11:59 pm

I Spent $1 Million of the School’s Money Secretly Trying to Contact Alien Life for 8 Years and now You Fire Me? – MESA, ARIZONA -  Nowadays, with the massive advancements in computer technology, there are lots and lots of people who are completely hooked on the internet.  It’s like a crackhead’s hunger for crack only it involves Ebay and all night shopping with a credit card.  But, with the good comes the bad and somebody always gets busted for using a computer for something naughty.  For instance, right now you could probably snoop through your boss’ computer and find emails from the ugly broad in human resources who he’s been banging every day after work since the Halloween party.  Or, there’s probably a very good chance that you could go home and find a boatload of porno on your dad’s laptop, only he’d swear he didn’t know how it got on there because he doesn’t know how to use a computer.  Well, that’s not even close to what this space ranger did.  He was fired for taking a few liberties on the job,  but  there wasn’t any internet pornography involved, only aliens.

A former Arizona school district technology director was canned for secretly using school computer networks to find aliens.  Even worse, his jones to reach DefCon 3 cost  the district more than $1 million in hard cash.   Apparently the Carl Sagan wannabe downloaded the SETI (S each for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence) application that uses internet connected computers worldwide to analyze radio telescope data in an experiment to find little green men on other planets.   Though he did not directly break any rules for using the computers in secret, he did pirate the district’s system and it did screw up all of the internet connections on campus, including the superintendent’s online subscription to SmallJuggs.com and GILF.net (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091202/ap_on_fe_st/us_odd_school_worker_space_aliens)

District officials believe it will take more than $1 million to fix the problem, including removal of the alien searching software, though that seems like a ridiculous amount to delete a bunch of ufo files.  Since the economy is down the solar paneled crapper, those fools on the school board should cut some costs and  just hire back the dumbass who put them on there in the first place, instead of shelling out a whopping bag of money for another team of dumbasses to delete it.   After all, he’s the one who sabotaged the network before he was officially fired and he is probably the only one who knows how to fix it.  As they say, don’t get mad, get even.  Just cut off the boss’ internet  connection for good, then tell him to shove the job up his Millenium Falcon.

As always, I truly enjoyed meeting with Student Cabinet today.  (Thanks to Camden High School for hosting this meeting!)  I got some very keen insight from the students on a couple of issues, and was extremely pleased to hear about how all three high schools are reaching out into the community during the holiday season.  It’s always a lift to my spirits to spend time with this group, especially on a dreary, rainy day.

I attended the meeting of the West Wateree Rotary Club yesterday.  A really good group that’s very invested in the community.  As always, I appreciate this club’s support of a program to distribute dictionaries to all the third graders in the West Wateree schools.  It means a great deal to these young people and to the people that work with them.

Congratulations to Douglas Wyant, husband of district office staff member Gail Wyant, on his winning a prestigious Carrie McCray Memorial Literary Award for non-fiction from the South Carolina Writer’s Workshop.  This is a tremendous honor for our entire community!

My wife and I attended the Christmas tree lighting ceremony last evening at Monument Square in Camden.  It was a lot of fun to see families enjoying the holiday music by an ensemble from the Camden Community Band and the beautifully lit square.  A nice way to end the Thanksgiving weekend and start the countdown to Christmas!

I enjoyed North Central High School student Keonna Simon’s column in this morning’s Chronicle-Independent.  In it, she talked about the Junior Leadership class visiting the three Kershaw County high schools and Camden Military during a session a couple of weeks ago.  In the column, Keonna talked about how each of these schools is unique and special in its own way and how visiting the other schools was an excellent learning experience for her and her fellow Junior Leadership classmates.  What was exciting to me about Keonna’s column was the way she described this experience as one that broke down barriers and misconceptions.  As a community, there’s much more that unites us than separates us if we’ll each take a little time to get by the barriers and misconceptions that sometimes get in our way.

There are many ways to reach out during the Christmas season.  I am extremely pleased that the District Office staff will be collecting non-perishable food and new and gently-used coats during the holiday season.  Citizens who wish to join us in this effort can bring these items by the District Office (1301 DuBose Court next to Kershaw Health) during regular business hours. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

I sincerely appreciated the invitation to attend a luncheon today at the Lugoff Bus Shop honoring several retiree bus drivers.  Great meal and great company!  Special thanks to Lugoff supervisor John Clinton for organizing this very nice occasion.

