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Citizen’s Report: Collierville School Board work session April 26, 2016

Apr 26

Posted by E2Dutch in Reality Check, School Board Meeting Notes | Comments off

Quorum: Vaughan, Cox, Chism. Messerly will arrive late due to her daughter’s Collierville High Lacrosse game.

Sparse attendance from the public.

Moved budget discussion to end of agenda to allow Mrs Messerly to join.

March financial statements discussion. Forecast for end of the year is looking positive. Nutrition is operating right at break-even and may end just in the black. This is still from initial start up cost.

Recommendation for Inclement Weather Day – one snow day: recommendation will be to not make up the school day.

Whistleblower protection policy – was previously included. Updated based on auditor recommendation.

Non-resident student attendance policy – update to strike out-of-state attendees. Also removed some redundant language to limit time frame to open enrollment window only, and streamlined the overall language.

Policy on Transfers within the district – streamlined the language and removed redundancies.

Note: coming year new transfers have been severely restricted. Only siblings being considered. Only open schools for transfers this coming year were Bailey Station, Sycamore and Tara Oaks, and have been limited to high priority candidates only in order to ensure optimal attendance. Letters on acceptance/rejection of transfer requests going out this week. Have to remember that the attendance zone has to be honored first. Note: this applies to NEW applications only. Existing students should be able to stay.

(Mrs Messerly joined the meeting)

Policy on medications – streamlining language; now requiring doctor signature.

Update on 5-year capital improvement plan. Shows completed projects from last 2 years, and updated needs for next few years. Includes the CHS build and lots of smaller items. There may be some Shelby County Commission funding (allocation based on student attendance).

Crosswind Elementary Asphalt Resurfacing – will be paid from remainder of funds allocated by county last year (most went to roof at CHS).

Budget presentation notes and highlights:

  • Document subject to some change
  • Received BEP allocation estimate on 4/22 – numbers still shifting some
  • This budget is for year THREE of Collierville Schools
  • Original request was to have three years to get to sustainability
  • This budget invests heavily in technology
  • Governor’s budget improvements are commendable, but should be noted that the funding was aimed at equalizing salaries across the state, and thus Collierville Schools does not see increased funding from this. Collierville Schools’ teacher pay is top 5 in the state. Collierville Schools’ benefits are higher than state averages.
  • Collierville Schools salaries and benefits are competitive against the state and across the county.
  • BEP funding this year reduces the Cost Differential Funding. This was intended to adjust funding where cost of operations is higher in urban areas. That factor was funded at 50% in the past, and was cut to 25% this year, which is costing Collierville Schools in the range of $1M for the coming school year.
  • Collierville is also maintaining higher levels of payments for teacher degrees, etc. The state no longer includes that.
  • Growth in enrollment lags behind funding increases for enrollment.
  • This budget will keep teacher – student ratios low
  • Discussions with town on some additional items to be funded.
  • This budget has small improvements in support of extras at the schools: magazine subscriptions, classroom instruments, etc.
  • General fund: 71,471,852.
  • Projected enrollment: 8,190 (significant growth from first year estimate of 7,500). 125 students increase over last year (conservative estimate)
  • 6 additional classroom positions in regular ed, 4 additions in special education
  • Step increases, 3rd personal day at step 18 and over. 2% bonus for those in step 18/above. Note: step increase equals $500,000 for the year. This is an average of 2% salary increase.
  • 2 additional ESL (state lowered ESL student/teacher ratio) and 2 additional APEX teachers
  • Also adding non-teacher personnel across the system
  • Note: State student/teacher ratio 1:30 in grades 7-12. Collierville is at 1:25. Municipal schools are striving to have this consistent.
  • Alternative Education moving back in-house at CHS.
  • Technology: $1.1M for infrastructure; $1.55M for regular instruction equipment. Must keep in mind the support cost for additional technology.
  • Regular capital outlay items: portables at CHS (“learning cottages”). There will be 6 pods (2 classrooms in one building, including a restroom). The current ones will be removed, and these will be placed in that area.

Special revenue budgets: IDEA, Nutrition, Grants, etc. Stable over previous year.

Budget revision resolution for next meeting to allocate the county capital funding ‘left over’ from roofing allocation to the Crosswind parking lot.

Superintendent Update:

  • TNReady Assessment to start next week. Materials supposed to be received by 4/27, but it is doubtful the materials not yet received will be there (tomorrow).
  • May 2 week is teacher appreciation week. Teachers cannot be appreciated enough – but we’ll do something
  • Ground Breaking 10 am
  • May 5 Hawaiian themed trivia night from Collierville Education Foundation. Mr A has 16 seats up for grabs.
  • Central Office will vacate to Central Church, some will be at Sycamore, some will be at CHS/CES. This will be so the old school building can be prepared for tear down.

Vice chair report: Everyone is under busy schedules, lots of moving parts. TNReady disruptions pushed down by the state are shameful and a challenge to keep adjusting to on a week-to-week basis. Teachers and parents are frustrated and tired. This is going to have an unknown impact on the test results. Need to watch Nashville and send only qualified representatives.

Meeting adjourned.

 

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Citizen’s Report: Collierville Schools Technology Deployment Community Meeting – April 11, 2016

Apr 11

Posted by E2Dutch in Ramble, Reality Check | Comments off

Digital learning community meeting to update the community on the proposed technology rollout. Collierville Middle, April 11, 2016.
Present: 3 school board board members, county commissioner Chism. Lots of school admin and teachers. Some parents.

Collierville Schools just made the presentation available online. The notes below are largely in addition to the content on the screen today.

