[EVSD News] Superintendent's Newsletter 04.14.10

[Jodi Brown]

April 14, 2010
 
The purpose of this newsletter is to update you on events that are happening in the district, provide information to address issues or rumors and provide you a forum to communicate with me on items of interest. If you are receiving this e-mail you are either an East Valley Staff member, you have signed up for this service, you have sent me an e-mail or have had some form of contact that we think would cause you to want this information. If you do not want to continue to receive this information you may unsubscribe by clicking the link below or contacting the district office.  
 
It has been extremely busy since my last correspondence.  We have had several meetings to talk about the future of this school district.  I want to thank everyone who has attended the meetings and once again invite folks to participate by either attending a meeting or following the progress of these meetings by logging onto the district website.
 
The state legislature has finished their work and we are still trying to determine exactly how the new budget will impact our school district.  Our preliminary analysis shows that we are going to be in better shape than we had anticipated.  We believe we can avoid any cuts to staff and start to restore our fund balance to a level that provides for some degree of cushion in the event of an emergency.   
 
I must caution that this is just a preliminary review and there could still be changes to the budget by the state or even issues that arise locally.  In any case, we will not be anticipating replacing people who leave employment or retire whose jobs we can absorb.
 
We just completed two audits.  The Consolidated Program Review Audit was completed this week.  This is a complex audit of federal programs.  We had a very positive outcome from this audit and while there are always areas for improvement, we passed with very few recommendations and the thanks of the auditors for our focus on kids and learning.  
 
Our annual general audit is also almost complete.  It will be reviewed over the next couple of weeks and then finalized.  We do not anticipate any major issues with this audit.   
 
We have had some changes in personnel.  Paul Vigil, our transportation supervisor has taken a job with the Clover Park School District.  We wish Paul and his family our best.  
 
We have hired Lorri Smith to take over the transportation department.  Lorri comes to us from Durham transportation and will be able to start the first week of May.
 
Last night the board approved late starts for the 2010-2011 school year.  The details of this need to be worked out but one issue has been completely resolved.  
 
I made the mistake of believing that the EVEA leadership did not support the late starts.  I want to apologize to EVEA leadership and Mr. Mealey specifically for sharing this misunderstanding.   Last night Mr. Mealey reported that the EVEA leadership is supportive of late starts for the next school year. I look forward to working with the EVEA to make this a very productive effort to improve student learning.
 
In other board action, the board proclaimed April 26th as healthy schools day.  They replaced a bus that was damaged this winter and they reviewed the proposed handwriting curriculum.   The handwriting curriculum is available for review at the district office.  The Board will vote on the adoption at the next regular board meeting. 
 
Our students continue to represent us in a variety of arenas.  Our students are winning art shows.  They are representing us at athletic tournaments.  We have students competing in robotic competitions.  We have students winning speaking contests and most importantly, we have kids doing the right things for the right reasons and being responsible citizens.  
 
I ask that you remember how well the vast majority of our students represent themselves and us. We do have problems and we do need to improve but I encourage you to take the time to think about how you can help to make sure that the story we tell about our schools addresses our problems while giving credit to the wonderful accomplishments of our students.  Too often, we repeat rumors or gossip that is not true.  I urge you to take time to become fully informed about the problems facing our schools.  
 
Everyone involved in this district wants the best for kids, families, staff and the community.   We need to work together to address our issues and celebrate our success stories.
 
As always, you can reach me by calling the district office at 924-1830 or at home 928-0519.  You may also contact me via e-mail GlenewinkelJ at evsd.org.  
 
John
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