NORTHWESTERN LOCAL SCHOOLS SPECIAL EDITION

Transcription

1 NORTHWESTERN LOCAL SCHOOLS SPECIAL EDITION 5610 Troy Road, Springfield, OH July, 2010 FROM THE DESK OF THE SUPERINTENDENT It is an exciting time at Northwestern as we continue working on the designs of the new school buildings. I keep receiving questions like: When will we break ground? Where will the buildings be located? What will the new buildings look like? And then my favorite, Can you hurry up and get my kids back in school? They are driving me crazy! Even with all of the excitement, the failure of the May renewal levy has overshadowed the building project. Without the community s support of the renewal, which will NOT increase your taxes, Northwestern students will lose programs that are vitally important to their success. Therefore, I wanted to provide you with information that will help you to decide how you vote on August 3. The chart below represents Northwestern s Five-Year Forecast. This is a financial projection for Northwestern. Tony Orr Superintendent [email protected] Inside this issue: From the Desk of the Superintendent 1/2 Renewal Levy FAQs 3/4 District Seeks to Reduce Tax Collections on Bond 4 New Site Layout 5 The New Elementary 6/7 The New Junior Senior High School 8/9 Destination Imagination 10 August Calendar Insert 11 Surrogate Parents Wanted 12

2 From the Desk of the Superintendent (cont.) Along the top horizontal, you will find each fiscal year (FY). Beginning with FY 10, this is a projection based upon our current level of expenditures and revenues. Specifically, Line is a total of our current revenues, in other words, money coming into the district. About 40% of our revenues come from you and the other 60% comes from the state. Line is a total of our expenditures or how much we are spending. When I subtract Line from Line 1.070, the result is Line 6.010, which shows if we are over spending or deficit spending. In fact, if you follow Line for FY 09, you will see that last year Northwestern deficit spent $700,944. Therefore, we made cuts in personnel and in other areas. This has allowed us to considerably reduce deficit spending. In FY 10 the deficit spending was trimmed down by almost $500,000! Although the community supported the earned income tax levy last November, we did not spend the community s dollars on bringing back those reductions. The following continue to be eliminated as a measure to reduce spending: Assistant Superintendent, Technology Director, Industrial Technology Teacher, Department Chairs, Study Skills Teacher, and Yearbook, Newspaper, and 9 th and 10 th Grade Advisors. Line shows the ending cash balance. This is like a person s savings account. To operate Northwestern for 60 days takes about 2.4 million dollars. Approximately 81% of funds are spent on personnel like teachers, aides, bus drivers, administrators, and custodians. If you look at FY 10, you will see a balance of $2,636,651 in Northwestern s savings account. The problem with our fiscal situation is when you look ahead to the next few years, especially if the renewal levies are not supported. If the Renewal Levies are not supported, the ending cash balance on Line drops to $742,249 in FY 12 and has a negative balance of $2,217,257 in FY 13. Page 2 Northwestern cannot operate with a deficit balance. The state will come in and cut whatever has not already been reduced when they feel we do not have the funds to meet our obligations. This is not meant to be a threat. It is simply the unfortunate truth. Finally, there is good news for the community if the renewal levies continue. Line is an adjusted cash balance, which includes the projections that add in the passage of the emergency renewal levies (substitute renewal levies). You will see that on Line there is a balance of $1,822,505 in FY 12 if the emergency renewals are again supported by the community. Please do not let the name Emergency Levy and Substitute Levy mislead you. These are the names the state created. We are simply combining the renewal Emergency Levies into a Substitute Levy so that we do not have to ask you to go to the polls as often. Even with the new name, the same amount of money as originally approved on both levies is all that will be collected. The Substitute Levy is a renewal, and it will NOT increase your taxes. Since 1980 and 1992 the community has renewed its support of these operating levies. The failure to pass the upcoming renewals places Northwestern in jeopardy. If the community supports the renewal levy August 3, we still have to be good stewards of the community s money. Line shows a negative balance in FY 14 even with the community support of the renewals. So, what are we going to do about this? First, we will continue to find ways to reduce costs before the new buildings are built. Secondly, the declining balance occurs during the same time as the consolidation of our three buildings into two. This will allow for a reduction of personnel costs as we move to fewer buildings. The one prediction that I cannot determine at this time involves future reduction in state funding. Your Board of Education, the treasurer, and I will continue to find ways to make your money last in these economic times.