Dr Dyer did a quick intro
Presentation will be put online tomorrow. Note: This is all dependent on funding. Budget process for 2016-17 school year is currently under way.

Mr Aitken did a brief intro of technology in society.

Sheryl Johnson – education background on technology.
Introduced this George Couros video

Central idea: there is a lot of ugly stuff on the internet; we need to teach kids how to find the good stuff online, and, more importantly, create it!

Mark Hansen (School Board Chairman)
Walked through the process undertaken thus far.
Multiple committees
Involvement from all stakeholder groups

Cindy Tesreau  (Bailey Station principal)
Presented the mission and vision for the technology deployment.

Chip Blanchard (CHS principal)
Presented the timeline so far. Started May 2015. Recommendation to school board April 2016.

Lisa Higgins (Head of technology for Collierville Schools)
Presented the SAMR MODEL

Substitution
Augmentation
Modification
Redefinition

Lots of content will be included with the Apple product. Also a Learning Management System (LMS) to manage content.
New Apple OS has classroom management tools, that allow screen sharing within the classroom, as well as the teacher locking all devices remotely to ensure students pay attention in class.

Aside from new options for stimulation of learning, there are also lots of customizable accessibility and special needs enhancements.

Roger Jones (CMS principal)
Talked about Digital citizenship. Hands on learning throughout the educational experience K-12.
Reference materials from Digitalcitizenship.net

Mike Simpson (Chief Operating Officer of Collierville Schools)
Discussed Measuring Success. Aligned with mission, vision and goals.

Sheryl Johnston
Discussed Community engagement
Make sure the schools are supporting parents in the process

Lisa Higgins and Zach Gilbrech
Infrastructure updates under way.
Switch from coverage to capacity based infrastructure.
Deployment process being developed to ensure smooth roll-out.
Policy updates to ensure everything is covered.
Options being explored to help families without adequate Internet access.

Anita Hayes (Chief Financial Officer)
Financial sustainability
- roll out to teachers first (so they are ready to hit the ground running with their students)
- lease vs own
- text books may not be history, but would reduce text book quantities
- reduce consumable supplies

Mr Aitken, standing in for Mrs Claney -
AdvancED accreditation – only low score was digital learning environment

Walked through digital learning recommendation:

  • iPad purchases for K-12 teachers at all schools Spring 2016
  • Provide in-depth training for teachers throughout the summer and fall of 2016
  • Go 1:1 with iPads for grades 4-7 in January 2017
  • Go 1:1 with iPads for grades 3-8 in fall 2017
  • Go 1:1 with MacBook Pro for grades 9-12 in fall 2018
  • Go 2:1 with iPads in grades K-2 in fall 2019Displaying 2016-04-11 19.11.37.jpg

What will this cost?
Approximately $600k per grade level per year for a 3-year lease.
$2.5M for first step rollout.

Decision to lease made today. Included in budget request for next year.

Dr Dyer to close out the evening.
FAQs will be built and posted online in the very near future.

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Let’s not compromise our values and thereby let the terrorists win…

Nov 17

Posted by E2Dutch in Rant, Reality Check | Comments off

I am not a biblical scholar. I don’t have a list full of bible verses to reference in this matter. But I do know this:

Jesus wants us to love our neighbors. Help the poor. Welcome and befriend strangers.

The most real way we can show a Muslim what it means to be a Christian is to be welcoming to them. This means we help them in their time of need. Whether their reasons for leaving their home country are political, economical or for physical survival… they came for help. And we need to step up and do so.

And as we show what compassion in the name of Christ (and decency) looks like, we are doing exactly what we need to: we’re being defiant to the terrorists. “The greatest act of defiance against terrorism is to refuse to be afraid, to refuse to be so ruled by our fear that we compromise our most important values,” is what Jen Hatmaker puts forth. She also lists a few bible verses if you really want those…

To live is Christ, to die is gain… We really don’t have anything to fear if we believe that.

What matters more is our heart attitude than the migrants’ motivations.

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Citizen’s Report: Collierville Board of Mayor and Aldermen meeting June 8, 2015

Jun 8

Posted by E2Dutch in Reality Check | Comments off

Venturing a little away from the School Board meeting reports… Attended the Collierville BMA meeting June 8, 2015. This meeting included on its agenda the second reading and associated public hearing on the town tax property rate, as well as setting the annual budget.

The meeting was held in front of a packed house tonight. Lots of school staff and other members of the community wearing Collierville Dragon colors.

From 6 till approximately 6:35, the meeting covered regular BMA topics.

Starting at 6:35, Mr Aitken presented the Collierville Schools annual budget to the BMA. He highlighted successes of the school system in the first year, and thanked the BMA for their active support in the past 18 months. In his budget presentation, which only covered the annual operating budget, he pointed attention to certain notable items, including:

  • Collierville Schools Motto starts with Scholarship – that is the primary focus around any changes in budget items for the coming year
  • Total $ is $66.5M. $34.4M from state BEP, $30.4M from county, and $2.3M from Collierville.
  • Coming school year enrollment projection is 8063, which is approximately 150 higher than last year.
  • $500k in budget for capital expenditure: portables for ’16-’17 school year

Alderman Fraser asked how will CS accommodate 150 new enrollment – Mr Aitken: floating teachers (“teacher on a cart”)

Then Mr Lewellen presented the Town budget. Some items of interest:

  • 600 new residents into Collierville in past year. Expecting 50k total population within next 2 years.
  • Property tax revenue increased due to increase in property values.
  • Sales tax revenues increased after a few flat years.
  • Schools local option tax projection for FY2016: Collect  $4,738,187. Spend $2,266,809 which will raise the balance of school-allocated funds to: $4.8M
  • Town health care expenditures are going down due to participation in the same group health plan as the municipal schools. This is resulting in reduced town contribution to the health plan and reduced premiums for town staff.
  • Overall town general fund budget numbers have improved, and will be unaffected by anything done for schools.

