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(Don't) Go West Young Man

By Janet Evans
Wednesday, Jul 16 2008, 07:15 PM


 

Or young woman for that matter, if you are a student and a stable one at that.

In 2006-07 one in four California high school students, that’s 24.2 percent, failed to graduate/continue their education.  Compare that with Wisconsin’s dropout rate of 1.59 percent.

Read the article from the SacBee.com   Ã


Then form your own conclusions if you choose by visiting the California Dept. of Education website. 

I know I have questions…

The first would be …

How many non-English speaking students are included in those dropouts?


California Dept. of Education Drop-Outs


Wisconsin Dept. of Education Drop-Outs



 

Is There A New New Math? Or Is It The Same Old New Math?

By Janet Evans
Wednesday, Jul 16 2008, 06:45 AM



In New York, parents of young school children are having trouble with “New Math.”  So that makes me wonder if something has changed.  Or has the use of the calculator finally dumbed down a generation?

I’m pretty  sure we are talking about the same New Math that was introduced to me as a kid…So what’s going on?



"They call it the Math Wars: The debate, at times acrimonious, over which way is best to teach kids math. In its most black-and-white form, it pits schools hoping to prepare kids for a new world against reluctant parents, who feel the traditional way is best and their kids are being shortchanged.

But there are lots of parents who fall into a grayer area: They're willing to accept that their kids are learning things differently. They just want to be able to help them with their homework. And very often, they can't."


"Rebels!" Parents find New Math daunting   Ã



 

Update - Take A look at the Franklin High School Band Performing in the July 4th Parade

By Janet Evans
Friday, Jun 27 2008, 06:36 PM



*****************************   
Update 2


It looks like pressure from the Bloggers, the Civic Celebration committee, the community and students have done the job.  School Board member David Works just told me that he spoke to Dr. Patz and he is working on releasing the instruments  to the Drum Major so any students who would like to participate in the parade will be allowed to do so.  Let's hope everything works out and that there are enough students around to have a good enough showing.

Also, Greg Kowalski informed me that Mr. Cady called Jeanine Olson from the Civic Celebrations Committee and told her the Band Director Scott Julius agreed to help coordinate the parade.  I also received an email from Mr. Cady verifying this,  I asked if Mr. Julius is being compensated for his leadership of the Band, and was told he was.  Mr. Cady also had this to say:

I do want to say that our school does really value our community and we do understand
and respect that our community has an expectation that the school gives
back.  The band has performed for community events on numerous occasions
such as performing at fund raisers for the cultural center, providing
entertainment for hundreds of our seniors each spring when we host a
dinner and first viewing of our musical and our students complete
hundreds of hours of community service every year.  It is important that
we do these things, we know that and will continue to strive to improve
our efforts in this area.


An interesting turn of events.

We'll remember this quote from Dave Szychlinski for next year:

“I spoke with Dr. Patz this morning and he
promised me that no matter happens this year, we will handle this
differently in the future so this never happens again.”



 


 
***************************** 


Update 1

This has nothing to do with a referendum.

I talked to the United Music Parent's President (UMPS), Rhonda Gross, this morning.

Last year the parade was run by the student Drum Major.   She said there may not even be enough students available right now.  This happened a month ago.  The volunteers were in charge in the past.

Contracts are still in negotiations for some of the teachers right now.  You can bet it will be discussed for a band teacher to participate in the parade.  The School District does care about the Community.  They've gotten off easy all these years because they have had a strong parent group like UMPS.  Also, being that it's late...kids make plans when it gets late.  They don't wait around.  There aren't 300 kids sitting home waiting to march knowing that they don't have a leader.  You would think the new Band Director could have stepped up, but no, he didn't have a contract.  Obviously he wanted to get paid.  He could be out of town too.  Who knows.  The UMPS President says he's good with the students. 

Not everything revolves around a referendum. 

It has been said to our faces at the meetings it will be a while before there is a referendum.  

Do we have a date yet?

No.

They need to get land first.

The band isn't playing because many people screwed up.

Period.





*****************************   
















?
 




Don’t see anything but an empty space?

That’s because as of this posting there will be no Franklin High School Marching Band in the parade.

And don’t hold your breath for one either.

Franklin blogger, Greg Kowalski brought up this issue last night on his Metro Milwaukee Today blog.

I looked into it a little further today to clarify the issue.

