Superintendent's News

We have a great kindergarten program at Fruitport Community Schools.

We are in our second year piloting all-day kindergarten and preliminary indications show the all-day program is a huge success. First grade teachers report their students, who attended all-day kindergarten last year, far exceed students from the old ½ day kindergarten program in school readiness and reading ability. Ms. Upham, Edgewood Elementary School Principal, added that students coming from the all-day program are better prepared socially for the structure of school. This allows teachers more time to spend on academic instruction rather than keeping students focused and attentive.

Going to the all-day kindergarten program initially had some detractors. One of the main concerns was that students would not have the stamina to make it through an entire school day. This may be an issue for some students the first weeks of school, but we are seeing that all of the children have made the adjustment without any problem.

Over the past month kindergarten teachers have been emphasizing safety with their students. Safety includes learning proper procedures to stay safe at school. Students also learned about safety within the community. In fact, recently our local fire department had a fire engine on school grounds and gave the kindergartners a presentation on fire safety.

Teachers also emphasize personal safety with the kindergartners. I learned that first hand when I asked a small group of kindergartners if I could eat lunch with them. The response was almost in unison stating, “Nope, you are a stranger.” With a little help from our trusted food service staff, I soon was no longer a stranger, but I was proud of the effectiveness of our teachers and their emphasis on safety.

We feel great about our all-day kindergarten program. Let’s hope that the school fiscal crisis is resolved so that we can keep this very effective and needed program.

Engaging students in meaningful service projects is one of the best ways to foster student learning. Middle school science teacher, Rachel Kent, is a master of this instructional technique. Rachel is currently working with her students in the creation of a rain garden on the north lawn of Fruitport Middle School. The rain garden is designed to absorb rain water from the roof of the school. Current design has rain water pumped to the front of the school where it frequently floods the parking lot.

Rachel and her students have secured funding for the creation of the rain garden project through the Great Lakes Stewardship Initiative. They have also secured funds for the design and/or implementation of this student centered project from the following individuals and organizations:

JFNew provided architectural design and plants for the project.

Muskegon Conservation District provided architectural input, labor, and identified appropriate plants for the project.

H & H Landscaping and Supplies provided hardwood mulch for the project.

Fruitport Community Schools’ maintenance department provided labor to remove sod and soil at the rain garden site (Adam Shepard and Fred Wilks).

Rachel, her students, and collaborators are to be commended not only for fostering student learning, but for making a positive environmental impact on our school campus, and ultimately our surrounding ecosystem. Congratulations to all on their efforts!

There are many examples throughout the district of service learning projects impacting student learning. High school teacher Elizabeth Grimm incorporates service projects into her senior English curriculum; the football program sold jerseys that players wore during a recent football game to raise funds for cancer research. From kindergarten through graduation, Fruitport students have multiple opportunities to enhance their education through service while providing support to worthy causes and community needs.

We ask for your continued support of all students involved in service initiatives. Everybody wins when students perform service!

It has been a great start to the 2010-11 school year!  All of the bond work that took place this past summer was completed just in time for teachers to prepare their classrooms for their students. We are very proud of all that was accomplished through bond work this summer, and look forward to even more accomplishments next summer.  A very special thank you goes out to our community for their continued support as we work together to maintain excellent facilities for our students.

The school year has started out great for our sports teams as well with several striving toward likely conference championships and beyond. Of special note is Spirit Week which begins on October 11 and culminates with the Homecoming Dance on October 15.

The Fruitport Education Foundation held its annual 5th Quarter Party on October 1 after the Trojans defeated the Fremont Packers in football. In excess of $5,600 was raised for the Foundation.  A special thank you to all who volunteered to help and to all who attended.  We hope to see an even larger crowd next year.

The night of October 1 was very special for another reason as well. During half-time of the game, cancer survivors were recognized on the field. Shoulder to shoulder, these brave men and women walked the distrance of the field in solidarity for having defeated cancer. This celebration brought many tears of joy and triumph to all in attendance. Congratulations to all who organized the event and to those who participated.

In October, 2009, Fruitport Community Schools initiated a cost savings process that involved the entire staff working together to explore ways to reduce costs. This ultimately led to a cost savings plan that identified $1.5 million in savings to the District.