4. School Site Presentation

Teaching Principal and Administrator Daniel Hoffman gave a presentation on Coulterville-Greeley Elementary and Coulterville High School. Items that were of particular interest to me:

• CGE has a wonderful partnership with Mariposa County’s Red Cloud Library, which is right across the street. The library is open 3 days per week, but the school has access whenever they need it; teachers can take their students to check out books even when the library is closed. The school integrated their books with the library’s books. The school’s books include reading level tags. The library has increased the number of books the children have access to tremendously.
• The school has a robust sports program. Thirty children, or almost half the school, participate. They have an 18 game basketball schedule, volleyball, soccer, and football, and often travel to other schools for games. It’s great incentive for the children to keep their grades up, and the system supports intervention. If grades fall below 2.x, children go to study hall at lunch time to work on improving their grades before they fall below 2.0, at which time they become ineligible from playing sports.
• They have an after school program.

6. Reports

6.1 Board Member Reports:

Kim Forsythe-Allison reported on an FFA meeting she had attended. The National Resource Team placed tenth in the nation.

Joe Cardoso said he had attended the MES dance and was impressed with the variety of activities that were available for the children. He also attended the MES Veteran’s Day celebration, followed by the Board of Supervisor’s meeting where each board member recognized the great event at MES. He also attended a MCHS Boosters meeting and is impressed by what groups like this are doing to help the students—he mentioned the Boosters had just bought some basketball equipment. Mr. Cardoso encouraged schools to email him and other board members about school events. He would try to attend whenever possible.

Janette Gamble did not have any events to report on, but echoed but thanked Mr. Hoffman for his presentation.

Eldon Henderson said he had been to a Coulterville-Greeley Hill club dinner and had also gone to Lake Don Pedro and taken a tour of the new facility.

Student Body representative Richard Ballinger always has a detailed report that includes what’s happening with sports teams and going on at school. The item that struck me from his report is that profits from fundraising activities are down 25% and more from what they were last year.

6.2 MCTA: Ann Dolchanczyk reported that parent teacher conference week was ending, and she was very impressed with all the work teachers put into having things ready for the parents. Some teachers had a lot more reports to prepare given the numbers of students in some classrooms. Also, they were vacuuming floors and doing extra cleaning since custodial time has been reduced. Ms. Dochanczyk began to mention grievances. Board President Henderson asked if grievances were proceeding through proper channels. They are, and so Mr. Henderson asked that it be left at that.

6.3 CSEA: President Ken Price reported negotiations were beginning the next day.

6.4 Superintendent’s Report: Randy Panietz said the FAQs have been updated, categorized, and some have been put into an archive that is available online at www.Mariposa.k12.ca.us. He said the FAQs have a lot of good information and encouraged everyone to read through them. The Superintendent attended the high school play, the Veteran’s Day celebration at MES, the Mariposa Safe Families event honoring Kathy Delany who is retiring (he will invite the new director to a future board meeting), and a meeting regarding the Wawona School. The Wawona School in Yosemite National Park was transferred from MCUSD to the Bass Lake School District in Madera County some 15 years ago. Bass Lake has announced plans to close Wawona School at the end of this school year. The superintendent is getting ready for another meeting regarding the closure and any other possible options on December 2, and he invited all board members to attend. The Superintendent has been in contact with County Health Officer, Dr. Mosher, regarding the recent H1N1 clinics. Dr. Mosher said 1300 people were vaccinated at the clinics, which is far below the goal. Dr. Mosher is working on arranging clinics at certain district schools, making the vaccine available in more locations for those who are interested.

8. Consent Agenda

Joe Cardoso asked that item F regarding the obsolete supplies and equipment list be pulled for discussion. All other items were approved.