As for the tax rate that will be needed to support the bond payments for a new school – there is a challenge to get to exact funds needed determined up front. For example, a 1% increase in interest = 680k increase in annual interest expense.

Note: all Collierville long-term liability finds like retirement and OPEB are fully funded. Principal on current outstanding debts is being paid down ahead of schedule.

Next on the agenda: the public hearing about the tax rate and the mandatory second reading.

Lewellen introduction:

  • 15 cent increase being proposed currently brings the total rate up to 1.68
  • 10 cent increase works out to $25 annually for a $100k home

These 15 cents are going to be designated exclusively for Collierville Schools’ Capital Improvement Plan (which would include a new school facility).

Public comments – limited to 3 minutes per speaker, but speakers can donate time to others. Apologies for messing up anyone’s names… Also tried to capture gist of comments best as I could.

Bart Wilbanks. Had questions about non-residents attending and who pays for that, and confusion about 1500 student new high school option.  (2000+1500 = 3500?!) (EvW note: answers are that (as seen above) the vast majority of funds for schools is not from Collierville but rather the state and the county; and anyone from outside the county pays a fairly significant tuition to attend if they are accepted in. The math of adding a 1500 student high school is that it would reduce the current high school back to a better number and create some space for improved facilities)

Heath Hudspeth. Letter to BMA last night. Describes himself as a very conservative person, has been attending school board meetings. Overcrowding is a huge problem. Collierville residential growth and student growth is great problem to have. Has a lot of facts gained from maintaining interest and serving on long term planning committee, and is convinced one high school is correct answer. Spending $99M today will save us $$ in the future.

Valerie Frazier. Donates her time to John George.

Gregory Frazier. Donates his time to John George.

Diane George. Crossview Lane. Donates time to John George, her husband. (Note: This is the same Diane George who served on the Shelby County School board and who opposed the creation of municipal schools…)

John George has 12 minutes.  Lived there since 1994.

He is hoping his comments will let BMA be spurred to make “best decision.” Is concerned decision is already made. He questions the idea that the right decision has already been reached. Has no vested interest. Says he won’t mind paying higher taxes for best school. He has 2 daughters who are proud graduates of CHS. Will address 3 items. Existing school, proposed school location and alternative options.

Talked about proposed Shelby & Sycamore location – he is a “national” real estate developer by trade. Will need 4 lanes on Shelby Drive, improvements to Sycamore, including traffic lights which will cost money. He also thinks the school would be too far south, compared to where ‘the customers’ are. Provided an impressive mathematical calculation that shows it will take many decades (45 years?) at current growth rates before there’s more residents south of poplar vs north of poplar. He suggested the school board should consider Maynard Way location (70 acres behind WalMart). He also brought up ways to possibly reduce the cost of necessary renovations at the current site. Proposed other options to consider that might be solutions other than building. Questions why he hasn’t seen those options discussed. Argues a golf course can be built on landfill (property next to current CHS is old landfill).

Mike Tebbe. Thinks we need new school, and pay for it. Complimentary of the school system. Make the right call now, invest in the future. Sees positive impact on property values.

John Barrios. Chair of Chamber of Commerce. Official Position of support. Unanimous support from Chamber for this position for business. Parents, business growth, etc.

Byron Cobb. Reference to emails and previous contact with mayor and aldermen. Supportive of quality education. “Survey” done in spring was what it was – need to respect the “outcome.” He expresses his displeasure with the apparent direction and speed – not enough information out there. Not opposed to school, opposed to process being taken. Asking for vote. He also mentioned being worried about location due to the projected growth in the north reserve.

Chuck Lesnik. Need strong schools. Pay attention to vocational tract. Likes voc ed plus MS option in current location. Not sure about $10M for athletic facilities in current plan. Not sure the “new plan” is enough, don’t move too quickly. Take time and get people involved. Not saying there should be a referendum. Just get more buy in.

Susan Hawthorne. CHS and SFMS kids, Self-described as Collierville Schools cheer leader. Something needs to be done, and there is no time. Is confident in fiscal responsibility of boards involved. Asking for full funding. Make the right decision.

Leslie Thomas. Asking for fully funding one high school. CHS kids. Very involved parent and substitute. References Nashville push for local control. References Mega District year and the lack of funding for basic school supplies. Look where we are now. Then moves to reference all the facility shortfalls of current CHS facility (in addition to overcrowding). Not everybody will be happy with any plan. She admits she doesn’t think the current plans are perfect. But thinks it is the right thing to do.

Sherry Startingham. Lancelot lane. CHS grad, property owner, business person, etc etc. 94% of Collierville voted yes. Calling for courageous and visionary leadership. References racial/ethnic division that might result from 2 locations. Do it right. Asks for full funding.

Rusty Philips. 15 year resident. 2 kids came through system, makes teachers proud. Need to look at the numbers. Great management by school district, town. Happy to bet on this BMA and School Board. Knows importance of investing.

On to board discussion.

