RC super says ?no teacher layoffs? scheduled this year
?No teacher layoffs? this year has to be music to some teaching staff working at the Rogers City Area Schools. Those were the words spoken by superintendent Ed Schultz at Monday?s board meeting. ?This is a difficult item that was also on last year?s agenda in March,? Schultz began. ?But the finance committee is convinced that we probably won?t have to do this, this year,? referring to teacher layoffs for 2004.
?The people who would be laid off would be our youngest or lowest seniority teachers. We think at this point that with a lot of uncertainty with state funding ? we have renewed our contract negotiations with teachers, and we?re scheduling and trying to retain the block scheduling,? Schultz continued. It hasn?t yet been decided what teachers will go where and there have been some unexpected enrollment increases in grades K-6.
?WE DO think we?re going to get some retirements yet,? Schultz added. ?I think when it all comes together ? we?ll be OK for this year financially, staff wise.? Finance committee chair Mike Marx said, ?Basically, for the reasons outlined by Mr. Schultz, we needed to hold the curriculum ? that?s why we?re here. We need to teach the kids and offer them the best education we can.? Marx said there would be a meeting at the state level in May that would shed more light on the state aid issue. ?There were too many uncertainties out there for us to recommend anything,? Marx added. ?So we?re going to try and maintain what we have and ride it through this rough time.
For the record, Schultz recommended, ?That the board table any teacher layoff issues until the 2004-2005 budget becomes more clear.? The issue will be held off month by month until an educated decision can be made. The board was in agreement to table the issue.
IN OTHER business: ?Five probationary teachers were approved for their years of satisfactory teaching, but none were up for state tenure as yet. Lynn Krentz and Shari Bisson have completed three years of satisfactory teaching. Ariane Romel is approaching her second year of satisfactory teaching. Nicholas Rethman will have completed his first year September 2 and Nicole Gruvenen will have completed her first year in March, 2005.
?The board voted to approve a resolution prepared by the school?s attorneys for a ?Headlee Rollup? to allow collection of taxes at the 18 mills originally approved by voters in 2002. According to business manager Don Schaedig, the 18 mills apply only to non-homestead property. After the approval in 2002, the 18 mills was collected, but because of the millage reduction fraction, that amount was reduced to 17.883 which cost the district $9,000 in lost revenue.
For the 2004-2005 year, the tentative millage fraction reduction from the equalization department will allow only 17.55 mills which will cost the district $34,600 in lost revenue that would not be able to be obtained in state aid funding. ?We need to ask the community to support us again to ask the full foundation grant that the state of Michigan provides ? therefore we would increase the millage by 4.5 mills or 25 cents on each $1,000 of assessed value for three years: 2004-2006,? Schaedig said. The community did support a Headlee Rollup several years ago and Schaedig was hopeful they would once again come to the school system?s aid to support the request.
?This would bring it back up to the original amount (18 mills),? Schaedig said, ?but only a return to what we voted for in 2002.?
?Bruce Bigham?s contract for negotiating was formally terminated by the board when his letter of resignation was accepted with no further payments.
?Justin Karsten?s resignation was accepted as assistant track coach because of work conflicts. He will continue only on a volunteer basis when he can.
?Nicholas Rethman was approved as assistant track coach and also as the 2004-2005 assistant varsity football coach.
?The board approved a service agreement with David McArthur of Alpena to act as a professional forester for school property in Bismarck Township for a standard 15 percent rate of the gross sale of timber. The program will be a 10-year ongoing project.
?Schaedig told the board the gas bills would cause a $10,000 runover in the budget. ?We are at $17,000 or a 35 percent increase in the gas bills this year over last year,? Schaedig said.
?Diane Smuda, RC Elementary School art teacher, has gone on to make the final five in the state cut for ?Teacher of the Year? Honors.
?Three persons were present to offer comments on the martial arts removal from school property issue. Jennifer Kuznicki pointed up what she said was ?incorrect information? given in the Advance and insurance payment issues. ?Mr. Schultz?s information was slanted and he told me, ?You can?t trust children to do the right thing.? His attitude displays ignorance about the martial arts,? K
Fred Lewandowski also addressed the board on the issue, saying, ?I saw great discipline in the program and this program is important to the Rogers City area ? I?d like the board to reconsider allowing the program to be taken back into the school building.?
Molly LaFleche said, ?I?d like to see an award given to Tommy LaRoche when he found the prop gun. He did the right thing that he was taught to do ? he didn?t touch the gun, he went and got an adult ? and what did he get? Practically slapped in the face for his good deed!? The three were thanked for their comments by board president Patty Pike.
The next school board meeting will be May 10 at 6:30 p.m.