Tanya Ruder, District Communications Specialist reports that:

We have had some very generous parents and students who have dedicated
their time in the past to organize the band for the parade.  This has
never been a school or district organized event.  This year there was no
outside person or group that worked on organizing the band.  The Civic
Celebration Planning Committee was notified that the band would not be
participating approximately a month ago. 

While the district is well aware that the community supports the band
and would like to have them participating, the time frame for this year
is now too short to prepare them for the event.  We are going to work on
having the appropriate staff for the parade next year that can work with
available students to perform in the parade.  This not only ensures that
the band will be present, but they will also be well rehearsed.

We appreciate all of the support that our community shows for the
Franklin High School Band and we look forward to participating in the
parade next year.”

Dave Szychlinski, School Board President says:

“I spoke with Dr. Patz this morning and he
promised me that no matter happens this year, we will handle this
differently in the future so this never happens again.”




I find the Civic Celebration Planning Committee at fault also.  If they knew about this a month ago, as stated, they could have tried to find a band from another area to participate.  Hales Corners has their parade late in the afternoon.  Perhaps Whitnall's band might have played in our parade.  It’s just a thought…you never know.  It’s just that, a parade needs at least one band.

My main gripe is that, if this was made public perhaps a community volunteer with music experience, and I know there are some of you out there, might have stepped forward  and volunteered a few hours with these students to practice a couple songs for the parade and marched with them on July 4th….for free!  Does money always have to be an issue here?  Does a contract for a teacher have to come into play?  Can a teacher volunteer their services for a few hours in the summer? 

Go ahead....criticize me for bringing that up.  But I sit at School Board meetings for hours and I don’t have children in school.  I can battle anyone about volunteering if you want….I have many, many years of it behind me.
So, Franklin citizens…enjoy the parade…

Perhaps we will have to resort to this...




"Ingenuity at its best is seen with the creation of Willimantic’s Boom Box Parade. In 1986, no marching band could be found for Memorial Day. Five weeks later, the “Boom Box Parade” concept was born, where the local radio station, WILI, plays the marching band music on the air, and thousands of parade goers loudly play their radios (boom boxes). Anyone can march in this one-of-a-kind people’s parade. The only requirements are to wear some red, white and blue and bring a radio tuned to WILI (1400AM). American flags are optional but encouraged. There is no “official” theme for the parade. Past parade marchers have included the “Traveling Fish Head Club of Northeastern Connecticut”, which in 2003 had a “herring town” entry and in 2001 had a tribute to the Frog Bridge. Grand Marshal Wayne Norman, a WILI personality, always leads the parade."


The Boom Box Parade - July 4th Celebration




But we can call it the Boomgaard Box Parade...

That's the way things in Franklin are going lately....







Happy 4th of July



***************************** 



 

Update: A Franklin Citizen Questions the School Board

By Janet Evans
Monday, Jun 16 2008, 04:15 PM



Today I received a response from Mr. Jim Milzer regarding the questions and concerns (below) from a Franklin citizen that were brought up after the Committee of the Whole Meeting on June 4th.  

I was not told who addressed specific questions/concerns.



The response is in .pdf format:

Response to Unidentified Citizen   ç here

06/17/08

Response from From Unidentified Citizen:

I'm satisfied with the answers.  I have no "axe to grind" with our district.  I appreciate the response, and the time taken to explain.

Unidentified Citizen





~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I received an email from a Franklin citizen who was in attendance at the Committee of the Whole meeting of the Franklin School Board, on June 4th.  The individual does not feel comfortable contacting the Board members directly, for personal reasons, but would like answers to the following questions, and would also like to share these concerns.

I am posting the questions from the email, with permission, as I think they are interesting, along with forwarding them to the Board, Dr. Patz, Judy Mueller and Mr. Milzer.  Hopefully the questions will get answered.

Here is a link to my report on the meeting, which has a link to the 1st draft of the 08-09  budget:

Franklin School Board 06-04-08 Committee of the Whole Meeting


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Email Questions/Concerns from Citizen Regarding 08-09 Budget:


I was very pleased with the school board asking to see the FTE posted next
to the staffing projections. I too am interested in those numbers.

I am also interested in why I was told at the meeting that no teachers had
been laid off. Tacked onto that statement was a comment that some hours in
art and music had been cut. According to the numbers quoted that would have
been .1 FTE. 1/10th of a position.