Mayor Joyner calls for naming rights of athletic facilities funding – only half joking…

Worley: appreciates input from public. Site under consideration >100acres. Interest rates are moving up… Price of construction materials are going up (he is a contractor). Can’t afford to wait. Thanks to CS board and John Aitken.  Portables needed already. Chamber support – even with commercial tax rates. Let’s estimate adjustments with citizens in the room at this (second) reading. Better to get rate reduced at third reading for accuracy.

Fraser: Agrees with Worley. Clarifiying that BMA has no say in all the external things (location, etc), and asks school board to answer open questions about current site, why other options are not feasible. Answer these questions over next 2 weeks. Doing nothing is not an option. Must make tough decisions.
Asks Lewellen what is a reasonable estimate, who answers he cannot be certain. Bonds will not be issued till fall. At 4% interest – 5.7M/year debt service = 38 cent increase of taxes. Also have sales tax funds available to help keep cost down – possibly 10 cents’ worth without consuming all of the surplus.

Allen: in favor of one school, but only responsible for $. Opposition from seniors because $100-200 is a lot for some people.  Supports schools, just not sure about how to fund it. Needs more analysis.

Patton: Nobody has said 2 schools is an option. School Board is to make the choice. He supports a new school, but thinks the cost needs to be discussed more. Live within budget. Town facing rising costs partly due to school system. Talking about bond funding issues and using sales tax revenues, squeezing the overall $ to keep the numbers down. Let’s push on those numbers. Afraid 10% of votes will ask for binding referendum.

Joyner: referendums are not going to help much. Need to raise taxes before bond issue can be done. If we want to put off the project a while we can do this.

Allen: $5M contingency fund in budget is bothersome – what will it go to? How can we cut cost? “If you put in a contingency they will spend it.”

Stamps: Appreciates the background for the presentation – solid town finances. May agree to think this is rushed, but hears public sentiments. Appreciates the public input. Doesn’t think 15 cent tax is enough, too risky to depend too much on sales tax revenue. Should consider the 38 cent number.

Joyner: addressing the rush comments – town budget has to be done by specific time, including setting tax rate. And a tax rate would have to be raised (again) by end of September if not set correctly now. The “rush” is more representative of the urgency at hand.

Joyner: $1.68 is up for vote, but entertaining motion for tax rate now, but may need updates in 2 weeks up or down.

Allen moves for 1.68 second by Patton. Patton reiterates he thinks more work is needed. Won’t get taxes paid back once set.

Fraser says the BMA work hard for the people. If rate is too high, she will pledge to give it back. BMA reputation at stake. Set at best number known today, adjust (down) in 2 weeks if possible.

Worley: In reference to the “survey” which asked about 38 cents… Now discussing 20-25-30… shows responsiveness to citizens. Must make call now rather than raise rate needed in next meeting when “nobody” is here. You can’t count on sales tax. Set reasonable rate now and cut in 2 weeks if numbers come down. Board is tight, will not be frivolous.

Stamps: good points made by Allen and Patton, supports Fraser about returning rate if possible. 15 cents not high enough.

Allen argues that the town can cut more town expenses to cover any shortfalls.

Fraser disagrees: 50% is public safety, can’t cut it. Can’t cut stormwater improvements. There is no more room. Board elected to do the right thing.

Vote on 15 cents: Stamps, Patton, Allen – yes. Fraser, Worley, Joyner – no.

Fraser moves for 30 cents. Stipulates rebates or reduction of rate pledge. Worley seconds. Vote: Fraser, Worley, Stamps – yes. Joyner, Allen, Patton – no.

Patton moves for 20 cents. Fraser seconds. Allen only one to vote no. Tax rate 1.73 passes in the second reading.

Meeting Adjourned.

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Doing the Right Thing – Leading with Courage

May 13

Posted by E2Dutch in Ramble, Rant, Reality Check | Comments off

Note: this is an opinion item.

In 2013, around 90% of the Collierville voters that turned out voted ‘YES’ on the referendum question on whether to create an independent school district in Collierville. With that vote (and the resolution of some frivolous lawsuits on the matter) Collierville took ownership of the education of its school-aged children. This was a perfect fit for a town whose seal has always boasted four pillars for the community: Industry – Community – Growth – Education. It is part of the vision of our town.

In Novermber of 2013, five school board members were elected, and Collierville Schools became a reality. The goal for the immediate future was ‘Operational, then Aspirational,’ reflecting a need to be practical and pragmatic first, in order to be ready to open the doors to students at the start of the ’14-’15 school year.

As the first operational school year for Collierville Schools draws to a close, many are the victories that should be celebrated.

However, a significant issue is pressing up on Collierville Schools: Capacity.

For anyone paying the slightest attention to Collierville Schools enrollment, one thing has been clear from the start: capacity is an issue. Not “will be an issue…” No, it IS an issue today. The high school is at capacity. One middle school is at capacity, and the other middle school is close to capacity. One of the reasons behind this was the zoning for schools in the county which had some Collierville residents attending school outside municipal borders in schools that are now part of the Germantown School District. Additionally, Collierville is a growth community. The population of Collierville has seen a lot of growth, and more is projected into the future.

The High School

When considering capacity issues at the High School first (where the most pressing issue exists), the numbers are clear: 2300 students at the start of the ’15-’16 school year in a building designed for 2000. 2800 students by the year ’17-’18. This growth requires action, and requires action to come fast. Stop-gap options such as floating teachers (who move from classroom to classroom when the assigned teacher has a planning hour), and the use of ‘portable’ classrooms (trailers, temporary classrooms, annexes, whatever you want to call them) will only provide some relief, and will not be sustainable past the first couple of years of attendance growth. They also do not address the infrastructure issues that arise from even more students making use of the grounds and facilities, including hallways, cafeteria, library, gyms, parking lots, etc.

