Superintendent's News

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.

On October 23, 2009, Board of Education Vice-President Dave Hazekamp and I represented our school district at a round-table meeting with Governor Jennifer Granholm at the MAISD.  Governor Granholm called the meeting in an attempt to inspire voters to contact their legislators with an impassioned request that the recent hole in the school budget be filled within the next 30 days.  If it is not filled, schools will be cut another $127 per student on top of the $165 we were cut when the Governor signed the school aid budget.  This proration would amount to approximately $400,000 and put our overall deficit for this year at $2,600,000.  Below is an email coming from the Michigan Association of School Boards which offers more detail.

“Call Lawmakers NOW!

                Take Action! Visit this page:

                http://capwiz.com/masb/utr/1/OCROLMPIFM/MTUFLMPITH/4130472966]

                Late Thursday afternoon, Gov. Granholm initiated the proration process

for schools. Under state law, the legislature has 30 days to act to

fill the hole in the School Aid Fund to prevent this mid-year cut.  If

legislators fail to act within this period of time, local districts

will see a $127 per pupil cut in addition to the $165 reduction already

in the budget.

As you recall, when the legislature adopted the 2009-10 budget, it

included over $184 million in ARRA stimulus money and a promise to come

up with $100 million in new revenue. By spending this money and finding

new revenue, it’s possible for the legislature to prevent the mid-year

proration.

Spending that revenue will only solve the immediate problem. The

legislature must use this time to work on a long-term solution to the

perennial budget shortfalls in the School Aid Fund. Schools need a

reliable source of funding that fulfills the promise of quality

education for all of Michigan’s children.

We must unite and demand a solution that puts students first. Schools

are in imminent danger and your action is imperative to save your

school from bankruptcy. Please contact your lawmakers and demand that

they fulfill their obligations to Michigan’s schools.”

 Our representative is:

            Mary Valentine

            N 119 House Office Building

            PO Box 30014

            Lansing, MI 48909-7414

            (517) 373-7514

            maryvalentine@house.mi.gov

Our senator is:

            Gerald D. VanWoerkom, Jr.

            605 Farnum Building

            PO Box 30036

            Lansing, MI 48909-7536

            (517) 373-1635

            sengvanwoerkom@senate.michigan.gov

In communicating with Representative Valentine and Senator VanWoerkom it is important to emphasize the following points:

• Please fill the $127 funding gap in the school aid budget within the next 30 days. 
• Cuts to school funding such as this hamper our district’s ability to provide optimal programming for students.  The $127/student proration would cost our students $400,000 in programming.
• Once this funding gap is addressed, please dedicate yourself to fixing the structural problem with the way schools are funded.  Our children should not bear the brunt of a broken school funding system.

A very important meeting will be held this coming Monday evening, October 19, at 7:00 p.m. in the board room.  The purpose of this meeting  is to discuss the possibility of going for an election in February to assist with some immediate district needs.  A bond issue would support needed technology, transportation, and renovations to district buildings.  The reality for the district is that even though the past bond issue failed, we still has significant needs.  For example, students throughout the district are using computers that are in excess of 10 years old, and if they are to learn the technological skills to be competitive in today’s world, these computers will need to be updated.

In addition, in order to maintain the district’s transportation fleet, it is important that we update this fleet by replacing buses periodically so that we don’t hit a point where a large number of buses will need to be replaced at a tremendous cost to the district.  So, given the reductions in school funding we are experiencing from state government, using bond proceeds to pay for buses rather than using general fund money will help us keep money in the classroom.

Two years ago the district went through it’s second strategic planning process called Fruitport’s Commitment to Success II.  In studying this plan one can see several themes that correlate with a potential bond issue.  These include safety, communications, and energy efficiency.  This bond issue would support those areas that were indicated as important for the school district.

To this end, in addition to technology and transportation, a bond issue could address safety by improvements to the parking lot at Shettler Elementary.  Communications could be addressed through replacement of the white panels on all school signs that hold movable letters with a digital screen so that there could be up to the minute updates for the public.  Finally, energy efficiency could be addressed in a multitude of ways such as replacing inefficient boilers, improvements to roofs, and replacement of inefficient windows and doors.

Asking for money from the public in these hard economic times is not something the Facilities Committee takes lightly.  Therefore, they are only asking for a continuation of existing millage.  A no millage increase would generate approximately $8,600,000 which could address the needs outlined in this article.  Without this support, the current debt levy of 3 mills would be reduced a fraction of a mill.  The $8.6 million does not come close to addressing overall district need, but it would very much assist with some of the immediate needs the district has without increasing what the public pays in support of school facilities, technology, and transportation.

We hope to have a good turnout for this Facilities Committee meeting.  Since the election would be in February we have to make decisions about what the bond would pay for, and how to best communicate this information with the public in a short time.  Please get involved by attending this meeting, or minimally, look for future communications concerning this possible bond issue.

Welcome to my Blog!

I am Bob Szymoniak and am thrilled to be the new superintendent of the Fruitport Community Schools.  During the past month I have spent most of my time visiting the buildings of our fine district to meet with staff, students, and parents.  I can’t imagine a more friendly or welcoming school district.

On a personal note, I spent the first three weeks of the school year here in Fruitport as a quasi-bachelor.  Just prior to count day (September 30) my daughter, who is in the 6th grade, joined me.  The following weekend my wife also joined us.  So now our family is back together and excited for what the future holds for us here in Fruitport.

My plan for the coming school year is to continue getting to know the students, parents, staff, and community of the Fruitport school district, help our Family Resource Center grow, and work with the district’s Facilities Committee as they continue to explore how to maximize resources to make for the best facilities for our students as possible. 

If you ever have a question or concern, never hesitate to give me a call, send me an email, or leave a comment on my blog.  I will try to update my blog every few days.

Thanks for reading and have a great school year!