K-12 is one of the most contentious budgets because it would cut $218 in funding for every district for every student they teach. In Grand Rapids Public Schools, the cut would exceed $4 million. Kalamazoo and Forest Hills would see cuts over $2 million and Portage and Kentwood would each see a roughly $2 million cut.

The K-12 budget bill was put up for a vote in the House this afternoon but it didn’t have the votes to pass.

Which brings us back to the talk in the Senate.

Having no K-12 budget could be feasible, people on the Republican side of the Senate are saying, because state payments to schools aren’t due until later in October. The state would have several weeks, in theory, to figure out a school budget and how to fund it.

But a spokeswoman for House Democrats said the idea wasn’t really part of the plan in her chamber.

We’ll keep our eye on it.

–Tony

During remarks at his last meeting as a board member, Allen said union leaders, including President Paul Helder, did not bring a potential contract agreement to member teachers in February.  District teachers just finished their second school year without a contract.

“Imagine that: seven people deciding the fate of over 1,700.  That does not sound like a democracy, it sounds like a dictatorship, ironically one of the things of which [the union] accuses (Superintendent) Dr. Taylor,” said Allen, a one-time board president. He said the union’s tactics have mirrored a 2003 warning presented by a staffer at Michigan Association of School Boards

Allen, who has served since 2002, also discussed what he saw as successes during his tenure: the passage of a school bond, making needed building and program cuts, more schools meeting state and federal standards and looming high school reforms.

In an interview after the meeting, Helder told 24 Hour News 8 Allen is entitled to his opinion.  But he said there never was a tentative agreement he could have presented to his membership.  And the union president said he would literally be willing to be locked in a room with negotiators until a contract is settled.

“We’re offering right now again: go into a building, chain the doors — we’ll get flat food, you can slide it under the door,” Helder said.  “And we’d like Dr. Taylor there as well.”

Also Monday night, the board approved pink slips for 141 teachers.

The district typically recalls most of the teachers who receive the slips, although because of lower than expected retirements and the elimination of 95 full-time positions, that may not be the case this year.

Those 95 positions will be cut through not replacing retirees, moving some teachers from full- to part-time and laying off some teachers.  Helder said he expects roughly 30 retirements this year.
Also Monday night, Superintendent Bernard Taylor offered a moment of silence for two members of the school community who lost their lives recently, including Nathaniel Jones, who was shot Thursday afternoon near Fuller Avenue and Kalamazoo Street SE.

GRPS has announced LEED certification, a nationwide environmental designation, for Gerald Ford Middle School. It’s the third district building to receive the honor.  A fourth has applied for it.

The board also approved the lease of Park School, 1150 Adams Street SE, to Michigan Family Resources/Head Start.

Keep it here for the latest.

–Tony

The district celebrated the honor with a ceremony Monday morning.

Six Michigan schools applied for the designation.  The honor is given to those schools that meet extensive criteria — including “academic excellence, developmental responsiveness, social equity and organizational structure” — developed by the group.

Bottom line, state coordinator Steve Hoelscher told 24 Hour News 8, is those surveying the schools are looking for models of middle school education.

“Is this a place where I would want my child to attend?” Hoelscher said.  He said the winning schools should be places any teacher from around the country could visit to see an example of best practices in education.

GRPS board meeting, May 4, 2009.

A team of Grand Rapids Public Schools students took top honors in nationwide math and language competitions at the National Academic Games tournament in Tennessee.

GRPS’ “senior team” — Kierstdea Furey, Theodore Petzold, Terrance Carrothers, David Casaletto and Michael Myckowiak — took first place in “equations” and “linguishtik” at the competition, held in April in Knoxville, Tenn. and billed as the largest such tournament in the country.  Myckowiak and Petzold earned perfect scores in the two competitions.  Furey earned a perfect score for “linguishtik.”

 The district’s junior team took third place in “equations” and the elementary team took third in “on-sets” and fourth in “linguishtik.”

Two from the elementary team — Jack Culp and Adrian Bonilla — earned perfect scores in “equations.”

The students were honored at Monday’s GRPS board meeting.

Thomas Ankenbauer, of Portage, and the teacher he deemed to be “most influential,” Christopher Adrian, of Kalamazoo, will travel to Washington to be honored in late June.

“Every year for nearly half a century we’ve been honoring America’s best and brightest students and every year they continue to make outstanding contributions to society while reaching milestones in their academic pursuits,” Education Secretary Arne Duncan said in a statement. “This year’s ‘Presidential Scholars’ continue that trend.  They are shining examples of excellence in academics and in the arts and are role models that all students should emulate.”