Expansion at the current site of the school (essentially into the ‘vacant’ land to the west of the school) is not really feasible due to the history of that land as a landfill in the past. Environmental and structural issues will mean this is a high-cost and high-risk solution, and it will only address the high school capacity issue. Building a second high school will also only address the high school issue, and it will cause a division of resources across the two (competing) schools in the district. The division that will be created between the two schools is easy to imagine based on the (perceived) quality of the facilities, where teachers will be better, sports offerings, etc. And we will still be left with the need to address the middle school capacity issue.

Building one new high school for all of Collierville will improve community cohesion and solve both the high school and middle school capacity issues, as the old high school facility will revert back to being a middle school (and leave room for other educational uses on the same campus).

With ownership comes responsibility.

Whether they acknowledge it or not… the Collierville Board of Mayor and Aldermen (BMA) has to take action. By law, they are the authority over the school board, and the funding authority, even though the majority of actual funding comes from state and county sources. The responsibility for the cost of facilities for the school system does fall on the Collierville BMA. Collierville’s electorate has chosen to call for ownership of the local schools and the educational responsibility and put it in the hands of the BMA, who have put day-to-day administration with the Collierville School Board.

Now, Collierville’s School Board, and the Rock Star Superintendent that all of Collierville loves, are asking for a necessary investment. The investment is needed to urgently address current issues, as well as to allow for healthy future growth. Collierville voters are represented by an excellent school board and administration (I have been watching from up close for quite a while now), and we should realize this is not something they will ask for lightly. The studies have been done, the pros and cons have been weighed, the options have been presented.

If an elected official (I am talking to you, Aldermen) does not think they have enough information to make a sound decision, then why would they expect the voters to be able to get enough information to make that decision for them. You were elected to be their representative, now you have to step up to the plate and show your voters you are up for the responsibility. You should be able to rely on the duly elected school board and the rock star superintendent and his administration to have presented you with the best option for Collierville. The right choice. Making the right choice should not be that hard. You just need to have the courage to lead, like you told the electorate you would.

A note about the ‘T’ word.

Yes, a new school will require money to build. And a municipality will have to rely largely on taxes for its income. The reality of the financial market dictates that town revenues have to be raised by a specific amount to ensure the best terms for the loan (bonds) can be obtained. So yes, taxes (property taxes) have to be raised to cover this investment. But the reality is: the projected tax increase at hand will be around $200 per year for the owner of a $250,000 home. That’s $17 per month. And a tax-deductible $17 at that…

Cost

We have students, we need buildings… There will always be a cost. Right now, throw-away cost is being added to the new school year budget for portable classrooms for a school that will be over capacity even with those new portables (to be put in use for ’16-’17 school year). That is not an investment, that’s buying time. At a high cost. Keeping Collierville Schools in an uncertain future will come at a cost of having people move elsewhere. It will come at a cost of a less-than-ideal environment for our students. And when we’re done kicking the can down the road, we will still need to fulfill our ownership commitment, and eventually make that right decision… and it will have cost us a lot more to get there.

Final thoughts (for now).

We cannot build on the ‘best school district in the state’ (or county) if we cannot provide our students with the basics: adequate space for a learning environment. I have seen the many comments on social media about things Collierville parents want from their schools. Those things will be irrelevant if we don’t have enough space for our students.
Please take a minute and send your Mayor and Aldermen a note to thank them for supporting Collierville Schools, and to urge them to have the courage to make the right decision, and to make that decision now.
Here is their contact information:

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Collierville Schools and sensationalism, rash judgement, misinformation and other nonsense

Jul 11

Posted by E2Dutch in Ramble, Rant, Reality Check | Comments off

The tone and content of some comments and posts in the Collierville Schools group on Facebook sometimes take a turn for the worse… A few personal thoughts and observations in response to some of the posts here:

  1. (How can Collierville Schools agree to a 4 year contract with Durham for transportation?!) In order to get a reasonable agreement (in cost, etc.) with a company like Durham, there has to be commitment to certain things from both parties. That means, among other things, committing to a certain number of years.
  2. Agreements like these include provisions for quality performance of the agreed upon services. Breach of those will allow for termination of the contract (or sometimes other penalties).
  3. The school board for Collierville Schools chose to leave start times the same for this year in order to allow the best chance of getting everything operational and making sure they were fiscally responsible. The Durham contract, per discussion at the school board meeting last month, allows for changes in start times (and going to 2 if desired). It changes the number of buses needed, which changes the fees charged to the school system.
  4. Mr Aitken has said it many times: operational vs aspirational… This year, the focus is to get a good school system up and running in time for when kids show up. That means for this year at least, a lot of items are being left as they were last year or reverted to legacy SCS policies, because any significant change will be disruptive to getting everything and everyone started.
  5. I trust our local representatives and the administration they have put in place with my kids for their education. I have already seen so many improvements put into place or set into motion over last year’s mega district and even the legacy SCS!
  6. Change is hard. In some areas, laws, regulations, and financial reality force decisions and limit options. Collierville Schools, in my opinion, has done a very good job in weighing options and making choices. Yes, I have a list of aspirational changes, but I am pragmatic enough to realize they are not of utmost priority.
  7. A lot of people put a lot of their own time, energy and emotions into the new school system. They are taking personal and professional risks. The occasional vitriol that pops up in community response to their work is disappointing.
  8. Our town of Collierville is providing tremendous support for the school system. Financially, logistically, etc. I have never seen a community be so united in support for such a huge undertaking.
  9. I have three kids at Collierville Elementary and a wife who is a teacher in Bartlett. I am highly invested in the local education programs. I am not an expert in most aspects of what is being accomplished, but I have a decent dose of intellect and common sense… And I think the right choices are being made, overall. And I am excited!
  10. Don’t believe everything you hear or read in the news. The words used can be either misleading or poorly chosen. Either in an effort to sensationalize (they got your attention!) or out of lack of understanding of what is in play, or inability to convey nuance. I found there to be insufficient reliable information in the media about the schools, so I started attending the meetings. I decided to try and share accurate summaries and observations with the group, and will continue to do so as long as I can afford the time, and there appears interest. It has allowed me to observe the workings, and the effort, and the character of those involved. This is an exciting time, and it is going to be great!