3 FAQs for Northwestern Schools August 3 Substitute Renewal Levy Page 3 What is the Community Being Asked to Support? On August 3, the community is being asked to approve a Substitute Renewal Levy that combines two existing emergency levies. The levies have been supported by the community since 1980 and This is NOT a tax increase. How is the Substitute Renewal Levy Used? Funds from the current Emergency Levies provide approximately 12% of the operating budget. These funds are used to provide teachers, staff, instructional materials, transportation, utilities, and other operating costs for students. Your support of the Substitute Levy will continue providing for these needs. We Just Supported an Earned Income Tax. Why Does the School Need a Renewal Levy? Prior to the community supporting the earned income tax, the district had not received a new levy for operations in 17 years. The district was running out of money. The earned income tax will provide approximately $1.7 million dollars. If the community does not support the renewals, which are not a tax increase, then the district is right back where it was and will again run out of money. Why is the District combining the Two Emergency Levies into a Substitute renewal Levy? Each time the district places a levy on the ballot, it spends community tax dollars to do so. By combining the renewals, it would mean going back to the community less times at the ballot. Therefore, the election costs will decrease. How has the District Reduced Its Budget? The Board made staff and program reductions prior to November The following cuts have not been reinstated even after the community supported the schools in November 2009: Assistant Superintendent Department Chairs Director of Technology Industrial Technology Teacher Advisors: Yearbook, Newspaper, Special Wish, 9 th and 10 th Grade Class Advisors What Will Happen if the Substitute Renewal Levy Fails in August? The following cuts will be implemented for the school year: Family Liaison High School Librarian High School Choir Director Reduction in High School Foreign Language In-School Suspension Reduce Athletic Director by ½ Elementary Custodian Middle School Gifted Teacher Elementary Music Teacher Elementary Physical Education Teacher Senior Class Advisor Weight Room Supervisor Middle School Student Council Advisor Middle School/Freshmen/Junior Varsity Athletics

4 Page 4 Should the levy fail, the Board would place the renewal on the ballot in November If not approved in November, the district will lose $465,000 of its operating budget, the cuts will remain, and the Board will ask the community to support the renewal of the emergency levy that brings in operational revenue of $1.2 million. Weren t the Emergency Levies to be used for emergencies? Aren t those emergencies over? Both levies are set to bring in a fixed amount of money. The word emergency is set by Ohio law. It is the only name available for these levies. It is easy to say the district was in an emergency situation when the levies were originally approved. If the levies are not renewed the emergency situation will return. The community avoided these emergencies by continuing to renew these levies. Will the substitute renewal levy ever go away? After six years, the community will be asked to renew the levy again. However, until our legislators create a different way to fund schools, the success of a school will depend upon the support of its community. How Are Northwestern Students Performing? Because of your past support, Northwestern Local Schools have received an Excellent rating by the state of Ohio for the last two consecutive years. 80% of our graduating seniors from the Class of 2010 plan to continue their education % will attend four-year colleges 27% will attend two-year colleges 6.5% will attend trade schools 8.4 % are planning on entering the military 34 of the 155 graduates have earned college scholarship money in excess of $940,000! 18 graduates have earned a 3.7 GPA and will receive highest honors 23 additional graduates have earned an honors diploma District Seeks to Reduce Tax Collections on Bond Great News! It appears that the Board of Education has been successful in its attempt to reduce the amount of taxes that the community approved to build new facilities. Working together with the treasurer and superintendent, the Board moved forward with its plan to borrow using Qualified Construction School Bonds (QSCBs). Under a federal program, the district was able to borrow the community s part of the loan amount at a reduced interest rate of 0.32%. This is almost interest free. What does this mean for you? The community voted to support 7.36 mills to build new facilities. The low interest rate offered under the QSCBs will likely reduce tax collection by approximately 1 mill. This means that you will be paying less tax but yet providing state-of-the-art facilities!