When I talked to representatives in those departments - they told me that
two part time teachers had been laid off, and that the total of the two
would have been around 1 FTE not .1. So I am interested in this discrepancy.
I am more interested in accuracy of the presentation than the bad news. I
want finance representatives who aren't going to gloss over a situation.

I also would like to know what areas were considered for strategic
abandonment and what the general strategy or order was. Were staffing
positions considered first because they are the largest budget area? Or were
teachers considered last due to student impact? Exactly what were the
underlying principles used to come to decisions.

Were all budget areas considered? And by that I don't mean "yes, staffing was
considered". I would like to know if all areas of staffing were considered.

I have heard that our district is top-heavy. I've heard it from a lot of
different sources, and there are things I see volunteering that support the
concept of too many chiefs, too few Indians. However, I am not overly
familiar with the structure at a district level. So I started researching.

A quick perusal of our own staff directory on the website shows that 34 out
of 393 employees work at ECC. 1 in 10 didn't strike me as a good number, but
I don't know what those people do, so I started comparing our numbers to
other numbers on the DPI website.


We have 1 administrator for every 246 students.
Greenfield has 1/264
Greendale has 1/208
MPS has 1/178
Oak Creek - Franklin has 1/301

The numbers say that we aren't really top heavy. Or, more likely, if we are,
so is the rest of the system. It also shows that there are school districts
out there who are similar in size that have fewer administrative positions.
Have we researched what districts like Oak Creek Franklin and Glendale
-River Hills, and South Milwaukee are doing to maintain a better
administrative ratio?

It might be expedient for a corresponding cut in administrative FTE to
balance that out cuts in teacher’s hours. Certainly a decreasing staff and
student body means that there is a corresponding decrease in administrative
duties somewhere along the line. That means if we cut 5 positions from our
teaching staff we should be looking to eliminate a part time position at the
district level. If nothing else even a few hours trimmed from the
administrative budget might go a long way in paving the way for better
teacher relations. If we are willing to reposition our teachers and assign
them new duties, maybe we need to consider that at the top too.

I do believe good administration is worth keeping and paying. Good
administration will also have the respect of those who work under them.

My suggestions/comments on the budget meeting:

1. An impact report on proposed budgetary cuts would be helpful. This report
should have an emphasis on what this will mean to the student population.
For instance, we were able to cut three elementary positions due to a
decrease in student populations. Thankfully, we were told that no one was
laid off. Yet there are other costs to the student in reorganization. This
might mean some large classes. It might mean teachers who are teaching new
grade-levels and curriculum. I fully understand that you do the best that
you can, but I also realize that there is more than one way to arrange what
gets cut, that different people are going to have different ideas on what is
important.

2. There was no mention at the meeting that administrative or support
positions had been looked at alongside of teaching staff for budget cuts. I
certainly hope that these were considered, but I have no real assurances
that they were

3. I was very happy to see the budget posted to the website. It is good to
see that the school board is trying to improve its relationship with the
community. Something to consider. When I get an e-mail inviting me to a
meeting on the day of that meeting, I start to wonder what is being covered
that someone wants to push through with little comment. A week in advance
for those notices would be much more appropriate.

4.  I really would like a clear answer on how many teachers have been laid
off and what programs are affected. I am hoping to understand why I am
getting two different numbers from the teachers and from the district.

5.  Mr. Milzer mentioned that out-sourcing payroll wouldn’t be a good idea due to loss in corporate knowledge in that area.  I would love to see the same argument applied to moving our teachers around to fill different positions.


 

 

Franklin Public Schools .... Did Not Apply

By Janet Evans
Wednesday, Jun 11 2008, 09:01 PM





There’s free money out there for our school district in the form of grants.

But it takes time to do the processing to receive that money.

That’s one reason why I suggest hiring a retired teacher to help research and write grants.

Wisconsin has an alcohol abuse problem with its high school students.

A $5 million dollar competitive grant will be shared with Wisconsin schools to help them in the prevention of alcohol and drug abuse.  Greendale and Racine were among School Districts winning part of that $5 million.

They applied. 

I spoke with Brenda Jennings, AODA Consultant at DPI.  She told me Franklin Public Schools did not apply.

You can’t tell me Franklin Public schools does not have any problems with drugs and alcohol.  Yes, it was a competitive grant….but if Greendale and Racine applied and won money….there’s no reason Franklin couldn't have done the same.  We may not have received the grant, but you don't know unless you apply.