At the April, 2010 Board of Education meeting, action was taken to implement the cost savings plan.
The plan included staffing adjustments, which led to the lay-off of 11 instructional staff, along with restructuring of personnel groups within the district, i.e. custodial/maintenance. Further cost savings were identified by reducing expenditures in non-staff areas such as textbook and supply purchases.

Since that action was taken, retirement notices have been submitted by district personnel and accepted by the Board of Education. At a special meeting on the morning of June 21, 2010, the Board of Education finalized staffing for the 2010-11 school year.

The resulting staffing plan has zero staff on lay-off going into the 2010-11 school year! The District considers this a major achievement in being fiscally responsible while maintaining the employment of our high quality staff and the instructional integrity of our academic program.

Unfortunately, we are not completely out of the woods. This plan does erode our fund balance from approximately 16-18% down to near 10% in one year. Therefore, the District must stay vigilant in looking for further cost savings. Though having zero lay-offs is a source of pride for the school district, it is not without knowing that we still have much work to do to ensure the fiscal viability of the school district into the foreseeable future.

Unless the legislature and governor can correct the continued school funding shortfalls, erosion of the fund balance will need to be balanced with further cuts. The good news for Fruitport Community Schools is that through retirements and restructuring of some staff, plus cost savings in other areas of the budget, we enter the 2010-11 school year with no programming eliminations and no staff layoffs.

Fruitport Community Schools will hold its annual school election on Tuesday, May 4, 2010. Polls will be open from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Voters will elect one Board of Education member to serve a four-year term. Betty Kinney (incumbent) and David Markgraf are vying for the open board seat.

District voters will be asked for a millage renewal of 18 mills for school district operations to be levied against businesses and other non-residential, non-homestead properties. Passage of the 18-mill renewal is imperative to FCS as it will provide over $3 million dollars of revenue for the district. The renewal will be levied against businesses and other non-residential (non-homestead properties). It is important to note that this millage does not impact homestead properties and it is not an increase in taxes but maintains the current millage rate.

In order to receive the full per pupil state allocation, districts must annually levy the 18 mills on non-homestead property. Without approval of this renewal, the school district will be forced to make serious budgetary reductions by reducing and/or cutting programs next school year.

Precinct 1 votes at Fruitport High School; Precinct 2 at Beach School; Precinct 3 at Shettler School; Precinct 4 at the Edgewood Administrative Offices; Crockery Township Voters at Crockery Township Hall; Spring Lake Township Voters at 148th Street Fire Station; Sullivan Township Voters at Sullivan Township Hall.

In an on-going effort to maintain quality schools, residents of Fruitport Community Schools will be asked to vote on an $8.6 million bond issue on February 23, 2010.  If successful, the existing millage collected to pay off school facility debt would not increase above the current 3 mills levied.

Because Fruitport property taxes have increased in recent years, the millage rate is set to roll back from 0.4 to 0.8 mills.  Maintaining the existing millage rate would generate $8.6 million for technology, and facility upgrades with NO increase to the existing millage rate.  In addition, going for bond approval at this time makes the district eligible to receive federal stimulus funds that could, if awarded, increase bond funds from $8.6 million to $11.2 million with no additional increase to taxpayers.

The Facilities Committee prioritized critical needs to be addressed by this bond into themes:  technology, infrastructure, energy efficiency and safety/security.  Please visit our website for a listing of projects this bond will support.

Residents are currently paying millage toward two bond issues:  the 1997 bond (to be paid off in 2028), and the 2003 bond (to be paid off in 2022).  Should the February 23 bond issue pass, the debt would be restructured and $8.6 million would be assimilated into the existing debt.  The millage rate will not increase above 3 mills and the pay-off dates for the existing debt will remain the same.  Given this financial background, the district’s Facilities Committee felt this bond proposal might be something the community could support during these tough economic times.

It is important to understand that this bond request is part of an on-going process to address the district’s aging facilities.  The district has  five buildings that range in age from 40 to 60 years old.  The upkeep on our buildings will increase as time goes by and further facility updates and/or new facilities will be necessary beyond this bond issue.  Potential septic system issues on the main campus also exist that will be extremely costly to repair.  It is important that the district work closely with the township to bring sewer access into the village and thus, onto our campus.