5 Penny Pike Page 5 Our Community s New School Buildings! Approximately 40 individuals from the community and schools worked together to come up with a plan for the new schools, which are scheduled to be completed for students for the school year. The Site The committee next focused on where they would recommend placing the new buildings. Although Northwestern owns around 122 acres of land, the committee had to consider the location of swales, the areas where the water drains onto the land. They also placed an emphasis on the traffic flow in and out of the district in its design. Finally, the group wanted to ensure the safety of the students during the building project. If you look at the back of the site to the left, this is the location of the new elementary, which will house grades preschool through 6 th. To the right hand side of the site, you will find the new junior senior high school, which will be for grades New Elementary New Junior/Senior High School State Route 41 As you review the above site location, it is important to note some key improvements to the traffic flow. Although we are awaiting the final decision by the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT), it appears that State Route 41 will be widened! For those traveling from the west to the east, there will be a right turn lane into the district. For cars traveling from the east to the west, drivers will enjoy the ease of a left hand turn lane. Once on the property, loops that allow drivers to more easily drop off and pick up their students have been added throughout the design. Buses will enter the location off of Penny Pike onto Nancy Dutton Drive. There may be an additional entryway for buses off of State Route 41; however, we are awaiting a decision from ODOT. If approved, there will be a bus access point to the west of the main access point listed. This is shown with a dashed set of lines. The two new buildings will be situated to the back of the property. There were several factors that went into this decision. The main reason was the overall topography of the land. While the committee considered placing a building to the front of the property behind the current elementary, this would have required moving the current sewer, electrical, gas, and water lines. The back of the property is 8 to 10 feet higher than the land nearest State Route 41. This creates drainage problems.

6 Page 6 Additionally, because of the difference in the topography of the land, a great deal of earth would have had to be moved to make up the height difference. This would have meant a costly investment. It made the most sense to apply these funds to more directly enhance the buildings. Athletic Fields We were able to leave the current baseball field and football field untouched. Regrettably, we were not able to save the current competition softball field, a field designed and built by many dedicated community members. However, each new building will include two athletic fields. One appears as a soccer field, and the other appears as a softball field. The Board of Education is committed to dedicating and enhancing one of the new softball fields, making it competition ready. Our goal is to provide our softball players and community with a softball field equal to what they now enjoy. Additionally, we have added other fields that will be available to the community at no additional cost. The land will be graded in such a manner that it can be used for future events. Two fields toward the back of the new junior senior high school will be used for marching band and football practice. The New Elementary School Approximately 900 students will attend the new elementary building beginning in the fall of The building will include two-story classroom wings, up-to-date security features and technology, and plenty of daylight. Students will travel wide, brightly lit corridors that lead throughout the building in an understandable way. Classrooms will include individual storage areas for students belongings and modern technology that engages the students, preparing them for the future.

7 Page 7 Kitchen Gymnasium Stage Classrooms Art Music Rooms Dining Media Center Administrative Offices Elementary 1st Floor Main Entrance Classrooms Elevator Elementary 2nd Floor

8 Page 8 The New Junior Senior High School Approximately 835 students will attend the new Junior Senior High School. Like the elementary, the building will include two-story classroom wings, state-of-the-art security, modern technology, and plenty of daylight. Although two individual wings will allow the students in grades 9-12 to be separate from the students in 7th and 8th grades, the junior high students will have an opportunity to take advanced classes in the high school wing. Classroom wings on each building are expandable in the event population increases substantially. The two story designs of the 7-12 building and elementary will allow the community to reduce heating costs, and the design allows all classrooms to benefit from natural light. The simplicity of the corridors will allow students, staff, and parents to easily maneuver their way through the buildings. Gymnasium space is ample, and when combined with the student dining area, will allow for community gatherings. Students, staff, and community will also enjoy the benefits of the modern weight lifting room, located to the west end of the building. The media centers from each building will face each other in a quad-like design. From the media center, the students will overlook a beautifully landscaped area, where natural light and open space add to their educational enjoyment. The art rooms at the Junior Senior High share a common kiln and storage. This compact design places an emphasis on efficiency. Similarly, the music rooms, situated behind the stage, will allow student performers to wheel out instruments and equipment easily onto the stage for performances.

