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Home > Blogs > Get on the Bus > Archives > 2008 > August > 06 > Entry
Stanic: It’s about learning and the levy this year
Kurt Stanic
City schools interim Superintendent Kurt Stanic, in his first speech to the district’s workforce, promised a new focus on learning and warned of a difficult year financially.
“The focus this year is simple: Teaching and learning,” Stanic said. “With your help, I will work to maintain a stable and consistent program that offers students excellent educational opportunities in safe, cleaning learning environments.”
The annual convocation address, held Wednesday at the University of Dayton Arena, was decidedly less elaborate under Stanic, who will fill in for this school year in the wake of Percy Mack’s departure to Columbia, S.C. Classes starts Monday.
Gone were bands and student performances that accompanied past convocations. Only Stanic and the teacher of the year, Franklin Montessori School kindergarten teacher Susan Grant, spoke.
Stanic touted a new student conduct code, instructing principals to take as much time as needed to be clear about expectations for students.
He also said the push to pass an operating levy will be a heavy focus between now and election day on Nov. 4. The district must raise new revenue after going 16 years without passing an operating levy for new money, he said.
“The district has reached a critical point financially,” Stanic said. “The failure to pass an operating levy last year has weakened our financial position. The district is facing rapidly increasing operating deficits and will exhaust cash reserves this year. We have been forced to cut staffing and programs to stabilize our finances. School funding in Ohio necessitates appearing on the ballot.”
Permalink | Comments (7) | Post your comment | Categories: Dayton Public Schools
Comments
By Richard
August 9, 2008 12:37 AM | Link to this
This Board has made some very significant and possitive moves. Among them, a new quality superintendent, a small,(and needed) pay increase for all staff,pressuring incompetance to leave and promoting quality!Keep up the good work Board!! What’S next??By Slightly Less Worried DPS Parent
August 8, 2008 2:10 AM | Link to this
Well… from what I have read so far on our interim Super, it seems like DPS is heading for a turning point. I just hope that, at the end of the day this is not all words and no action by Mr. Stanic, though of course any boss is only as good as their staff.By davidss2
August 7, 2008 10:14 AM | Link to this
The change from the last few superintendents and their regimes is striking. I suspect this guy has been brought in to make the hard changes and then will be put out to pasture as the bad guy. The problem is the board loved the previous supers who were more into themselves and their power and knowledge than they were the education. This guy knows the real need to spend the money is in the classroom and for teachers. When he cuts athletics and the waste of money there we’ll know we’re on our way to coming back. As for his discipline, the same principals that are supposed to enforce the new policy are the ones enforcing the old policy poorly; do we think we will get change or we will get more of the same? I take more of the same. Need new principals.By Proud DPS Employee
August 6, 2008 7:04 PM | Link to this
As a busy staff member I really appreciated how todays convocation was short, direct and to the point. I enjoy a good performance as well as the next person, but not at work. We have been tortured for at least a couple of hours at a time at past convocations. I appreciated the simple message, education comes first. I will be supporting this superintendent and the levy. I know that the current way schools are funded is wrong but it is what it is right now and we cannot let our school district fail because of that.By aguyindayton
August 6, 2008 6:43 PM | Link to this
Sounds like a great plan and a logical method to help curtail costs without having a negative impact on education. I remember school in Cincinnati, no school buses. The island of Jamaica, no school buses. I see in the paper that Centerville is going to put a levy on the ballot. To help curtail costs they have eliminated a curriculum position and are not hiring a secretary for the Superintendent. Hmmm; maybe some additional things should be considered; if you pay to play why not pay to ride? The School of Possibilities could be replaced by one of the seven GED facilities in the county that I am sure are being paid for by us taxpayers. Couldn�t a simple ROI be performed on various cost centers within a district to see what is consuming funding without returning a profitable or favorable result? The elderly members of the community that are on fixed income have no legal means to increase or improve our financial position, other than the lottery. We have to budget for the future and do without life�s luxuries and perhaps necessities. It seems that when some school systems run low on funding they immediately threaten to cut at the core of the system. The Dayton approach seems to be very professional cutting and eliminating those niceties without impacting the mission of the school; teaching and learning. Good luck Dayton and Dr. Stanic.By Concerned Mom of 3
August 6, 2008 5:25 PM | Link to this
I am so glad to see Art, Music, and PE back at the level it should be! I am excited for the educational opportunities my children will have this year. In spite of the poor economy, I trust this man to make sound decisions on behalf the students of Dayton. I will support the levy. It is needed. The amount he is requesting is reasonable. Some necessary changes are being made. I encourage the voters of Dayton to join me in support of the levy- even though times are hard.By Rick
August 6, 2008 10:31 AM | Link to this
The more I see/hear of this man, the better I like him. This is not a time for hoopla and he has the wisdom to perceive it.