Free money….

Budget cuts....Budget shortfall?

When there is discussion of raising fees, shouldn't the District be looking into each and every grant that may come their way? 

 Cost control?  First let's look at the Administration for some cuts....and at their salary increases; but let's not ever forget about seeking every grant possible and meeting every deadline for those grants.





~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



State of Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction
Elizabeth Burmaster, State Superintendent

Mailing Address: P.O. Box 7841, Madison, WI 53707-7841
Street Address: 125 South Webster Street, Madison, WI 53703 Telephone: (608) 266-3390
 Toll Free: (800) 441-4563
 FAX: (608) 267-1052
 TDD: (608) 267-2427
 Internet Address: dpi.wi.gov

****NEWS RELEASE****

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DPI 2008-92
Thursday, June 5, 2008
CONTACT: Patrick Gasper, Communications Officer, (608) 266-3559

Schools to share state funding to reduce and prevent alcohol, tobacco, and drug use among students

MADISON—School districts throughout Wisconsin are sharing approximately $5 million in competitive grants that will help them reduce or prevent the use of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs among students.

“According to a recent survey of our youth, too many students engage in alcohol, drug, or tobacco use that imperils their health and can have a negative impact on their academic achievement,” said State Superintendent Elizabeth Burmaster. “These grants support programs that help students avoid risks so they can focus on their learning.”

The 2007 Youth Risk Behavior Survey reported that one in five high school students report that they use tobacco, 49 percent report using alcohol, and 32 percent report binge drinking. Nearly one-quarter of students said they receive drug offers at school (23 percent), and 20 percent report using marijuana.
The state Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse (AODA) Program grants provide funding to teach skills and supply information aimed at preventing alcohol and illegal drug use. The state-funded grants total $4.96 million and will support efforts in 119 Wisconsin school districts. Another 32 Wisconsin
communities will benefit from approximately $355,000 in grants to prevent students from using tobacco and to help students, who have already begun using tobacco, to quit. Both individual school districts and consortium projects, in which clusters of neighboring schools will work together on projects, received awards.

“Research has proven over and over again that academic success can be severely compromised by the use and abuse of drugs and alcohol, including tobacco,” Burmaster said. “We owe it to our students to reduce or eliminate the barriers that substance abuse places in front of them so they can reach their full potential.”

AODA and tobacco grants –  of the projects receiving AODA grant funding provide a comprehensive approach to prevent or  eliminate the use of alcohol and illegal drugs among students, using multiple strategies and linking resources from home, community agencies, and the school. Grants may be renewed for two additional years of funding through the 2010-11 school year.

As part of a comprehensive tobacco control effort by the state, school tobacco grants were awarded through a cooperative agreement with the Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services. The grants ensure that there are efforts aimed at prevention and cessation of early smoking, based on the National Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Guidelines for School Health Programs to Prevent Tobacco Use and Addiction. Particular importance was placed on the school’s involvement and cooperation with local tobacco coalitions in their community or county. These projects can be renewed for an additional year in 2009-10.

“These multi-year, multi-strategy initiatives often can have impact for years to come, even after the project funding ends,” Burmaster noted. “What students learn in school through health education or
peer support can pay big dividends to society if today’s youth avoid the devastating consequences alcohol, tobacco, or drug abuse so often have on families, businesses, and our economy.”

###

NOTES: Attached is a list of grantees for the state’s Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Program and the Wisconsin School Tobacco Grant Program. The amount of each award represents funding for the 2008-09 school year only. An asterisk (*) indicates a  consortium grant.

This news release is available electronically at http://dpi.wi.gov/eis
/pdf/dpi2008_92.pdf.

