Start a Positive Chain Reaction!

If you have done so yet, mark your calendars for Sept. 7, 7:00 p.m., high school gym. Rachel’s Challenge is a program you don’t want to miss. Out of the tragedy at Columbine High School in 1999, comes the powerful message of Rachel Scott’s mission in life. We need Rachel’s wisdom and outlook each and everyday. To see more about this program, you can visit http://www.rachelschallenge.org/.

Just the Facts Please

Important decisions are just around the corner for OABCIG. Thank you so much to each of you who has made the effort to contact me directly when you’ve heard something that concerned you. Remember the game of “telephone?” It’s always best to check the facts directly. We all should be well informed when we place our vote on September 13.

SchoolReach

Instant access to information is important to all of us. We will again be using the SchoolReach system to provide instant information about school closures or other items of interest.

Communication and Being Involved

Communication

Increasing communication is always a goal. Several of our staff members are beginning to use Twitter as a way to expand their access to educational ideas and materials. If you use this great tool, you can join some of those conversations at #oabcig.

A Way to Be Involved

Now that school board elections occur only once every two years, our opportunities to vote have decreased. Please remember to be involved in this important process on September 13. This is a great opportunity to have a voice in the future of both districts. Four board elector seats are on the ballot in each district.

Also on the ballot will be the important question of whether or not our two districts should become formally reorganized into one district. If you have any questions about the differences between our current whole grade sharing agreement and reorganization, please call any of our attendance centers. We would be glad to visit with you.

Annual Report to our Community

Each fall, school districts across Iowa report the achievement of their students to our communities in an Annual Progress Report (APR). The OA & BCIG APR will be posted at www.oabcig.org.

Bus Safety

Each year everyone who drives a school bus is required to attend a training session to get reminders and updates, especially regarding safety. Please join us in this effort to promote safety by talking with your student about the importance of following bus rules ~ especially the importance of staying in their seat while the bus is in motion. Safety is our top priority.

Here We Go!

Welcome back OABCIG! Practices are in full swing and school starts next Wednesday. I hope you have marked your calendars for Open Houses next Monday and Tuesday.

Monday            4:30-6:00            BCIG Intermediate

Monday            6:00-7:30            High School

Tuesday            4:30-6:00            BCIG Elementary

Tuesday            6:00-7:30            OA Elementary & Middle School

Also, just a reminder that we will be dismissing at 2:30 on Wednesday.

Our maintenance and custodial staff have been very hard at work. If you get a chance, please thank them for all that they do in such a short amount of time. In addition to the general maintenance that they accomplish each summer, several larger projects are nearing completion, such as updates to the high school science lab, fresh paint in the high school hallways, updates to the locker rooms, and painting/new seating at the stadium.

It is also my pleasure to share with you the following staffing additions for the coming year:

Megan Parker          High School Math Teacher

Travis Chizek           High School Math Teacher

Kara Smith               OA 1^st Grade Teacher

Neil Anders              Middle School Instrumental Music Teacher

Ashley Becker          BCIG PreSchool Teacher

Julie Cook                 BCIG Title I Teacher

Andrea Neilsen         High School Family & Consumer Science

Barbara Rohlk           BCIG INT Library Aide

It is very important to us that you let us know if you have any questions, especially during the first few days. Please do not hesitate to contact any building office.

Resolution of Support

Last Monday night, the OA and BCIG School Boards each passed a “Resolution Urging Approval” as a way to show their official support for the OABCIG reorganization. The resolutions stated that after careful study of the matter, each board has found that it would be in the best interest of the taxpayers, parents, and students of both districts to reorganize. The question of reorganization will appear on the September 13 ballot.

Getting to the Good Stuff

There are so many areas that need to be addressed in schools – budgets, facilities, schedules, activities, bussing, maintenance – and they are all very important. But did you notice what I left out? We focus on the things we can see. We have opinions on what we believe things should look like and how they should run. There’s nothing wrong with that. But sometimes we let these things overshadow our purpose.

I have asked the school boards to engage in some hard work in the coming months. While Iowa has much to be proud of historically in the area of education, it’s time to engage in real conversations about the future. Our student achievement is not necessarily slipping, our students are not achieving more poorly than in the past, it’s just that others in the U.S. and around the world are accelerating and achieving at higher levels while we stay the same. And it’s not just Iowa that needs to be studying this trend, it’s right here at OABCIG.

These conversations and changes certainly don’t happen overnight, but they have to happen. In the coming months, you will see our school boards engaging in these conversations through work sessions and the involvement of our CACs. And as the school year begins, we’ll be taking on these challenging conversations with our staff as well. It’s a matter of prioritizing what we believe students need to be learning. What skills will serve them best in a world that has changed while we stayed relatively the same?

I would highly encourage you to visit http://www.iowafuture.org/ for a glimpse into these conversations. At the very least, please check out this short video.

