Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Pairing the current year's tasks with the following year’s budget is an art of balancing. As stated by school Superintendent Jill Louters, the theme of the May 13 New Rockford-Sheyenne school board meeting can be adequately summed up as, “We have one hand in year-end celebrations and one foot in next year planning.”
The preliminary budget for the 2019-20 academic year was presented by Louters and Business Manager Janet Heskin, who stated that it aligns with the school’s strategic plan with special emphasis on class size for the primary elementary grades.
Student enrollment in the primary grades has increased in recent years and shows no indication of slowing down. The projected enrollment for the 2019-20 kindergarten class is currently at 38 students.
In December, the board approved adding one additional FTE (or full-time equivalent) temporarily to contend with the large size and diverse needs of the first grade class. Elementary Principal Natalie Becker reported that the overall success of those students’ academic progress as well as the improvement in their social-emotional wellbeing are well-documented and support maintaining the position.
Preschool numbers are up as well, as 36 students are already enrolled for 2019-20. The fifth and sixth grade classes will transition to a middle school model in which students will be split into core classes among four teachers. A meeting will be held to familiarize students and parents with the new middle school model will be held today, Monday, May 20 at 6 p.m. in the school cafeteria.
Despite the upward trend in enrollment, the preliminary budget still requires $125,000 worth of adjustments before it will be balanced. The budget includes an increased payment for substitute teachers from the current $120 per day to $150 a day in order to be more competitive with surrounding schools. The cost of insurance premiums for employees has increased as well, by 17 percent.
Potential strategies for balancing the budget include reconsidering technology needs based on current product longevity and usage.
Another area administration will consider adjustments in order to balance the budget is how the staffing and services provided by the East Central Center for Exceptional Children align with student needs. One possibility is to reduce the services by one FTE. This would bring the average caseload per case worker from nine to 18 students. Note, this number is not reflective of class size, but instead the number of students for which the case worker would complete and monitor the Individualized Education Program (or IEP).
Also in regards to services provided by East Central, speech therapist Vikki Cartwright has announced her retirement. While there are plans to advertise for a replacement, options for speech teletherapy are also under consideration.
There are still several months to implement innovative initiatives that balance the budget. However, Louters reminded the board that currently the school is receiving just over six “miscellaneous” mills, but can levy up to 12. In the past the board has opted to only levy miscellaneous mills for specific projects and/or capital needs.
The last day of school is May 24, and there are plenty of ongoing tasks and upcoming events. Elementary principal Natalie Becker reported on the status of K-5 summer school. She described it as skill based program for math and language that strives to help students maintain and improve their skills for the upcoming year. Currently 23 students are enrolled. Summer school classes will begin Monday, June 3.
Secondary Principal Avolt Baumbach has been busy building the fall schedule for spring registration. The 2019-20 year will offer flex-mod scheduling, a design that many staff and several students have seen in recent visits to Oakes Public School.
After two years of development, and only one year of implementation, the school’s grading policy will be under review again after concerns were brought forth by the parent of a graduating senior. The policy was developed by a committee with the original motivation that music and physical education courses count towards a student’s grade point average (GPA) and to give additional weight to calculus and other dual-credit courses via a 5.0 scale due to the rigorous academic requirements of such courses. However, such a policy may have unintended consequences when determining students’ class rank at graduation.
David Holzwarth made a motion to develop another committee to review three policies: GCAB (Five point scale), GCBA (grading) and GACCA (dual credit courses.) The board agreed that the committee should contain representation from the school board, school faculty, parents and students. Louters will send out letters to students and parents requesting their participation.
