SPS faces 9 percent reduction in transportation revenue

Today Gov. Jay Nixon announced that $200 million would be cut from the state’s budget. Due to this budget reduction, Springfield Public Schools will have about 9 percent of its transportation funding cut beginning in October.

Based on what we know at this point, we expect SPS could lose as much as $233,000 in revenue which would have been used to support our transportation services for students. Unfortunately, this will probably be the first of many budget reductions we will experience this year.

The district is currently evaluating the other budget restrictions announced today by the governor to determine what other impact there might be on the district’s budget.

SPS has long history of favorable audits

Today we were notified that a citizens' group is initiating a petition drive to request a state financial audit of Springfield Public Schools. Our focus on efficient and effective use of resources within the district is supported by our fiscal track record.

SPS has received unqualified audits for the past 16 years from an independent auditing firm and there has never been a concern raised about our fiscal management. Less than 5 percent of Missouri school districts receive unqualified audits.

SPS is required by the state and federal governments to submit to an annual audit conducted by an independent auditor. The auditor is required to perform the audit according to government auditing standards issued by the Comptroller General of the United States. If it is the desire of our community for the district to undergo an additional external audit, we will do everything we can to accommodate it.

The district's most recent approved audit (2007-2008), found district financial statements to be in compliance with established standards. This audit and other budget and financial information is posted on this page of the district's web site.

The 2008-2009 audit will be presented to the school board at their Nov. 17 combined meeting.

Monday morning recommended reading

It's Monday morning, and I hope everyone had a great weekend. I wanted to share a few links of recommended reading with you.

• The News-Leader wrote a really positive editorial about the bond proposal on Sunday, Oct. 25. The community's trust matters deeply to all of us here at SPS, and it's refreshing to hear the paper express their trust in the district to do the right thing for kids and the community.
  

Parents and volunteers play a vital role in the success of our schools. Two letters from parents and volunteers were featured in the paper recently as well. Be sure to read them.

• Saturday featured a letter from Kim Wrinkle about finishing what we start.
• Lisa Langley has a letter in today's paper looking at the bond proposal from the perspective of someone who spends plenty of time volunteering in our schools.
• Finally, if you've got minute, be sure to watch more videos on the district's YouTube channel.
  

No determination on days missed due to flu

I just wanted to remind parents and others that no determination has been made as far as making up school days missed due to influenza-related school closings.

Springfield Public Schools is currently working with the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to determine the required course of action. Parents and staff will be notified as soon as a decision is made regarding possible make-up days. However, it is a decision that might not be made until it is possible to discern the full impact flu-related cancellations might have this winter on schools throughout Missouri.

Cathy Clark on SPS' alternative education programs

The projects included in the Nov. 3 bond proposal address critical needs for our school district and are the right thing to do, but I certainly appreciate the thoughtful public debate the proposals have generated. A healthy community and robust schools require involved parents and citizens. Something that has troubled me is the misperception of the district's alternative education programs and the decision of a few invovled in the debate to portray students in the alternative education program as bad kids whose presence would threaten the neighborhood.

As I've said before, alternative education gives students who, for whatever reason, are not finding success in the normal classroom setting the opportunity to learn to trust themselves and take responsibility for their own achievement.

Posted below is a short video featuring Cathy Clark, SPS' assistant director of alternative education, sharing some thoughts about the role of alternative education and the proposal to house those programs at Study.

Update on Pipkin & next steps for removing mercury in our schools

The presence of mercury in our classrooms and buildings is a very serious issue. We have made a concerted effort for the past three years to remove from our schools thermometers and other once-common devices containing mercury.

Last month when a broken thermometer caused a small mercury spill at Sequiota Elementary School, we reinforced with school staff the importance of removing these items from our buildings and reminded them of proper disposal procedures.

A recent incident at Pipkin Middle School was an unfortunate accident that occurred as part of that process. A teacher had identified an instrument containing mercury and was taking steps to have it removed from the building.

I want to take a moment to tell you about the next steps in the process. At each school building, administrative staff will inspect every room to identify and document all instruments containing mercury and then provide a list of identified items to the science curriculum supervisor and environmental safety manager, who will supervise the packing, removal and disposal of those items.

Thermometers, barometers and other instruments are important classroom tools, and many of us can recall a time when those containing mercury were present in our classes. Over the years, however, we’ve learned much more about just what a serious health threat mercury can be.