 

 

Taxes – Rights & Responsibilities

There’s no doubt that we all care a great deal about our tax dollars. When it comes to school expenses, it can be a bit confusing – property tax, income surtax, sales tax. As taxpayers, we have a right to know how tax dollars are spent, but we also have a responsibility to do our best to understand the differences.

There are a lot of catch phrases for sales tax revenue – SILO, LOST, statewide penny, one cent sales tax, or SAVE (which is the correct current title) – that all refer to the additional penny that we all pay, statewide, when we shop. This money is collected at the state level and now distributed equally on a per student basis. This hasn’t always been the case. It wasn’t long ago that the penny stayed in the county in which we spent it. And to some degree, we’re not quite to equal distribution by student across the state due to language in the law when it was passed, but we will be soon.

What this means is that we are now very fortunate in each and every school district to receive a portion of this sales tax based upon our student enrollment.

Here are three common questions that I get.

What happens to this money at the point of reorganization? Well really nothing. We have to remember that it is based upon student population. So, to use an example, if O-A received $200,000 per year prior to reorganization, and BCIG received $400,000 per year prior to reorganization, then OABCIG would receive $600,000 per year as a reorganized district.

How much do bigger projects cost me as a taxpayer? The penny sales tax has been an outstanding way for us to make much needed improvements to school buildings. For many years, schools just couldn’t take on larger projects without asking for more money through a voted bond issue (called general obligation bonds). The reality is that no matter what, you and I are going to pay the penny whenever we shop and wherever we shop in the state. So when schools do larger projects now – like the science addition in Odebolt, or the science/office area in Ida Grove, or the possible Media Center addition in Ida Grove – we don’t place an additional burden on anyone. Yes, it is our sales tax at work, but we don’t get asked to pay more taxes – not more property tax, not more income surtax, not more sales tax.

Why do we need these updates? We do our best to take good care of the buildings we have. There are always roofs to be repaired and upkeep to be done. But time marches on and modernization is needed. The way we use school facilities changes. We want to provide the learning environment that best serves our students and in the way that best prepares them for the world beyond school. To do this, we have to be willing to consider progress.

O-A Board Vacancy & An Update on Geothermal Units

O-A Board Vacancy

Every once in awhile, schools experience a vacancy on the Board of Directors. Such is the case for the Odebolt-Arthur District right now. After five years of dedicated service, Director Scott Cranston will be leaving the O-A Board. Because Scott and his family recently moved, he is no longer an eligible board member.

The current board has the option of appointing a new board member to fill the position until the next school board election, which is September 13, 2011. The board will give final consideration to this option at a Special Meeting on July 28.

Geothermal Project at O-A

From time to time I get asked how we like the geothermal units that have been installed in the Odebolt building. They work wonderful! Not only do they operate at a cost savings to the general fund, but they provide a great deal of control for heating and cooling in comparison to the boiler system. We estimate that we are just short of 50% conversion for the building. We also have geothermal units in the high school in Ida Grove. And just a bit of trivia, you might be interested to know that the building in Odebolt is the largest building in square footage that is operated by either the O-A or BCIG Districts.

The second question that I get is – why have we stopped the project in the Odebolt building? We haven’t! Projects like this are a huge expense. After beginning the first few stages, we learned of a grant opportunity through the USDA Rural Development Community Facilities Project. We have the potential to be awarded up to 35% of the project cost if awarded this grant. Over the course of the remaining phases, this could amount to about $170,000. Our application has been submitted. If it turns out that we are not fortunate enough to be awarded the grant, we will begin working on the remaining three phases.

Can I get you a cup of coffee?

The AEA Boards concluded the public hearing this week by determining that the petition for reorganization between O-A and BCIG is in order and that the question will be on the ballot at the September 13 election.

I would love the chance to visit with you about the differences between whole grade sharing and reorganization. If you are interested in visiting informally in the near future, maybe over a cup of coffee or a lunch gathering that you regularly attend, please give me a call at either central office or email me at dtrimble@oabcig.org. I would welcome the chance to talk to you and your family or friends, or even larger groups that meet on a regular basis.

The most common question right now

What will the school board look like when reorganization happens? This is a very important question, which I think means that we are all wondering how we will be represented fairly within a new district. We are fortunate that the Iowa Code gives clear guidance on what our options are and how director districts are formed.

The reorganization petition states: That the number of directors shall eventually be seven and that they be selected and elected pursuant to Section 275.41 and Section 275.12 (2) (c), Code of Iowa with six members being residents of six single-member director districts and one member elected at large, all voted on by electors of the entire school district.

The purpose of this system is to use equal population distribution (total population divided by 6) to determine how we are represented.

Also from Iowa Code Section 275.12 (3): If the petition proposes the division of the school district into director districts, the boundaries of the proposed director districts shall not be drawn until the question is approved by the voters.

I think this is really the question that you might be asking right now – when can we see our director districts? The answer, from Iowa Code, is that we won’t know until after a new district is formed.