Manchester Community Schools
Educational Excellence in a Caring Community
February 2010 E- Newsletter
Welcome! Please forward this e-newsletter to other members of the community, and encourage those you know to subscribe by using the link that is on our district webpage: www.mcs.k12.mi.us
School and Community Calendars: What is happening in our schools? How can I find out what events are scheduled in each building? A district-wide school activity schedule is available on-line: From the school district website, www.mcs.k12.mi.us, click on the “school activities calendar” on the left side of the screen. This calendar will provide you a listing of events that are scheduled outside of the school day in district facilities. For information about school day events, click on the pages for individual schools. For information about community events, visit the Manchester Area Chamber of Commerce website at www.48158.com
Special Dates: Please keep in mind the following special dates! - February 15: No school for President’s Day Weekend.
- March 15: 2010-2011 Kindergarten registration packets available at Klager School office.
- March 9-11: Michigan Merit Exam (MME) testing at HS.
- March 30: Parent Teacher Conferences from 5:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. Please contact school building offices for information on how to meet with your children(s) teacher(s).
- April 2-April 9: Spring Break!
Early Childhood Extravaganza: This special event is scheduled for March 18, 2010 from 2:00 to 7:30 p.m. at the Ackerson Building: This event is for children and families of children from birth to age five. Information and registration materials for both the Manchester Early Childhood Center and the Manchester Co-op Preschool will be available. The Community Resource Center will be providing free give away items, the Masons will be working on child identification programs, and the Lions Club will be providing Vision testing. WIC, our county health department, Washtenaw County Head Start, and other groups will all be participating. In addition, there will be a children's item exchange. For more information please call Becky Brewis at 734-428-9711 ext 1343 or Sue Colvia at 734-428-9711 ext 1344.
Manchester Voices is a community based coalition that encourages Manchester parents and adults to support local youth in making healthy choices. Working with the Students Leading Students group at our high school, Manchester Voices promoted Project Sticker Shock in December. The campaign consisted of specially designed stickers being adhered to multi-packs of alcoholic beverages (beer, wine coolers, etc) in participating retail stores in the Manchester area. If you would like information about future meetings and activities, contact Todd Mutchler (todd.mucthler@yahoo.com) or Peter Girtz (peter@kbamichigan). For helpful ideas on how to talk to your child about alcohol, visit www.thepowerofparents.org.
The Manchester Community Schools Education Foundation has as its purpose “to enhance the educational opportunities for our children in grades K through 12.” The goal of the foundation is to provide an organization for tax deductible donations and planned gifts to the school community. Money is distributed to classroom and school-wide projects through mini-grants. The foundation board meets monthly, on the first Wednesday of the month. For more information, contact Julie Manders (manchestereyecare@sbcglobal.net).
ACT/MME Preparation Provided at No-Fee to High School Students! Mr. Mowrer, principal at Manchester High School, will be holding our second annual ACT/MME preparation program on Saturday, February 27 in the MHS Media Center. This program is open to any MHS student who would like to prepare for the ACT/MME test. This program made a big difference for MHS students last year, as MHS students posted the highest test scores in Washtenaw County. Taking and completing a Michigan Merit Exam is a graduation requirement for MHS students. Parents, please register your students for the ACT/MME preparation program on February 27 by emailing Ms. Weidmayer at kweidmayer@mcs.k12.mi.us.
State Budget News: The state revenue forecast was presented in Lansing on January 11. This is the meeting which projects state revenues and the implications of such revenues on programs funded through the state budget. - This school year: No additional state funding reductions for local school districts are anticipated for this school year. However, the $165 per student reduction in funding that was made in October remains in place. Our revised budget approved on December 21, 2009 accounted for the $165 per student reduction in state funding. It anticipates a $540,000 deficit in this year’s operating budget. At this point we have implemented a hiring freeze, frozen all non-essential spending, and are seeking additional current year savings.
- Next school year: The current revenue estimate puts the School Aid Fund $424 million in deficit for fiscal year 2010-11. This translates to roughly $268 per pupil. This reduction in per pupil funding will be in addition to the $165 per pupil reduction already taken by schools this year. This year's operating budget deficit, plus the additional reduction in per pupil funding, plus other costs for which increases must be anticipated (due to contractual obligations or other factors), results in an anticipated deficit for 2010-2011 of over $1.1 million for our school district. Absent action at the state level to address health employment costs, retirement costs, and state revenue for local school districts, our planning for next school year must anticipate the following: A reduction of at least 3 to 5 teaching staff positions; additional expenditure reductions of $100,000 - $200,000; and, additional spending of general fund equity of approximately $500,000.
It continues to be incredibly important for all stakeholders who value public education to be in communication with legislators. The development of the fiscal year 2011 state budget begins in the next few weeks. The decisions made in Lansing regarding this budget will dramatically impact our work in Manchester.
Energy Conservation: Our school district continues to work on cost reductions through energy conservation. Our energy conservation program has been in place since September 2007, and since that time our projected cost avoidance (estimated costs with the program versus without it) is almost 22%. Over the past year we have increased our savings by 8%. More information regarding the energy program in which we are involved is available at: www.energyeducation.com Every dollar we save on energy consumption is a dollar for us to invest in the future success of our students.
Pink Zone Game: The JV and Varsity Girls' Basketball program will be hosting a Pink Zone Game at the high school on Thursday, February 11, 2010. This game will raise money for the WBCA/Kay Yow Cancer Fund. Kay Yow was a former North Carolina State Women's basketball coach who lost a twenty-year battle for breast cancer last year. Last year, our girl’s basketball program raised $2,000 to donate to the cause. Before the game, the after-prom committee, which provides the after-prom party for our high school students, is hosting a spagettti dinner in the High School Commons to raise funds for the after-prom event. And, during the game, our athletic boosters are donating concession proceeds to the Girls' WCBA/Kay Yow Cancer Fund fundraising effort. The dinner begins at 4:30 p.m. The basketball games begin at 5:30 p.m., with Junior Varsity; the Varsity game should start at about 7:00 p.m. Come out for dinner, a great game, and concession snacks, and support our athletes, our students, and the fight against cancer, as we work together as a community!
|
Connecting to Facebook