F. Mr. Cardoso asked if the computers on the list were usable, and if so, if there was a way to get them into the hands of students whose families don’t have computers. Technology Coordinator Dean Bernacchi said the district used to have a garage sale that included old computer equipment as well as a variety of other items. However, the personnel costs involved in organizing and running the sale were too great to continue to do them. He said there is a process for disbursing old equipment. Members of the Leadership team are aware of the policy, and it is up to the schools to move forward with it in regards to their own equipment.

The school district holds onto equipment a long time, so the computers on the list are outdated and not internet capable. There’s been a lot of salvaging of parts from items on the obsolete list. Proprietary software must be taken off of them if they are to be given (sold for at least $1, reminded Bob Morse, since they were bought with public money), but they would still have the Windows operating system and WordPad.

Superintendent Panietz suggested a motion be made to either remove the item, take it back to Leadership, and ask them to review the obsolete list, taking any usable computers off and get them into the hands of students, or move the item with the stipulation that the former would take place. Mr. Cardoso said he would hate to move to approve the list and then not have the review of the list taken seriously by Leadership, with nothing come off the list. Mr. Morse said he thought the issue with this list is that all the items are sitting on pallets in an outside location, waiting to be picked up before the rain comes. Mr. Bernacchi reiterated that these computers have been heavily salvaged and are very old, but that maybe Mr. Cardoso’s request could be brought to Leadership for consideration for equipment schools dispose of in the future. Mr. Cardoso made the motion to approve the obsolete supplies/equipment list. The motion was seconded and passed.

9.1 Monthly Construction Update. Bob Morse reported that one day they had 20 contractors at the Lake Don Pedro multipurpose room construction site, and that 10 had submitted bids for remaining work that needs to be completed. While DMSI’s original bid a year ago for the remaining work in question had been $850k, the bidding process brought the cost down to $349k, a huge cost savings to the district’s budget for this project. The bids are on four separate aspects of the project. Mr. Cardoso asked why all the work wasn’t put to bid in one package. Mr. Morse explained that dividing it into four sections saves the district more money, as a company that bid low on one aspect, actually bid higher on another, and this was true for all the bidders. Dividing it into four allows the district to accept the lowest bid on each piece of the project and realize more cost savings. Mr. Cardoso asked if there would be difficulty in coordinating the various contractors that would slow down the project and delay the completion date. The site foreman, Travis Kirk, said he will make sure it is coordinated such that there will not be delays. The final date of when the building will be ready to occupy depends on the board accepting the bids and also on weather, but it is anticipated to be ready for occupancy in January.

10. Personnel

10.1 Resolution No 09-39 Classified Layoffs

This resolution was to reduce the hours of the custodian at Coulterville High School by 1 ½ hours, and to transfer the custodian’s services for that 1 ½ hours to Spring Hill. Mr. Henderson said he had spoken to the C/GH principal and had concerns about reducing the custodian’s hours at that site, but the district would have to see how it goes. There was also concern about the distance the employee would have to travel from Coulterville HS to Spring Hill. Mr. Rosander said there had been various options discussed with the employee, and this is the one that had been chosen. The item was approved.

11. Policies and Regulations

11.1 Revision to AR 1312.1, Complaints Concerning District Employees

Superintendent Panietz said the changes reflected what was requested at the last meeting and no vote was needed.

11.2 Revision to BB 9910, Terms of Office

Superintendent Panietz said that this particular board bylaw was last revised in 1993. The California School Board Association (CSBA) recommended language has been added. It doesn’t affect board member’s terms or the staggering of terms or anything else. Ms. Gamble moved the item, Mr. Cardoso seconded, and all were in favor.

11.3 Revision to BP 0430, Comprehensive Local Plan for Special Education

Ms. Damm explained the revision aligns with SELPA and brings the district up to date with current language. Ms. Forsythe-Allison moved the item, Ms. Gamble seconded, and all were in favor.

11.4 Revision to BP 0510, School Accountability Report Card

The revision allows alignment with CSBA recommendations. The SARC is updated annually, with copies available online and in school offices. Ms. Forsythe-Allison moved the item, Ms. Gamble seconded, and all were in favor.

12. Finance and Business

Superintendent Panietz noted that Linda Levesque joined MCUSD as Director of Business Services on October 21, and that she would be presenting items in this section.

