How much do Lakota employees cost?

By Lindsey Hilty | Friday, March 19, 2010, 05:06 PM

People have asked me for some numbers relating to Lakota’s budget, of which 80 percent goes toward personnel. Here are some of the numbers I gathered.

The cost of education: $100 million: salaries for Lakota’s 1,700 employees $33 million: benefits $60,000: average teacher salary $10,000: average district share of employee health insurance $79,000: average cost of a teacher including retirement/benefits

I will be writing a story on retirement plans for next week per requests from several readers. What other numbers would you like to see. How about story ideas? Leading up to the Lakota levy and contract negotiations, I will aim to write a finance-related story each week.

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Lakotafest writing contest honorable mentions

By Lindsey Hilty | Wednesday, March 17, 2010, 03:03 PM

The third Lakotafest writing contest has just wrapped up, and we selected the winners today. I sifted through stacks of entries, paring them down to the best. Then, I polled the office staff and anyone else who would sit and read the selections. It was a tough call, but we selected six winners. You will get to see those in next week’s Pulse Journal. But, for now, I want to share with you some honorable mentions.

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Support for a levy?

By Lindsey Hilty | Monday, March 15, 2010, 04:31 PM

More than half of the 600 Lakota residents surveyed this past summer said they would not support a levy in November. The goal for Lakota’s levy committee now is to convince those same people to support a levy in May. The argument is that the economy is tough on everyone, but the excellent school district of Lakota needs its community’s backing. This Thursday I will have a story about the levy details, the survey and what the levy committee is doing to try to get voters to say yes. However, I am looking for a Lakota resident or two that has strong feelings why he or she plans to vote yes or no. Send me an e-mail at lhilty@coxohio.com if you would like to share your thoughts.

Thanks!

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Lakota parents appeal to LEA

By Lindsey Hilty | Wednesday, March 10, 2010, 05:04 PM

I hear a lot of grumblings from both sides of this budget crisis in Lakota (and in schools across Ohio).

One thing that rarely is addressed is contracted salaries. Whether you agree with unions or not, the salaries and benefits are 80 percent of a budget and typically aren’t cut when all other non-negotiated items are on the chopping block.

Lakota parents have been speaking up more frequently, saying something has to give or they can’t continue to keep paying Lakota taxes. What are your thoughts? Read here to find out what parents are saying.

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Is No Child Left Behind working?

By Lindsey Hilty | Monday, March 1, 2010, 11:11 AM

Ask any school administrator what they think about No Child Left Behind, and you will probably get a response like this: The concept of accountability so that all children succeed is a good one. However, there are numerous problems with the program, such as a requirement that all students achieve at the same level on a standardized test, including those with developmental disabilities.

The U.S. Department of Education’s budget takes a look at NCLB. Apparently, they are looking at adequate yearly progress and the 2014 deadline for eliminating the achievement gap. The budget proposes a 6 percent tax hike in k-12 public education funding and replacing the AYP program with a plan that takes a broader look at school performance, student growth and school progress, according to the Ohio School Boards Association.

Here is a press release I got today. It is another interesting debate on the topic.

NEW REPORT WARNS OF LIMITED IMPACT OF RACE TO THE TOP, COMMON STANDARDS; ASSERTS CONGRESS MUST REAUTHORIZE ESEA

Washington, DC - A new report argues that, despite the promise of education reform efforts such as Race to the Top and the state-led common standards movement, improvement can only be sustained if Congress and the Administration update and improve the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), currently known as the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB).

Released by the Alliance for Excellent Education and the Aspen Institute’s Commission on No Child Left Behind, the report, Don’t Leave Accountability Behind: A Call for ESEA Reauthorization http://www.all4ed.org/files/AllianceCommissionReport.pdf , credits Congress and the Administration for encouraging states to advance important education priorities by linking the stimulus dollars in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) to reform. At the same time, however, the report argues that ARRA’s one-time funding will run out soon and cannot address long-term needs.

“Sustaining and building on this reform momentum is critical to assuring that all kids — regardless of zip code — receive an excellent education that prepares them for success,” said Gary Huggins, executive director of the Commission on No Child Left Behind. “While the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act includes many critical reform elements that should be part of a reauthorized ESEA, it is not a substitute for the systemic, durable reform that only a reauthorization can provide.”

In the years since the last reauthorization in 2002, the report notes, the nation has benefited from NCLB’s commitment to hold schools accountable for improving outcomes for all students by highlighting the achievement gaps among groups of students. Additionally, NCLB’s requirement to disaggregate data on student outcomes for accountability and public reporting purposes has translated into significant gains on the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) over the last decade, particularly in elementary schools. Unfortunately, the gains on NAEP have not extended to the nation’s secondary schools where achievement gaps remain large and pervasive.

“NCLB was groundbreaking when it was signed into law,” said Bob Wise, president of the Alliance for Excellent Education and former governor of West Virginia. “Almost 10 years later it’s a compact disc in an iPod world — useful, but in desperate need of an upgrade. By reauthorizing ESEA, the Congress can address the aspects of NCLB that time, experience, and research have shown need to be significantly improved or updated and do more to help ensure that every student graduates from high school prepared for college and career.”