Mercury exposure can lead to neurological and developmental disorders in people of all ages. The Missouri Department of Natural Resources has much more information about mercury’s impacts on our health, and I encourage you to take a moment to review this information at the following link: http://www.dnr.mo.gov/env/mercury.htm.

If you are concerned about potential exposure to mercury, contact the state Bureau of Environmental Epidemiology at 573-751-6102 or your personal physician for more information.

I would also encourage everyone to take stock of whatever items you have in your home that might contain mercury and follow the necessary steps to remove it. This page on the Environmental Protection Agency’s web site has more information for parents.

The Department of Natural Resources is now cleaning up the mercury spill at Pipkin, as well as the Employee Services Center and Doling Building. We hope to have Pipkin open for classes on Monday; however, an alternative location will be used if we are still unable to have classes at Pipkin on Monday. SPS will notify Pipkin families and staff on Sunday, Oct. 18, via the AlertNow telephone information system.

More on the decision to dismiss Delaware Elementary because of the flu

I wanted to take some time and share my thoughts with you on the decision yesterday to dismiss classes at Delaware Elementary school through the end of this week. I realize this isn’t something we do frequently and that the move carries some implications for students, parents and teachers at that school. We are certainly sensitive to that.

The district consulted the Springfield-Greene County Health Department immediately, and officials there recommended that we close Delaware to prevent the further spread of the flu among students and staff at the school and of sensitivity to the school’s students with additional medical concerns.

For the rest of the week, our custodial staff will be working diligently to clean and sanitize Delaware for when students return next week.

To some extent we’re at the mercy of nature when it comes to influenza, but the district is doing everything possible to minimize flu season’s impact and reduce the interruption to the learning process. You can help us in this effort by doing some simple things like encouraging kids to wash their hands regularly, cover mouths when coughing and not sharing personal items like cups or silverware. Most importantly, if your child has flu-like symptoms, report those to the office at your school, and keep your child home for at least 24 hours after their fever goes away without taking any kind of fever-reducing medicine.

Be sure to visit our influenza information page to keep up to date with the latest news.

Congrats to SPS' student broadcasters!

I wanted to call to your attention some of the great work being done by high school broadcast journalism students at Hillcrest and Central.

Last month, Central's "Central Intelligence" and Hillcrest's "HTV Magazine" were both named as finalists for the Pacemaker Award presented by the National Scholastic Press Association. The Pacemaker recognized the nation's top student produced program. Hillcrest has received the Pacemaker ten times throughout their 20 years of work. Central's program has been nominated as a finalist for the third time. The winners will be announced on Nov. 14.

Hillcrest's "HTV Magazine" is being featured this week in honor of their 20th anniversary by the High School Broadcast Journalism Project, part of the Radio and Television News Directors Foundation. Every day this week, they'll feature a video from HTV on the site. Be sure to check it out. My congratulations go out to Dave Davis, Hillcrest's broadcast journalism teacher, for his work over the years.

Be sure to check out the "HTV Magazine" web site.

Student mural speaks to the role of alternative education

I just wanted to take a moment to share this photo with you. It's a picture of a mural painted by a student in the alternative program at Pepperdine. For the student, the mural helped him overcome some of the mistakes he'd made in his past It became an expression of his lesson learned and gaining faith in himself. The mural reminds other students in the program that they too can learn to trust themselves as they continue their academic & personal journey.

The mural will be moved to Study where the alternative programs will be housed if the no-tax-increase bond passes.

Bus cameras will help us keep kids safe

One of the items discussed at the board study session this week was the purchase and installation of new security cameras on all 145 of the district’s school buses.

Drivers have a big responsibility to get children to and from school safely. Just like anyone behind the wheel, that means their attention is devoted to the road. That makes it hard for a driver to be involved in everything going on with the children in the seats behind them. Cameras can give us a big assist in stopping bullying and other unsafe behaviors. They also help us get the story straight when tales about what happened on the bus stray from the truth.

I want to say thanks to Charlie Ott, our director of transportation, and the drivers who do a great job every day getting our children to and from school. The board will be voting to authorize the purchase of bus cameras at the Oct. 20 meeting.

I’ll turn it over to Mr. Ott for more about the bus cameras in a story that appeared on KSPR earlier this week.