to meeting all his teachers.
I have my volunteer form all filled out and I am looking forward to participating in the education experience over there too. I have always made it a priority to participate in the classrooms and extra-curricular activities of each of my children. Obviously education is a passion of mine, but I think even the smallest parent participation in the schools or at events makes the schools and the students perform better.
The second meeting is the Planning Commission meeting, scheduled as a make-up to the August 24, 2009 cancellation. Unfortunately, both events are at 7:00 p.m. (I may still try to pop in on the end of that meeting).
There are a couple of interesting items on the agenda. The one I am hearing the most discussion about is the proposal to close/vacate East Seneca and North Evergreeen. My understanding is this is being considered to form a campus and join Bobcean and the Flat Rock High School grounds.
One of the primary concerns seems to be the alteration of traffic patterns and creating potential congestion choke points. Apparently there have been some traffic studies to address these concerns. I would be interested to see the process. If anyone goes please let me know the process and the results of that agenda item.
Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments section.
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Okay, there is always a little bad with the good. We have a wonderful city and incredible people, but sometimes we aren’t quite firing on all cylinders. Last night was one of those times.
This was my first Flat Rock planning commission meeting (although I am no stranger to city planning, having served on one several years ago) and I left a bit embarrassed. There weren’t enough planning commission members to constitute a quorum. Now that in and of itself in not a terrible thing. After all it is the summer and people are trying to squeeze in those last much need vacations before school starts, but here is the problem…
Hopefully, the commission will quickly schedule a special meeting, make another apology to the people in attendance, and ensure this doesn’t happen again.
We have accomplished so much and built a fabulous community. The planning commission is a critical piece in continuing to make our city a great place to live. I am sure the Commission members will get things back on track.
Proposed Meeting Agenda (in case you would like to attend the next meeting):
Update: I received a prompt and apologetic letter from the planning commission today rescheduling the meeting for Tuesday September 1, 2009 at 7:00 p.m. at City Hall. Good form!
The Flat Rock Baseball Braves (minors division) team got together over the weekend for some miniature golf and batting cages. We won the best “float” in the Opening Day parade last year.
It was fun to see all the kids and the parents again. There were lots of discussions about great summers and vacations. Of course we talked about school approaching. All the kids seem ready to get back and a fair amount of the parents are pretty excited too.
Since I had the ear of some of the most involved in Flat Rock Baseball I did what I do…started asking questions.
Where are we going to play baseball this year?
If you have a child that plays in the Flat Rock baseball league you know we lost a lot of ball fields as the school construction started. Fitting in games and practices for all the teams was already a challenge.
So, what’s the plan?
There is one, but it is going to require several fresh starts. There is approval for new fields to be built at Simpson Middle School. However, the challenge is getting it done on a very small budget.
Maybe you can help? Here is what the immediate (by September 2009) needs are:
Then of course as the season gets closer we will need hands to build out the fields and get them ready to Play Ball!
Back to school in Flat Rock is going to look a whole lot different this year. You have probably noticed the construction around almost every school in Flat Rock. These various projects are going to provide some great new features to our schools: needed classrooms, easier bus and drop-off access, new gym facilities, state-of-the-art media centers, more parking, new soccer fields.
Fortunately, the timing probably couldn’t have been better. The downturn in the economy right after these projects and supporting millage were approved could have starved out updates to our schools for years to come–leaving them in a state of decline.
Even though you might not have supported the initiatives, now that they are here it is nice to know that Flat Rock children will continue to lead the downriver area with some of the best and most progressive education programs, as well as the best facilities.
In my discussions with Flat Rock school administration (and the a few folks on the construction crews) it looks like most of the projects will be complete by the first day of school. The exception is Barnes Elementary, which should be done in late October–hopefully in time for Halloween Fun Night!
Update/Correction: I was told that probably only the Barnes office area will be done by October, but hey that’s pretty cool. I am amazed at the speed and low impact (considering the scale) these projects have had on the execution of education.
Teachers and Principles–it’s fair to disagree 
You are managing it incredibly well!
I am always available via email (bill@thinkrice.com) or phone (734-775-4487) to listen to your input or answer any questions you might have.
I look forward to serving you! Read More…