 

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Collierville School Board Business Meeting – May 13, 2014 – Citizen’s Report

May 13

Posted by E2Dutch in Rave, Reality Check | No Comments

Regular business meeting of the Collierville School Board. All of the board present, as well as a significant contingent of school and central office staff. Bill Dries from the Daily News was also present (albeit a few minutes late…).

At the start of the meeting, there were two public comments. The first was from a representative from Cigna, who wanted to relate some additional points of information about their response to the RFP. The second comment was from the CEO of Healthchoice, which is an organization that is affiliated with Methodist Health Care managed care, as far as I understood. His comments were in support of Cigna as a health insurance provider.

Following the moment of silence and the pledge of allegiance, Beth Robbins presented the Collierville Highschool Academic Allstars, as recognized by the Commercial Appeal. She also noted that of the 11 overall scholars designated by the CA from the are, 3 are from Collierville High. Mr Hansen congratulated the students, and commended them on being a great example of what Collierville Schools exemplify.

The report from the chairman touched briefly on the interlocal agreements still in progress (with some recent “hiccups”) among the municipalities. Germantown will be voting on a budget on 5/14, which will hopefully include the shared services. Mr Hansen also mentioned the almost completed central office facility, which will be a great place to showcase Collierville Schools. The move-in date is Monday May 19th.

The Superintendent’s report had four quick items:

  • The personnel plan for Collierville Schools has been approved by the State Board of Education
  • The County Commission has approved $1M for capital projects in Collierville, which will primarily be directed to a new roof at Collierville High
  • Job offers for teachers and administrators were delivered this past week
  • Regular meetings have started with SCS around the transition of buildings and personnel over the next few weeks

Mr Simpson, the consultant had an update with more detail about the finishing touches for the central office. Additional updates covered the contracts for services that the school district is still working on, including two later on in the agenda, and the transportation contract as well as others for safety equipment and insurance. Mr Vaughan asked if the bus radius is being changed, to which Mr Simpson replied that in order to most efficiently and economically start services in August, no changes from the current transportation plan were being made. This includes bell times.

The next agenda item was added at the last minute: a presentation on the benefits plans recommended to the board, based on the RFP process that was followed. Karen Naccarato explained the process followed, which included representatives from the municipalities to set out the objectives and perform the RFP process. For health benefits, the options considered were the state plan, full insurance and self insurance. 10 companies provided proposals.

The recommended option is from Aetna, as it came out with the best match of the required features and the cost. Its proposal also will provide for various allowances to allow for change management to ensure a smooth transition. A significant change from the current provider (Cigna, the runner up) is that Aetna offers two network choices: Methodist plus St Francis or Baptist plus St Francis. The employees will have that choice, with the Baptist plan being slightly lower cost.

There was significant discussion around this recommendation, including concern with changing insurance administrators from the current provider, whether this plan provides for the state-mandated level of services, etc. While the employer/employee split is improving from 63/37 to 66/34, it appears the monthly cost will go up slightly for employees. Mr Hansen pointed out that his employer (FedEx) has had major overhaul in its health insurance plans and associated cost, primarily due to the Affordable Care Act, and every employer is facing similar issues.

The board is not yet ready to vote on this, and a vote is not needed until the 23rd of May, so a special called meeting was decided on for one week from today. Mr Vaughan will be unable to attend, but expects consensus among the board.

Metlife Dental, Davis Vision and for basic life insurance, Metlife, are recommended. That maintains the current providers for all those.

Up next, the board considered the policies that were presented three weeks ago at the working session. Mr Aitken pointed out some minor changes that were made, mostly for grammatical reasons. Additionally, the facility use policy was updated to allow use of kitchens, provided under appropriate supervision. The policy on naming of schools and school real estate was simplified based on feedback from the working session. The policy on athletic participation insurance was restated to allow parents to provide for their own insurance or accept the risks of not having insurance if they so choose.

The 63 policies were approved.

Two new policies were presented: first, vacation and holidays, which mostly stipulates the non-teaching personnel policies around vacation and holidays. A key improvement over current policy is to reduce the wait time for the commencement of benefits from 1 year to 6 months. Also, those employed by SCS during the current school year are not considered new employees under this policy, and will thus enjoy the vacation amounts commensurate with their time at SCS. The other new policy is around On-the-job injuries.

Finally, two contracts were up for review and approval:

Both custodial services and maintenance services are recommended to be provided by the current custodial services provider, GCA. For maintenance, SCS currently uses in-house personnel, which may not be economical for a small district. Collierville is proposing to work together with Germantown specifically on this, and the two municipalities will share the use of 11 skilled maintenance personnel, such as plumbers, HVAC technicians, locksmiths, etc. Germantown is expected to vote on, and approve, this arrangement in their meeting on May 14. These both passed.