2008-09 AODA and School Tobacco Grants

AODA Grants

A-C

Amery School District, $40,000

Antigo School District, $35,735

Ashland School District, $40,000

Athens School District, $20,000

Augusta School District, $20,000

Baraboo School District, $64,000

Beaver Dam School District, $64,000

Beloit School District, $64,000

Berlin Area School District, $40,000

Bruce School District, $45,000 *

CESA 5, $105,000 *

CESA 7, $55,500 *

CESA 8, $167,979 *

CESA 12, $75,000 *

Chetek School District, $40,000

Chippewa Falls Area School District, $64,000

Clear Lake School District, $20,000

Clintonville School District, $40,000

Columbus School District, $40,000

Cuba City School District, $19,810

D-L

D.C. Everest Area School District, $63,780

Durand School District, $40,000

Eau Claire Area School District, $140,000

Elcho School District, $20,000

Ellsworth Community School District, $40,000

Fall Creek School District, $20,000

Flambeau School District, $20,000

Fond du Lac School District, $64,000

Galesville-Ettrick-Trempealeau School District, $40,000

Green Bay Area School District, $140,000

Green Lake School District, $20,000

Hayward Community School District, $30,055

Holmen School District, $64,000

Howard-Suamico School District, $64,000

Hustisford School District, $20,000

Janesville School District, $140,000

Kaukauna Area School District, $63,997

Kenosha School District, $132,872

Kimberly Area School District, $45,250

La Crosse School District, $56,500

Lake Mills Area School District, $39,122

Little Chute Area School District, $40,000

Lomira School District, $40,000

M-P

Madison Metropolitan School District, $140,000

Manitowoc School District, $63,850

Marshall School District, $40,000

McFarland School District, $40,000

Menomonee Falls School District, $64,000

Menomonie Area School District, $64,000

Middleton-Cross Plains School District, $64,000

Milwaukee Public Schools, $280,000

Mount Horeb Area School District, $30,500

Necedah Area School District, $20,000

Neenah School District, $50,345

New Richmond School District, $40,000

Northwood School District, $20,000

Norwalk-Ontario-Wilton School District, $20,000

Oconto Falls School District, $40,000

Oregon School District, $64,000

Osseo-Fairchild School District, $36,489

Palmyra-Eagle Area School District, $40,000

Plymouth School District, $38,521

Potosi School District, $20,000

Poynette School District, $40,000

Pulaski Community School District, $61,969

R-W

Racine Unified School District, $116,800

Randolph School District, $19,991

Rice Lake Area School District, $40,000

River Falls School District, $64,000

River Valley School District, $40,000

Riverdale School District, $16,995

Sauk Prairie School District, $39,986

Sheboygan Area School District, $134,000

Shell Lake School District, $17,500

Siren School District, $20,000

Sparta Area School District, $40,000

Spooner Area School District, $40,000

Stevens Point Area School District, $64,000

Stoughton Area School District, $56,890

Sun Prairie Area School District, $64,000

Two Rivers School District, $40,000

Viroqua Area School District, $40,000

Waukesha School District, $136,000

Waupun School District, $34,019

West Allis-West Milwaukee School District, $50,634

West Bend School District, $64,000

Westfield School District, $40,000

Whitewater School District, $40,000

Winneconne Community School District, $40,000

Wisconsin Heights School District, $20,000

Tobacco Grants

Alma School District, $5,000

Amery School District, $10,000

Appleton Area School District, $20,000

Augusta School District, $10,000 *

Baraboo School District, $10,480

Beloit School District, $15,000

Black River Falls School District, $10,000

Bruce School District, $20,000 *

CESA 4, $15,000 *

CESA 11, $20,000 *

Deerfield Community School District, $5,000

Eau Claire Area School District, $10,000

Ellsworth Community School, $9,909

Green Bay Area School District, $20,000

Greendale School District, $10,000

Janesville School District, $20,000

Middleton-Cross Plains Area School District, $15,000

Milwaukee Public Schools, $40,000

Racine Unified School District, $20,000

Sun Prairie Area School District, $15,000

Watertown School District, $15,000

Wausau School District, $15,000

Whitewater School District, $10,000

Wisconsin Rapids School District, $15,000

An asterisk (*) indicates a consortium grant.


 

Why Not Make Your Own Fuel?

By Janet Evans
Monday, Jun 9 2008, 09:30 PM





Out of vegetable oil….

It sure doesn’t look that difficult.

Well, not too difficult.

Sort of….







Veg Oil Conversion by Fossil Free Fuel









 

Updated - Franklin School Board 06/04/08 Committee of the Whole

By Janet Evans
Thursday, Jun 5 2008, 11:45 AM


 

Draft #1 of the 2008-2009 Franklin Public Schools Budget


 

Jim Milzer presented the Budget Draft in the simplest terms possible at the meeting, and every member of the audience was presented with a copy of the draft.  The floor was open for comments and questions during the entire presentation.  Once again, the Board is keeping their communication with the public moving forward.

