The following is taken from an email I sent to District staff yesterday. The attachments and data it refers to will be posted to the District's home page.

Last Wednesday evening I met with all of our governing board members to review the District’s options in dealing with anticipated state funding cuts next school year to our Maintenance and Operations (M & O)) budget. A few of you were in attendance, including one brave soul who stayed the entire time! We met for nearly four hours to review the documents that you will find attached. The purpose of the meeting was simply to review the data to help the Board members make decisions when I make specific recommendations to them in the next weeks. To reiterate, no decisions were made at this meeting.



One of the first pieces of data we reviewed is the Staffing Analysis chart. You’ll notice that we have already seen significant staffing changes since 2007 in all areas. I also shared with the Board our enrollment numbers over the years which, as you know, have been in decline. I then shared with the Board the number of vacant classrooms in the District. Based on numbers provided by administrators, the District has a total of 36 total vacant classrooms of varying size: 11 at the elementary school; 4 at the intermediate school; 6 at the middle school; 6 at the junior high; and, 9 at the high school.



The majority of our time was spent reviewing items on the attached Reductions/Efficiencies list. I pointed out to the Board, and I would emphasize to you, that these are ideas submitted by certified, classified and administrative staff. They are not proposals at this time and should not be interpreted as such. Administrators and directors spent hours reviewing each one submitted. Those that were judged by a consensus of our group to be redundant, infeasible, etc. were eliminated from the list. You’ll also notice that each idea was tiered in regard to its perceived impact on teaching and learning. Again, a consensus of our group agreed to each assignment to a particular tier. We will also be continuing to work to assign a dollar value for each one. The list you see, then, represents a collective effort of you who submitted ideas and administrators and directors who reviewed and analyzed each one for potential efficiency measures and reductions.



I know that it is unsettling to see ideas that seem to point to the elimination or consolidation of specific positions or programs, but without specifics it is impossible to plan for cuts projected to be in the range of $1.2-$2.4 million, depending upon the outcome of May 18th’s Prop 100 referendum. As a result of this review of Reductions/Efficiencies list, the Board directed me to prepare detailed analyses in four areas: school consolidation; all-day kindergarten; consolidation of various departments under one head; and, the District’s policies governing current and future returning retired employees. I expect to have those finalized by our next study session on May 3. Please bear in mind that the Board has not endorsed any particular position regarding any of these four areas. However, the Board expressed its desire to have detailed information about each one as it faces likely difficult decisions. I also identified for the Board areas that it would likely have to address by the third week or so of May: any potential Reduction in Force; whether or not to provide a tuition-funded all-day kindergarten; and, select policies that would have to change to reflect Board decisions.



As you know, the District chose not to issue any RIF notices prior to the outcome of Prop 100. Instead, Board members chose to follow the mandates outlined in new policies it approved at the regular April Board meeting. Their decision allows the District, and all others that approved the policy recommendations, the opportunity to decide when to issue those notices, contracts or wage notices. Last year you’ll recall that districts had no choice but to issue RIF notices by April 15 and contracts and wage notices by May 15 because of different laws and policies in place at that time. I assure you that the desire this year was to have as much information as possible before making these decisions; the intent is not to delay unnecessarily, keep people guessing or in the dark. The Board agreed that this year it was probably wiser to wait since a major piece of the puzzle—Prop 100—is still such a variable. I agree with that decision. Meanwhile, however, administrators, directors and Board members must continue to work from the premise that it is most prudent to continue to develop at least two contingency budgets—one that plans for the passage of 100 and one that plans for its defeat. I can also assure you that once that outcome is known, the District plans to issue contracts and wage notices as soon as possible. At that time, if Reduction in Force notices are necessary they would also be issued at that time. At this time, it appears that the passage of Prop 100 would likely keep those numbers to a minimum this year, although I still cannot yet project what that number might actually be. That, too, depends on decisions the Board makes as it decides how to address the anticipated funding cuts.



You are well aware that last year was very difficult because we actually had to let valuable staff go. As difficult as that was, many of us knew that the numbers would be far greater this year if we did nothing. I still believe that is the case. In fact, many districts in the area and around the state have discovered that, even if they avoided layoffs or other tough decisions last year, that is impossible this year. I have had conversations with several superintendents from the area who are reporting RIFs of 17, 19 or 39. I believe strongly that these kinds of numbers are very unlikely for us this year if there is a favorable outcome to Prop 100. Unfortunately, the defeat of Prop 100 paints a much bleaker picture for all of us.



Our meeting concluded with our review of last year’s Budget Survey Comments and the Budget Advisory Committee’s recommendations to the Board. We concluded that a number of these have already been addressed, are in the process of being addressed, or are unlikely to be addressed for one reason or another.



Over the next few weeks I will continue to let you know about any developments that might change this scenario in any way. Thank you for your commitment to excellence and professionalism. Both of those will see us through any challenge or difficulty we face together.