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Collierville joint School Board and Board of Mayor and Aldermen budget working session – May 6, 2014 – Citizen’s Report

May 6

Posted by E2Dutch in Rave, Reality Check | No Comments

On May 6, the Collierville Board of Mayor and Aldermen (BMA) and the Collierville School Board held a joint working session to review the draft budget for the 2014-2015 school year. The Collierville Schools budget is not finalized yet, but is very close to being finished. The BMA needs the preliminary numbers for its budgeting purposes by next week. This post summarizes my observations from today’s meeting, and any editorial comments are clearly identifiable as such below.

The full BMA and School Boards were present, as well as the town administrator, and most of the Collierville Schools senior office staff. The audience was very light.

For most of the meeting, Superintendent Aitken walked the board through the numbers that make up the detailed budget. The budget balances revenues and expenses at this time. The expense side of the budget is based on the projected enrollment number of 7900 students. The revenue side is based on an estimate of 7600 students, which is the number of students in Collierville schools as of April. This is the number the state board has decided to use as the basis for allocation of funds. Per state law, the actual payments out of the county tax and state education funds will be based on actual enrollment numbers, as determined during the school year. In June following the school year, a true up payment will be made as appropriate to account for the difference. It should be noted that in the case where the actual enrollment actually is realized, that June payment could be around $2M at the end of next school year.

There are a few items still under negotiation with vendors, but reasonable estimates have been included in the budget.

The projected total cost for the 2014-2015 school year is $60,695,411. Revenues match this number for a balanced budget. Mr Aitken pointed out that there are approximately $800-900,000 in savings realized through the use of shared services by the participating municipalities. In the current setup, Collierville is responsible for approximately 26% of shared services cost, when allocated on a per-student basis among 6 municipalities. For comparison, Germantown’s share is 19%. Should Germantown opt out of some or all shared services, those costs will then be spread among the participating school districts.

Into budget detail…

The largest portion of revenues is state funding. Second is county funding. The municipal contribution is currently set at the state mandated formula relating to the property taxes, but is being funded through the local option sales tax.

On the expense side, by far the largest portion is teacher salaries and related general education expenses. The projection is that there will be 395 general education teachers, which is an increase of approximately 13 teachers over current staffing levels. Most of the increase in teachers will go to CHS and SFMS. In the health insurance projection, the current district-employee ratio used is 66-34%. It is estimated that 80% of eligible personnel will actually enroll in the health care plan.

Another area with significant personnel numbers is special education. Special education staffing will follow current numbers, which are generally where legacy SCS was. It should be noted that by law the ‘maintenance of effort’ rules around special education are based on the first year of operations, whereas the overall maintenance of effort will be based on numbers after three years of operation. Maintenance of effort refers to the rules around towns that fund school districts not being allowed to reduce their funding levels for the schools unless there is a significant reduction in enrollment.

In reference to budget line items around instructional equipment, the question was asked if measures are being taken to ensure current school inventories will not change after the end of the school year. The settlement agreement stipulates that everything in the schools as of the time of the agreement will stay with the schools. Mr Aitken assured the boards that this is being watched closely. The superintendents in the county (including SCS’ Hopson) are discussing this in a meeting this week. Inventory documentation exists and school administration is keeping an eye on it.

Other notable budgeting items:

  • Health rooms will see a nurse at each school, and a medical records clerk at each school.
  • There will be a full-time librarian at each school.
  • Librarian assistants and cafeteria monitors will return to the schools.
  • Each school will have a plant manager again.
  • Special Education clerical staff will remain at each school (these are being cut at SCS).
  • Janitorial Services will continue to be outsourced as per the legacy SCS model.
  • Transportation will be outsourced, because of the inability to start an in-house system in the time allowed and funding available.
  • Career and Technical education will be a shared service provided by Arlington under contract.
  • Curriculum Technology Trainers (CTT) will be assigned two schools each. There will also be 6 tech support resources for the district.
  • After three years, the school district, by state law, must have built a reserve fund equaling 3% of its annual operating expenses.
  • No major capital items are included in the budget for this year.
  • Collierville Schools will be awaiting the results of discussions at the county level around some overdue maintenance items at some of the school buildings.
  • In the budget is a line item for $500,000 to be paid to SCS as part of the settlement agreement for the next 12 years.

Throughout the presentation, there were clarifying questions asked by various board members. My comments above generally include the explanations given.

At the end of the meeting, Vice Mayor Maureen Fraser asked about enrollment confirmation letters, and was told that the last of those should have gone out today. Generally speaking, all requests had been honored. Another question by Ms Fraser was about school start times. After remarking that this would depend on the arrangement with the transportation company, Mr Aitken also clarified that while the aspirational goals might be to go to two start times, for practical and budgetary reasons, it looks like the district will remain at three start times at least this coming year. A change in start times would seem likely after a few years, but not right now.

In conclusion, Mr Aitken pointed out that the main objectives were to restore services and service levels to the legacy SCS levels, at the least. Having shared services is a key element in being able to spend more of the district’s money in the classrooms.

 

Teacher hiring:

After the meeting, in a conversation with Mr Aitken, he indicated that teacher employment offers should be going out this week. There is no requirement of currently having tenure to be eligible to be hired for next school year right now. This is good news for all those teachers eager for news about their continued employment in their municipal schools!

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Thoughts on creating new (municipal) school systems… Reality Check #1: are we there yet?