12.1 Application and Resolution 09-42, K-3 Class Size Reduction Program

Ms. Levesque explained that this is the application needed for the school district to receive funding through the state’s class size reduction program for 2009-10. The state caps the numbers at what they were at the beginning of last year—the largest class was 32 students. Anything over 20.44 is pro-rated according to the class count. This application will allow the district to receive an estimated $564k this year. Final payments are based on actual enrollment data. This item was approved.

12.2 Unaudited Actuals 2008-09

The details of the budget report can be found in the board packet, at http://www.mariposa.k12.ca.us/Board%20Items/Agendas/09-10%20Agendas/11-19-09%20MCUSD%20Regular%20Board%20Meeting%20Packet%20REV.pdf

Ms. Levesque went through a very informative powerpoint presentation. The bottom line is that the school district had a higher ending balance for the 2008-09 school year than anticipated for a couple of reasons:

• The state had announced planned cuts to ADA revenue limit funds in 2008-09, and the district therefore made cuts, reorganized, reallocated what used to be restricted funds into the general fund, and prepared a budget that the board approved based on that information. However, the state was so late in passing its final budget that the 2008-09 revenue limit cuts could not be taken from the school districts’ budgets in 2008-09. Instead, these cuts will be realized in 2009-10. This resulted in what looks like an inflated bottom line (and is the case for every school district budget throughout California). But in fact, those revenue limit reductions will happen this school year, so it is not truly extra savings.
• The district saw some unexpected savings in areas such as salaries, benefits, books and supplies, operating services, and other miscellaneous places. On the other hand, less money came in than expected from federal, state, and local funding (less by $251k in local dollars) and there were other item categories that cost the district more than anticipated. The bottom line, however, shows that overall the district saved more money than anticipated.

The good news about the extra savings is that it will help mitigate the possibility of mid-year cuts, pending the state budget. There may be enough to restore items for students that were “swept” (went from restricted to unrestricted) in last year’s budget, for instance a textbook adoption, GATE funds, and so on. But projections are difficult. It’s hard to know how much the state will take and how much the district will have left to work with.

One other item that was discussed in this section was that the ending balance also reflects ARRA that funds must be spent by September 2011 (not just allocated, but actually spent). This is one reason it is difficult to allocate ARRA funds towards salaries (there won’t be any after the September 2011). Additionally, ARRA funding restrictions and guidelines have been changing and evolving due to the state’s financial crisis.

The district will receive the budget from the state in January, and most likely will come to the board with recommendations in February. Because of the work done last year, the district may be able to avoid lay-offs. But again, this depends on the budget that comes down from the state.

12.3 Resolution 09-41 Gann Limits

This resolution is required annually to verify that as a government agency, the district is not spending “faster than the growth of population and inflation”. It just verifies (each year) that we are in compliance.

12.4 Change Order for the Lake Don Pedro MP Room Project

This change order had been brought to the board once before at the 10/15/2009 meeting and it was requested that it be brought back. Summary:

The school district had created a pad for the multipurpose building early in the construction process (prior to this superintendent). After the pad was built, the project had a necessary change in direction: the site foreman was no longer a district employee but rather hired out, and a lot of the work the district had originally thought it would do itself was determined could not be done by the district because it went over the number of legally allowable hours for this type of work. While the change of direction was being implemented, the pad sat waiting. When the district was ready to start the project again, the pad was tested and found to be too dry. This wasn’t due to faulty work the first time around. Rather it was due to the length of time the pad sat before construction work began. Mr. Morse explained that a proper change-order was never done to cover the cost of this work, although a purchase order had been submitted to pay the contractor. He asked the board to approve the change order.

On questioning from Mr. Cardoza, Mr. Morse admitted that the cost was probably higher than it should be, but the agreement had been made and there were other concerns he and the current superintendent had about the contract between DMSI and the school district. The contract predated both Mr. Morse and Superintendent Panietz—if they had been involved in the creation of the contract, it would have looked quite different. The district has been trying to tidy up loose ends and get this project closed. By having DMSI resurface the pad for an extra cost, the district ensured that DMSI is the responsible party for the entire building, from the ground up, which is important in case there are problems in the future. If a crack shows up in a wall after the work is completed, and one company is responsible for the pad and another is responsible for the building, then those two companies will be pointing fingers at each other as the one responsible for the crack and for fixing it. It would then have to go into litigation, which is costly, and it would be hard to prove who was really at fault. Having chosen DMSI to repurpose the pad, even though the bid was high, means that they are responsible for the pad and the building, and if there are any cracks or any other problems, DMSI is the responsible party and must fix it.