Greg

Work is concluding on the District’s Strategic Plan. Members of the committee met for the third and final time on March 13. The Plan will be submitted to the Governing Board for its approval at our regularly scheduled May meeting. Thank you to members of our committee of staff and community members, and especially to Dr. Lee Wille who served as our facilitator for this process.
The District anticipates that state cuts to its 2010-2011 Maintenance and Operations budget will total approximately $1.2 million. That amount will likely double if the referendum on a temporary one cent sales tax increase—Proposition 100—doesn’t pass when it goes before voters on May 18. District staff has begun the process of preparing a list of potential reduction and efficiency measures to prepare for the funding shortfall. This prioritized list will be presented to the Governing Board at a study session scheduled for April 14. No action will be taken at that meeting. Information about Prop 100 may be found on the District’s website.
The District has begun talks with members of the local business community to develop partnerships that will allow the District to take advantage of recent Arizona legislation permitting access to advertising space on school district websites, buses and other property. I hope that this will be the start of mutually beneficial relationships between the District and our local business community, and that they will eventually lead to the development of a Blue Ridge Unified School District educational foundation. Thanks for checking in.

Greg

How Safe are Our Buses?

It's a fair question. Just how safe are the buses that many of our students board each day? Thanks to our mechanics--Taber, Kyle and Dennis--the answer is "very". In fact, District transportation director Kay Buckner recently reported that our fleet of buses passed the "DPS annual inspection with flying colors!! The mechanics worked exceptionally hard and all did a wonderful job of which we are very proud. We did have a few minor violations, but all were fixed within minutes of being called to our attention. This is the most important process we go through all year."

We hope this will make you feel as confident, and as proud, as we are. Not only do we have a meticulously maintained bus fleet, but we also have a group of drivers that is second to none. On a day like today, with the wind and snow blowing all around, I thought you might like to know. Thanks for checking in.

Greg

Odds and Ends

Students and staff have returned from a long Presidents Day weekend. The prospect of a snow-free week is especially nice. Repairs continue at the middle and junior high schools. Last week I met with a subrogation attorney and a forensic engineer to review the damages to the building. Prior to our January storm, I had only the vaguest ideas about what either of these two individuals do for a living!

Recently I was asked, and agreed to, lend the District's support to two projects--the Scott Ranch Road extension and the Billy Creek Bridge remediation. Both projects, which would require federal assistance, would greatly improve our students' safety. We hope that Representative Kirkpatrick will aid the town and county officials who are hoping to make these projects a reality in our community.

I am looking forward to participating in the elementary school's reading celebration on the 26th of this month. Principal Jeanne Powell reports that her students have read a combined total of nearly 20,000 books! People sometimes ask what I'm currently reading. I am re-reading Adam Smith's classic Wealth of Nations and Douglas S. Freeman's biography of George Washington. I hope you take time to read each day, not only with your children, but for your own pleasure.

Thanks for checking in.

Greg

Congratulations to our Blue Ridge HS Academic Decathlon & Jr. High MathCounts Teams!

Mr. Trevor Holliday reports the following, "Blue Ridge Unified School District hosted Region I competition this weekend. Our high school team did a fine job, placing fourth out of the sixteen teams. We will head to the State Competition next month which will be held at Sandra Day O’Connor High School in Phoenix." Thanks to Mrs. Judy Peterson, Mr. John Holliday, Mr. Dewain Bartimus and many in our community who made this event a success!

Mrs. Carol Godwin of the junior high adds, "Congratulations! I was here on Saturday to collect my math team for travel to Holbrook for Mathcounts Regionals and the ACADEC competition looked to be very well run and organized. The students appeared prepared and excited to compete!As a smaller achievement, perhaps, the Junior High MathCounts team won our Regional competition in Holbrook and will be attending the state competition next month held in Vail, Arizona."

It is such a pleasure to be able to regularly pass along this type of information to you. These achievements aren't just occasional; our students and their coaches/sponsors consistently rise to these levels. Congratulations to all! Thanks for checking in.

Greg

Partners

I've been thinking a lot about partnerships lately, especially how much we at Blue Ridge rely on them to carry out our mission and goals. I was reminded of the importance of partnerships yesterday when I met with Bob Funk of White Mountain Radio to talk about his station's commitment to our District. Bob's assistance, and that of other media outlets, helps us to communicate with our community. Thanks, Bob. The White Mountain Independent is another partner we greatly appreciate and value. Thanks, Greg, Mike, Sean and others for taking an interest in us and making sure to get the stories right.

Today and tomorrow we will see another excellent example of this community's willingness to partner with the students of this District. BRUSD hosts the Region 1 Academic Decathlon Competition. The response from many of you to offer assistance for this event, whether in the form of your time, expertise or tangible items, has been as generous as always. I join coordinator Dewain Bartimus in thanking you for your partnership in this worthwhile endeavor.

Thanks for standing with Blue Ridge and partnering with us. We couldn't do it without you! Thanks for checking in. Have a good weekend.

Greg

What a Difference a Week Makes!

WOW! So much has happened since I last posted. Much of the information you need is on the District website. Just today I have finished a letter that area superintendents and I will send to the state department of education requesting emergency waivers for the days we missed. That response could take a while.

You would be so proud of our staff's response to this "series of unfortunate events". Their flexibility and positive attitude have been inspiring.

This morning the bus on Route 47 had a very minor incident on the road that did not require any law enforcement/emergency response. Students have all been safely delivered and school is in session!

Have a great weekend. Thanks for checking in.

Greg