Mar 20

Posted by E2Dutch in Ramble, Rant, Reality Check | No Comments

(my blog – my opinions…)
I have been very interested in, and engaged with, the process to create municipal schools, from the moment I moved to Collierville in 2011. This was shortly after the MCS charter surrender. This will not be the place to go over bygones like why we needed to go this route… If you think we shouldn’t have… perhaps an ‘offline’ discussion will help us exchange ideas in a productive manner…

So you want to start a school system…

Reading the frequent comments on various posts in the Collierville Schools Facebook group, it becomes clear a lot of people are having trouble looking outside their own area of concern. I totally agree that they should be PASSIONATE about their children’s schooling. However, with that passion, they will need to realize that there is a lot of work that goes into creating a new school system.

Everything a school system does is closely controlled by laws and regulation. The rules about who is responsible for the education of which child are lengthy and detailed. The number of kids in a school building drives just about everything: funding (from multiple sources), staffing, transportation, nutrition, etc. That number is a result of a combination of who is zoned to a school, who chooses to opt out of public education (home school or private school), and who chooses to attend outside their zoned school (incoming and outgoing). At the same time, traditional school registration practices have students not formally committing to a school until 4 business days before the start of the school year. When the school year starts, however, the expectation is that everything will be in place for education to commence. Think about that for a second…

To resolve these challenges, the school boards in the municipalities are looking to get early commitments to specific (zoned) schools. And, actually, information on intent to not go to a certain school. (this is why it is so important to ‘early register’ your kids when asked to do so!)

Another challenge – an arrangement for students to attend outside where they are legally required to be served… The big example here is for the Collierville residents attending at Germantown’s Houston Middle and High Schools. Germantown has no jurisdiction over these students, and Collierville has no jurisdiction over the schools in Germantown. Collierville has the option of making an arrangement with Germantown to accommodate a certain set of students for a certain amount of time. This requires two elected bodies to set priorities, to know what the need, capacity and desire of the citizens and affected families is, and to then find common ground in a legally binding manner.

Until an agreement is in place (looks to be ready for prime time this week), the school boards can only make announcements and recommendations and set processes in place based on what is the rule and what is formally in place and agreed upon, and what is actually within their jurisdiction.

Yet, this responsible manner of answering requests and questions seems to infuriate people… They need answers now!

From observing the CMSD school board in action, I know for a fact that this is a very passionate group of people who actively promote the Collierville students’ best interests. If they could move faster, they would.

Perhaps what is missing in the equation is trust. Trust in the process to be worked out between Germantown and Collierville to reach a practical and responsible agreement. Trust in the motives and intent of the CMSD school board. Trust that the concerns that have been expressed are being heard. Trust in your elected school board and the school office staff and leadership they are hiring to serve your children.

If the actions of a school board, school, or a school’s staff seem to indicate that your children are not an even priority to them compared to other children, perhaps that is your sign that you’re looking to have them attend the wrong school. I am hearing some Collierville residents are choosing to not have their children stay at a school until their exit grade because of various reasons. Public comments made by folks (parents, residents, students, etc.) associated in one form or another with those schools may have been a contributing factor for some. That is sad, but we should be able to rejoice in the fact that there is now a choice.

Support your local school boards. Learn what they are working on. Read the reports (my ‘citizen’s reports’ included). Get involved. And trust them to do the job we elected them to do.

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Collierville School Board special called meeting – March 18, 2014 – Citizen’s report

Mar 18

Posted by E2Dutch in Rave, Reality Check | No Comments

Tonight the Collierville Municipal School Board met in a special called meeting for the purpose of approving the Superintendent engaging the district into agreements for various communications services. Below are my notes from the meeting. As expected, the board chair made some comments about the progress of an interlocal agreement with Germantown. Please note this is from my notes and observations, and I will be sure to indicate when I am inserting my own opinion.

Not a big crowd in attendance for today’s meeting, but yet again the full board was in attendance.

There were no comments from the public.

The business part of the meeting had Mr Aitken describe the communication services contracts for the school’s internet services, the internal network, telecom services (land lines) and wireless services (for select employees). Through a group purchasing coop (erates) the district will spend $18,018 on phone lines (discounted from $42,900) and $116,000 for internet and network services. As part of the RFP process, the district is going to get increased bandwidth from what is currently available to the schools. This will help ensure that online testing will run with appropriate network capacity.

The board approved Mr A to enter into the appropriate agreements. Legal review of the contracts is under way, and upon completion of that process, the agreements will be signed in time for the Friday 3/21 deadline that is in place due to telecommunications regulations.

Before adjourning the meeting, Mr Hansen provided a brief update on the interlocal agreement with Germantown. He stated that the Germantown board is expected to vote on the proposed agreement in a special called meeting Thursday evening (3/20), and because he wants to put this urgent issue to rest, has called a special called meeting for Friday at 6pm for a vote on the same agreement by the board.

I expect this agreement to cover what was discussed in the previous meeting: currently enrolled Collierville resident students at the Houston Middle and High Schools, as well as the Collierville resident elementary school students (Farmington and Dogwood) will be able to remain at those schools until their exit grade. Transportation will be made available for those students.

This should alleviate the concern currently expressed by parents of those students, as their kids won’t be required to register at their zoned Collierville school if they are going to attend in Germantown.

An observation: it seems to me the Collierville school board has acted with appropriate urgency and due diligence in his matter. The base principle has always been to get all Collierville resident students in Collierville schools, but this has been paired with the desire to allow students to finish out at their current schools if those families wanted to. This will also allow the CMSD a little more time to plan for the increasing attendance.

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