Two students from each state are selected for the honor.  Michigan’s other winner this year is Aparana Anathasubramaniam, of Troy.  Andrea Jarrett of Saline was selected as one of 20 in the U.S. named scholars in the arts.

The students are selected based upon their “academic success, artistic excellence, essays, school evaluations and transcripts, as well as evidence of community service, leadership and demonstrated commitment to high ideals.”

A 29 -member Commission on Presidential Scholars, appointed by the president, makes the determination.

Thomas Ankenbauer

Here are the “budget parameters” set forth by the administration in no particular order.  The board voted unanimously to adopt them:

- Schools that have fewer than 200 full-time students as of the fall count or are at or below 85 percent of capacity would be under consideration for closing or consolidation in the fall of 2010  (Full story here.)

- Elementary class sizes shall remain between 22 and 30, with kindergarten through third grade at the lower end of the range
 
- Reductions at the elementary level should be minimized as much as possible

- Secondary school class sizes should be between 25 and 35 (some electives such as band could be higher)

- Class sizes may be higher when technology is used to deliver instruction

- Elective classes at secondary level not retained unless 25 students or more are enrolled

- Staffing will be driven by student needs

- Increase use of technology

- Minimize the use of fund balanace to meet recurring expenses

- No increase in number of administrators

- Efforts to reduce cost of health insurance

***

GRPS CFO Lisa Freiburger says the decline in student enrollment from the fall count to the winter count appears to be weighted toward the secondary schools, which was not unexpected.  As we reported last week, the student drop from count to count this year was about half of what it was last year.

***

Tonight’s board packet includes the list of board candidates who will appear on the May ballot.  Former board President David Allen announced earlier that he would not seek re-election.  Board Secretary Arnie Smithalexander is running for re-election and Senita Lenear, who was appointed to fill the seat vacated by Jim Rinck but lost her bid to keep that seat in last May’s election, is also running.  Tony Baker, who beat Lenear, is running for re-election.  Three seats are open.  The candidates are:

Tony Baker
Wendy VerHage Falb
Senita Lenear
Arnie Smithalexander
Kevin Weiss

- The theme schools are sixth-grade programs — now connected to City Middle/High School — at Blandford Nature Center (now City @ Blandford), the John Ball Zoo (City @ Zoo) and the Center for Economicology (City @ Riverside).  Applications are due March 2.

- The Central High School campus has a School of Health Science and Technology, partnered with Spectrum Health and others.  Union hosts the Academy for Design and Construction, featuring a new public-private partnership with area construction companies such as Christman and Rockford.  GRAPCEP/Engineering and Biomedical School is now open to ninth-graders at the Creston campus.  Ninth-graders are also now welcome at the School of Business at both Ottawa Hills and Creston.  Applications are due Feb. 5.

- GRUPA is now accepting sixth- through eighth-grade students.  Applications for the GPRS school, modeled after a charter program in Detroit, are due March 2.

- City Middle/High School offers a college preparatory curriculum.  The district often notes the high school is the region’s top-performing school on state standardized tests.  City Middle/High is in the process of finalizing its use of the rigorous International Baccalaureate curriculum.  Applications for City Middle/High School are due Jan. 31.

The open houses feature information on all the specialty programs for all grades, but are split between the high schools and the City building.

Here are the dates and times, per GRPS:

9 – 12 Grade School Choice Open Houses
Tuesday, January 13 from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm @ Creston High School
Wednesday, January 14 from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm @ Union High School
Wednesday, January 21, from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm @ Ottawa Hills High School                                               
Thursday, January 22, from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm @ Central High Campus / Montessori Building

6 – 8 Grade School Choice Open House
Saturday, January 31 from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm @ City High/Middle School

The Cesar E. Chavez Scholarship, announced Tuesday by the Southwest Michigan Cesar E. Chavez Committee, will be available to high school seniors or graduates who are enrolled or are planning to enroll full-time for the 2009-2010 school year.

Applicants must demonstrate financial need and have maintained a cumulative 3.0 GPA (on a 4.0 scale).

Mike Ramirez, Chavez committee chair and assistant director of the Division of Multicultural Affairs at Western Michigan University, told 24 Hour News 8 the committee raised the money for the scholarship at banquets over the course of two years.

The scholarship is set to be awarded at at the committee’s March 28 dinner.

“As part of the application, students will be required to write an essay describing their experiences, activities and leadership roles, as well as any challenges or obstacles they have had to overcome. The scholarship is not renewable, however former recipients may apply in succeeding years,” Ramirez said in a statement.

Applications have to be postmarked by Feb. 16 and sent to:

Southwest Michigan Cesar E. Chavez Committee
P.O. Box 50989
Kalamazoo, MI 49005