9 Page 9 Junior Senior High 1st Floor Music Kitchen Vocational Agriculture Gymnasiums Stage Dining Media Center Weight Room/ Athletic Room 9-12 Classroom Wing Art Locker Room 7-8 Classroom Wing Main Entrance Administrative Offices Junior Senior High 2nd Floor 9-12 Classroom Wing 7-8 Classroom Wing

10 Destination Imagination Team Goes Global! Congratulations to our Destination Imagination Team for competing in a global competition. Destination Imagination is a creative problem solving organization for youth and adults. Destination Imagination's educational goals are to foster creative and critical thinking, to develop teamwork, collaboration and leadership skills, and to nurture research and inquiry skills involving both creative exploration and attention to detail. Students Jenna Demeter, Jason Demeter, Ashley Highfield, Brandon Riegel, Cassie Riley, Levi Salyers, and team manager Phil Riley took first place in the regional competition and went on to the State Tournament. There they won 2nd place out of 11 teams, which gave Northwestern s Destination Imagination Team the opportunity to represent the State of Ohio in the Global Finals. The students then traveled to Knoxville, Tennessee to compete in Northwestern s first ever global competition! Our students excelled in the Deposit Challenge, placing 16th out of 61 teams. There were different challenges that the students could elect to solve and present a solution. The team chose Direct Deposit, which involved delivering objects over a wall to designated targets using a machine they built. They also had to write and present a skit demonstrating a decision process with consequences that went along with the machine. Knowing that the students competed against others from around the world is truly exciting. We are proud of their efforts and accomplishment. Congratulations! Cost Savings Calendar! In an effort to reduce costs, the district will be including up-to-date calendar inserts in each newsletter in lieu of a separate mailing. Hopefully, you will find the calendar useful as you stay involved in all of the great Warrior activities and school events. If you wish to make suggestions for future items added to the calendar, please Mr. Orr at [email protected] or call

11 NORTHWESTERN LOCAL SCHOOLS August 2010 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday 1 2 Mandatory Practice for Fall Sports MS/HS Football Golf 3 Remember To Vote Band Camp 9-4 p.m. Mandatory Practice for Fall Sports Volleyball Soccer W-Tennis Cross Country 3 rd Grade Reading Intervention 8:30 a.m. 11:30 a.m Band Camp 10:00 a.m. 4:00 p.m. 3 rd Grade Reading Intervention 8:30 a.m. 11:30 a.m Band Camp 10-4 p.m. Freshman Orientation 7p.m. 17 Band Camp 10-4 p.m. Mandatory Band Booster Mtg. 6p.m. Fall Sports Player Mtg. 7p.m. Upper Classman Schedule Pickup 9-1p.m. 5th Grade Orientation 6-7p.m. 18 Band Camp 10-4 Fall Athletic Pictures 1p.m. Upper Classman Schedule Pick Up 9-1 p.m. Kindergarten Orientation 9:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m. 19 Band Camp 5-8 Open House-Gr :30-7:30 p.m. Elementary Open House 5:30 p.m. 6:30 p.m First Day of School 24 Back to School Night-Grade 6, 6-7 p.m

12 Surrogate Parents Wanted Students placed in foster care within the district who receive special education services are required by the Ohio Department of Education to be assigned surrogate parents. A surrogate parent is an individual who represents a child with a disability in all matters related to qualifying for special education services and receiving special education services. Surrogate parents play an integral role in a child s education, and their time volunteered is valued. Training will be provided this fall for individuals interested in serving as surrogate parents. Please contact Chrissy Miller at for more information. A special thank you to Box King for donating the multiple colors in this special edition newsletter. Box King is a proud supporter of Northwestern Local Schools. Northwestern Local Schools complies with all federal rules and regulations and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, or handicap. Federal funds for programs that assist students are received annually. Our District Management Plan for Asbestos is on file in the district office and available for public viewing. If you have any questions about any of these rules, regulations, or programs, please contact the Superintendent of Schools at This annual report is published and distributed in accordance with Section of the Ohio Revised Code. Federal law requires us to inform the public regarding our grievance procedures for handling Title VI, Title IX, Section 504, and Americans with Disabilities Act concerns. Parents also have the right to examine their student s records at any time and request correction of any errors. Parents also have the right to examine any of the instructional materials that are used with their students. Parents requesting to view instructional material should contact the building principal. Complete copies of all of the Board of Education Policies and Administrative Guidelines are available in the building offices for inspection. Northwestern Local Schools 5610 Troy Road Springfield, OH Non-Profit U.S. Postage Paid #3 New Carlisle, OH POSTAL CUSTOMER CARRIER ROUTE W.S.