The main concern coming from the audience seemed to be over elementary teaching positions and whether there were staff cuts.  There seems to be confusion over this.  It doesn't appear there were "cuts," except for a Special Education position.  This was more shifting of positions, retirements, etc.


Staffing Explanation

(from my Personnel & Policy Committee Meeting and the Finance Committee Meetings report 04/09/08)


Elementary level lost 3.6 FTE (Full time equivalent)
Forest Park lost 1.0 FTE (Special Education teacher)
High School lost 2.10 FTE (retirement, P.E./Health 1/4, efficiency in sectioning math,
                                                                             stacking computer class)

For a total Projected Loss of 6.7 FTE
and a Projected gain of +.5 FTE (ESL Program at High School)

= 6.2 FTE Staffing Reduction in Budget Draft

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~




From what I understand, the Business Department put this draft together with no input from the Board.  I believe this is standard procedure.  Next, the Board Finance Committee with go over the Draft on June 18th where they will consider any questions and comments from the Committee of the Whole meeting, along with anything else that may come up in the next two weeks.   It's not too late...if you couldn't make it to the meeting, give a Board member a call if you have any suggestions or comments before the Finance meeting.

The number of students in the District isn't determined until September and the amount of State aid isn't determined until October, therefore, the Budget is not finalized until fall. 

Changes in the Draft will continue to be made along the way.



Estimated Tax Levy Rates:


    2007-08   2008-09   $ Diff   % Diff
                 
                 
Total Assessed Tax Levy Rate   10.89   11.18   0.29   2.7%




Estimated Property Tax Implications of Proposed 2008-09 Budget
Franklin Public Schools Community Service
Additional Per Year Additional Per Year
Assessed Value of $100,000 28.35 0.43
Assessed Value of $200,000 56.71 0.85





Citizens were asked to come with ideas about the Budget.  I happened to come with some suggestions....some small, some large.  Several of these may be possible, maybe some of these aren't possible for our district.  But I think they are worth looking into.  Every dollar counts and I put thought into the ideas:


15-Plus Suggestions to the Franklin Public Schools
for Saving Tax Dollars in the 2008-09 SY Budget and Beyond
1. Every form used by the district should be put on the staff intranet in a
shared directory.  All old copies of forms should be destroyed.
Forms should be printed on an as-needed basis and updated yearly.
If a District employee does not know how to access staff intranet, provide mandatory training.
2. Spend less money on the District newsletter mailed out.  
They are glossy, they are pretty…but we are not hanging them up.
I can guarantee that many people are not even reading them.  
3. Ask and you shall receive….
Make sure all newsletters are being mailed and/or emailed to all Franklin businesses.
Include an insert with a list of special equipment needed by the District or schools.
4. Salaries/compensation are the main expenditures for the District.
Teachers are needed here every day.  Subs are an added cost.
Review the sub call-in program.  Is it automatic or manual?
Manual is more efficient.
Make sure subs are utilized as best as possible and if they are called 
for a full day they are actually subbing…not doing other tasks like
copying, stapling, sorting, busywork, etc.
5. The District should offer an incentive program with an attendance 
bonus to discourage excessive absences, for teachers with
perfect attendance, at the end of each quarter.  This may save on substitute costs.
6. Teachers should schedule training or conferences on days
when students are not present, and substitutes are not necessary, whenever possible.
Have Staff Development providers come to the District to provide training instead of teachers going out for training, whenever possible, to save
on expenses.  Use Administrators and as mentors to provide training
for Staff Development.
7. Issue "Golden Tickets" to seniors or retirement-age taxpayers in the 
District, giving them free admittance to student sporting events and drama events.  Record their attendance and recruit those active citizens as
volunteers in schools.
8. Hire a retired teacher to do Grant writing.  Make sure all timelines are met for Grants.  Make sure no Grant funds go unused.
9. Sell any of the land the District owns that we are positive we will
not use for development.  We will bring in revenue, and put the property back on the tax rolls.
10. Is there a payroll processing service /vendor capable of doing payroll for 
the District as well or better for a lower cost? Investigate.
11. Insist upon everyone...the Board, the Superintendent...everyone 
else in the District, giving receipts for every reimbursement.
12. Make sure every child who is eligible for free and reduced lunch is signed up for the program.
13. Review special education  transportation to ensure that only students who
are specifically required to be on special education busses are
riding them.  Perhaps a child in speech therapy may be assigned