The school board's Buildings and Grounds Committee reported to the school board at the January 25 meeting regarding several meetings held. The committee is suggesting that the following are the high priority needs of the district at this time:
Elementary: Improve security at main entrance $35,000
Cabinetry to finish four existing rooms $20,200
Re-purpose two multi-purpose rooms $44,500
Middle School/High School: Two music rooms $1,062,000
High School: Two science classrooms $818,900
Add 50 parking spaces $100,000
Total Cost High Priority $2,079,700
Tax Impact (estimated): Approx. $15.00/$100,000 tax value residential
Approx. $22.00/$100,000 tax value commercial
A need also exists for a larger auditorium. An 800 seat auditorium placed on the southeast side of the Tiger Activity Center would cost $4,171,200
The committee reported that it is sensitive to the current economic conditions. The board will study the facilities situation as all buildings are beyond capacity.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
"State Hits Up Schools for Loans"
That was the headline in today's Twin Cities + West edition of the Star Tribune. News regarding education mostly revolves around school funding issues and the state’s unprecedented budgetary problems. We would rather see news regarding student achievement and the great work our students and staff are doing. The reality of the unprecedented financial situation that the state and our schools face cannot be ignored, however.
The latest news involves state aid payment delays that are required when the state runs into cash flow problems. By law, “The state must first delay state aid payments to the maximum extent allowable before engaging in state short term borrowing,” according to a memo received on January 26 from Alice Seagren, Commissioner of Education.
According to the memo received from the Commissioner, state aid payments will be delayed on March 15, March 30 and April 15. The estimated total payment delay for all the schools in the state is $423.3 million. The delayed payments are required to be paid back to schools in full on May 30, 2010. This situation will require many Minnesota school districts to enter into short-term borrowing to cash flow their districts during this time. For Delano Schools the delay is estimated to amount to $1,960,407 for the March 15, 30 and April 15 payments. The school district will be able to cash flow itself during this period with the reserves that it has on hand.
This aid payment delay should not be confused with the payment shift that was put in place where the state delays 27% of the aid due in the current fiscal year to the next fiscal year. The shift causes another cash flow concern to school districts. Delano School District should be able to cash flow both the delay and the shift this time around.
School districts are sometimes criticized for carrying healthy fund balances. If there was ever a time when fund balances are needed for cash flow purposes, it is now. The other advantage is that the fund balance gives us time to respond to these unprecedented actions without immediate harm to the educational program or incurring the expense of short-term borrowing.
I look forward to the days when more of the headlines in the news are about all the positive things that are going on in our schools.
The latest news involves state aid payment delays that are required when the state runs into cash flow problems. By law, “The state must first delay state aid payments to the maximum extent allowable before engaging in state short term borrowing,” according to a memo received on January 26 from Alice Seagren, Commissioner of Education.
According to the memo received from the Commissioner, state aid payments will be delayed on March 15, March 30 and April 15. The estimated total payment delay for all the schools in the state is $423.3 million. The delayed payments are required to be paid back to schools in full on May 30, 2010. This situation will require many Minnesota school districts to enter into short-term borrowing to cash flow their districts during this time. For Delano Schools the delay is estimated to amount to $1,960,407 for the March 15, 30 and April 15 payments. The school district will be able to cash flow itself during this period with the reserves that it has on hand.
This aid payment delay should not be confused with the payment shift that was put in place where the state delays 27% of the aid due in the current fiscal year to the next fiscal year. The shift causes another cash flow concern to school districts. Delano School District should be able to cash flow both the delay and the shift this time around.
School districts are sometimes criticized for carrying healthy fund balances. If there was ever a time when fund balances are needed for cash flow purposes, it is now. The other advantage is that the fund balance gives us time to respond to these unprecedented actions without immediate harm to the educational program or incurring the expense of short-term borrowing.
I look forward to the days when more of the headlines in the news are about all the positive things that are going on in our schools.
Board Names New Member
School Board members for 2010: front L-R: Tim Douglas, Peter Brasket, Carolyn Milano, Patricia Osmon, back L-R: Joy Bodin, Lisa Seguin and Amy Johnson
At the January 25 board meeting Patricia Osmon was appointed to fill the vacancy created by Becky Schaust's resignation.
Patricia holds a BA from Bates College and both a Masters and Doctorate from Baylor University She is a Pediatric Physical Therapist having spent three and a half years working for the SW/WC Service Cooperative out of Wilmar, MN before relocating to Delano.
In her letter of application she stated "After meeting with many different school districts stretching over a 100 mile area, public and private, my family relocated to Delano."
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Vacancy on School Board
At the January 4, 2010 organizational meeting of the school board the board accepted the resignation of board member Becky Schaust. This opening will be filled by appointment by the school board. Persons interested in being considered for this position need to file an application at the District Office by 2:0o p.m on Friday, January 15, 2010. Application forms are available here. The person appointed will serve until December 31, 2010. A four-year position will be on the ballot at the school board election in November 2010.
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