The Facilities Committee will be an ongoing committee with an eye on maximizing our capacity to improve existing facilities, while developing plans to ensure the highest quality facilities our district can support into the future.  I encourage all Fruitport residents to become involved in this process, or at least be informed as to district needs and the plans to address those needs.  We are called Fruitport CommunitySchools for a reason…we are a part of you, as you are a part of us.  Together we can provide safe, energy efficient facilities through whihc we can ensure our stude

January is Board of Education Recognition month. It is a time when we celebrate the many contributions our seven Board members make to our students, staff, schools, and community. Their selfless efforts are of utmost importance for they play a significant part in shaping the lives of our children.

Research shows that the best Boards spend a signfnificant amount of time talking about student achievement.  That puts our Board the best among the best.  For example, at a recent  Board worksession dedicated to the district’s 2010-11 fiscal picture, much of the meeting was spent talking about student achievement related issues such as:  Is all day kindergarten working?, Is increased emphasis on early intervention decreasing special education enrollment?, etc. 

Each Board of Education member cares deeply for, and is committed to, our students and the education they receive.  In turn, they deserve our appreciation and thanks.  Please join me in recognizing and honoring our Board of Education:

President Betty Kinney

Vice President Dave Hazekamp

Secretary Pat Stressman

Treasurer Elroy Buckner

Trustee Bob German

Trustee Ted Cerniglia

Trustee Ben Gillette

2010 will prove to be great year at the Fruitport Community Schools for many reasons. Here are a few…

1. The Governor has signed into law a series of reforms that will improve education in Michigan. These reforms include a variety of measures from tying teacher and administrator evaluations to student performance, to changes to the Algebra II graduation requirement.  Fruitport Community Schools is well poised to respond to this legislation and maximize our students’ potential for achievement.

2.  The Michigan Department of Education has made it clear they want the state’s curriculum to be aligned with national standards.  Again, the work of our curriculum director, Wendy Somers, and all of our teachers has been done such that the transition to national standards could happen without a huge disruption to the learning process.

3.  We will have a bond issue election on February 23 giving Fruitport voters a say in the future of district facilities.

4.  We will implement a new student information management system which will do a better job of helping teachers track student achievement.

5.  Should Michigan recieve the federal stimulus Race to the Top funding, the door will be open for even more exciting developments within the school district yet to be determined.

There is much more to be excited about at the Fruitport Community Schools.  Even with the state financial crisis, we choose to focus on the positive and build upon our excellent program to make tomorrow a better day for all our students.

Thanksgiving is upon us and the school year seems to be flying by at breakneck speed. With Thanksgiving comes the end of the first trimester on November 30. I am hopeful that all of our students got the most out of their studies this past trimester.

One of many areas of excellence in our school district comes in the form of student special events. I recently had the privilege of attending two such events: “Fruitport’s Got Talent,” a high school student talent show and “Mock Rock,” a talent show for middle school students. The level of talent displayed by our middle school and high school students was outstanding! Both of these events were very well attended by students, staff, and community members who showed nothing but respect and support for each and every act that took the stage. The positive behavior of our students is something we should recognize and celebrate.

During this season of Thanksgiving, I am thankful for the great students and families of Fruitport Community Schools. I also give thanks for our wonderful staff. Seeing the love and support they have for their students fills my heart with hope and optimism. Through the guidance of these caring and competent people, our students are given every opportunity for success today and into their future.

May you have a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving holiday.

We are now two months into this school year and we recently learned that our district may experience yet further cuts to our budget from Lansing. My previous blog addressed this issue in detail.

I bring it up again to let you know that our Executive Director of Management Services, Pam Kihn, and I are giving financial “State of the School” presentations to all of our employee groups. The purpose of these presentations is to help our employees understand how state economics are impacting the Fruitport Community Schools budget, and then ask them to work with their administrators to identify cost savings opportunities. Over the next few months, these cost savings opportunities will be prioritized by the administrative team and presented to the Board of Education for consideration.

I share this in my blog because I want you to know that our school district is being very proactive in dealing with this state imposed financial crisis. It is a fact that Fruitport is in a very good financial position as compared to many other school districts. We will, however, have to make adjustments to our budget and the programs we offer.  My plan is that we take care and make these adjustments in a thoughtful and controlled way so that we  continue the overall excellent educational program we offer our students and families.

If you have any questions or ideas for cost savings, send me an email or give me a call. Together I know we will weather this storm and maintain an excellent school system.