On January 15, 2010, the Indiana State Board of Education sent the information below to superintendents, school board members, principals, and Indiana educators regarding the lowering of funding of state tuition support. For Wawasee Community School Corporation, this cut is in the amount of over one million dollars. The final amount is yet to be determined as Wawasee has not received final information from the state.
"On January 8, 2010, the State Board of Education formally adopted the attached Citizens’ Checklist to be utilized by local school communities as they move to make adjustments to respond to lower state tuition support funding as a result of the State’s declining revenues.
"The Citizens’ Checklist outlines a series of adjustments that all stakeholders in K-12 education should consider, discuss and implement in order to avoid or minimize any reduction in teaching staff that affects classroom instruction and learning.
"The checklist itemizes 22 adjustments and considerations in four broad categories that include monetary adjustments, program adjustments, adjustments that reduce the cost of staff without affecting instruction, and community reporting and accountability. Conversations at the local level should include participation of school board members, the district’s leadership team, teachers’ association, and the community.
"By distributing the Citizens’ Checklist throughout the local community, it is the intent of the State Board and Department of Education to stimulate meaningful and transparent dialogue that will be held in an open forum so that positive action can be taken and obstructions to solutions can be identified and addressed. Conducting open forums will allow local communities to find adjustments that do not affect student learning.
"The State Board and Department intend that the Citizens’ Checklist be a resource tool that all local school communities incorporate in the decision making process and that all local media use to track and inform the public of decisions, actions and impacts.
"It is understood that school boards, the district’s leadership team and teacher associations will retain the flexibility and autonomy to make monetary, programmatic, administrative and other decisions based on the district’s and school’s fiscal position but in the best interest of its students."
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3 comments:
Political Ploy. They are not interested in education as much as they are in advancing their agenda. Watch who will vie for the Republican nomination for governor when old Mitch finishes this term. Bennett was such a bad superintendent that he bought out within the first 6 months of his last job. At some point school boards are going to have to stand up and declare their statutory rights that exists in the state Constitution and Indiana Civil Code
Political ploy is right. If you look at the checklist and select any option that supports your local school or teachers it makes you look narrow minded and part of the problem and not part of the solution to school budget issues. Mitch and Tony are not honest people.
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Alena
http://grantsforeducation.info
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