In an effort to provide temporary fixes to NCLB, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) created important pilot programs and offered waivers permitting school districts and states to experiment with different approaches to accountability and school improvement, the report notes. ARRA brought about even more rules and additional waivers. “In the absence of ESEA reauthorization, the myriad guidelines, rules, and waivers that followed NCLB and ARRA have resulted in a patchwork quilt of requirements that send mixed signals to states and school districts,” Huggins said. “There must be a clear and streamlined roadmap on how they all work together and more effectively support state and local reform efforts.” The report outlines four distinct reasons ESEA reauthorization is necessary to support long-term reform and ensure strong accountability for student outcomes and improvement: NCLB and ARRA have inconsistent accountability goals and measures that send mixed messages to educators and parents and have the potential to confuse local administrators and increase bureaucracy at the state and federal levels. For example, NCLB set the goal of all students becoming proficient in math and reading by 2014. On the other hand, ARRA requires states to set goals that are ambitious and achievable, but imposes no timeline. While ARRA’s programs rightly prioritize the lowest-performing schools, too many other low-performing schools and students do not receive attention and support. Under the competitive framework of ARRA’s Race to the Top Fund, not every state will receive funding and, in those states that do, only a subset of eligible schools will benefit. Although there are multiple reporting requirements and administrative burdens, states are not necessarily held accountable for the efficient, effective, and equitable use of federal education dollars. According to the report, ESEA reauthorization presents an opportunity to rethink and improve monitoring strategies to minimize the burden to states and districts, while maximizing accountability for results. The NCLB accountability framework needs to be updated to recognize the state-led movement toward higher, common standards and improved assessments while maintaining accountability for results. The report argues that an ESEA reauthorization is necessary to realign the accountability system accordingly, while simultaneously ensuring that all schools —including low-performing schools —are accurately identified for improvement and interventions. The report comes two days before U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan will testify before the House Education and Labor Committee to discuss ESEA reauthorization and the role that strong and innovative education reforms can play in helping to rebuild the American economy and ensure the nation’s competitiveness.

In the report, the Commission on No Child Left Behind and the Alliance for Excellent Education call on the Administration and Congress to move swiftly to reauthorize ESEA in 2010. Over the coming weeks, the Commission and the Alliance will be reaching out to other national organizations to add to the push for ESEA reauthorization this year.

The complete report is available at http://www.all4ed.org/files/AllianceCommissionReport.pdf http://www.all4ed.org/files/AllianceCommissionReport and http://www.nclbcommission.org http://www.nclbcommission.org/ .

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Dogs helping people… gotta love cute stories!

By Lindsey Hilty | Friday, February 26, 2010, 01:07 PM

It is kind of a joke around the office that I don’t like dogs. My coworkers are appalled by this. It isn’t that I hate dogs. I just don’t want one or want to be jumped on, bit, or licked by one. :)

So, they also find it funny that I love to write stories about people and their dogs. I just think it is precious to see the close bond some people have with their animals — especially if their dogs are intelligent.

Here is a story about two intelligent dogs assisting their owners. It is an even cooler story, because it involves a really special woman who is using her dog training skills to help others.

Here is a link to BAM!’s magazine cover appearance. More pictures of the dogs will be posted online in a gallery this weekend.

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School enrollment to decrease in Ohio

By Lindsey Hilty | Thursday, February 25, 2010, 04:08 PM

According to an article from the Ohio School Boards Association, Ohio’s public school enrollment is expected to decline by 3.1 percent by 2018. This is according to a National Center for Education Statistics report. The dip, OSBA says, will cause a greater financial challenge for Ohio’s schools and communities. Fifteen other states are in similar positions, but overall, U.S. enrollment will rise 18 percent. See more stats at Http://links.osba-ohio.org/89696 What do you think will happen in Lakota? Will numbers continue to rise? Lakota officials have said they don’t anticipate the great influx of students they have had in past years, but they do plan for and realize growth each year.

On a side note, Ohio was fifth best in the nation in Education Week’s quality counts report.

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Schools fees to increase

By Lindsey Hilty | Wednesday, February 24, 2010, 03:35 PM

This is information back from December when I was out of the office, but I wanted to let you know of a preschool fee update.

In an effort to recoup expenses on a popular Lakota program, officials have increased the cost of preschool from $1,575 per year ($175 per month for nine months) up to $1,800 per year ($200 per month for nine months).

The program is free to students with an identified disability and is supplemented by Federal Title grants. Students without disabilities are charged the fee.

In comparison, Fairfield City Schools charge $100 per month, Mason charges $264 per month, Sycamore charges $255 per month and Loveland charges $250.

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What do you think of the cuts?

By Lindsey Hilty | Tuesday, February 23, 2010, 02:05 PM

More than 250 people showed up to ask the board last night to reconsider some cuts. Read about it here.

However, officials have said they have to cut across all programs to address a $26 million deficit. Officials compared Lakota to Little Miami several times last night. Little Miami voters defeated several levies, forcing the district to assume state minimum requirements for education. Lakota officials said they obviously aren’t there yet, but if the levy doesn’t pass, they may find themselves in the same boat as other districts that are sinking from debt and dwindling state funds.

Here is a presentation given by Superintendent Mike Taylor last night. I am copying and pasting information from a Power Point, so it is a tad confusing. Hopefully, some of the numbers will help make sense of the bigger picture. What are your thoughts?

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Central office is packed

By Lindsey Hilty | Monday, February 22, 2010, 08:16 PM

Central office is packed (about 250 people) listening as the board hears a budget update. It is expected to approve cuts at the next board meeting. Right now, it is asking questions of administrators about why they chose the cuts they proposed.

No public comment has been heard, but the district officials have been trying to talk about their reasoning for trimming music programs. Superintendent Mike Taylor said these are the hardest decisions he has to make as a leader.

“To have to go through a process like this and sit in a room with people like this because we’re talking about reducing in force the quality people who have made this school system the way it is, is very difficult,” he said.

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