Mr. Cardoso said it made him sick to his stomach to pay DMSI so much more for this pad. It could have been done for $50k, but instead was done for $80k. He wished to not approve the change order, but rather have it brought back after DMSI has completed all work on the project, and negotiate down the price. Mr. Morse and Mr. Kirk explained that waiting until after the project was completed would cause a delay in occupancy. The Department of State Architects, who must sign off on this project before the building is occupied, will require this change order paperwork before they sign off. In addition, if this item was brought to litigation, it is not likely the district would win. DMSI was requested to do this work and the bid was approved by the board.

The contract the district has with DMSI predates current board members, Bob Morse, and the Superintendent, and is very much written to the favor of DMSI. There is no start date specified, no end date specified, and so no way to collect damages due to lateness. Given all of this, the district is trying to finish this project as quickly as it can, minimizing damages. Mr. Kirk reminded the board that though this change order is expensive, the district has seen significant cost savings in the current bidding process. DMSI’s bid for the entire remainder of the project was $850k. The four bids bring the total cost down to $349k. This is well under the original budget, even taking into account the change order for the pad work.

Mr. Cardoso asked about Mr. Kirk’s contract, which is due to end shortly. Mr. Morse said he would be working with Mr. Kirk on an addendum to the contract, so that it will last to the completion of the project. He and Mr. Kirk noted that Mr. Kirk’s costs were more than recouped by the savings Mr. Kirk had realized for the district in the bidding process.

Mr. Cardoso made a motion to table the change order until DMSI turns in all change orders and the project is completed. This was seconded by Mrs. Forsythe-Allison, but the motion did not carry as Mr. Henderson and Ms. Gamble were not in favor.

More discussion followed. Mr. Morse suggested that since the change order must go to DSA before the building is closed out, perhaps a better way to negotiate with DMSI would be through the retention clause—per the contract, the school district retains 10% of this $2.5 million project until all work is completed. The school district could negotiate funds from DMSI through the retention funds. Mr. Kirk cautioned against this, however, as there is also a clause in the contract granting DMSI a certain percentage increase on the $2.5 million every year for inflation. DMSI has not asked for this and said they will not ask for it. However, if the school district tries to negotiate back monies that the board already approved to be paid to DMSI for the pad work, then DMSI might just turn around and ask for the inflationary increase. This would cost the school district significantly more than the change order amount. The school district does not have legal grounds to ask for a decrease in the amount charged for the pad work; DMSI does have the legal grounds to ask for the inflationary increase.

All agreed that any future contract for construction would be written quite differently, with a beginning date, end date, and grounds for recourse. But again, this contract predated the present MCUSD team, and the goal now is to end the project as soon as possible and have the building approved and occupied by the students.

Ms. Gamble made the motion, recognizing the unhappiness all felt in paying more for the pad work than was necessary, but also recognizing the situation and wanting the project to come to completion and have the building occupied by students, to approve the change order. Mr. Henderson seconded the motion. After a long pause, Mr. Cardoso said he was in favor. Ms. Forsythe-Allison was opposed.

13 Other

13.1 Safety on School Buses

Mr. Morse reported that a committee is forming to examine this issue. The committee includes the bus dispatcher, drivers, MCHS principal Celeste Azevedo, and there was discussion of adding a student member. Mr. Cardoso expressed great concern over what he has heard of happening on school buses. It is hard for drivers who are all transporting multiple grade levels. Mr. Cardoso said he knew the most effective fix would be to have another person riding in the back of the bus. But this is too much to expect of parent volunteers, and would be too expensive to fund. Mr. Morse said he has heard concerns about drugs being transported on buses. This went down when the district had used dogs to check the students on buses, but the problem has increased without the dogs. Mr. Morse said he would report the committee’s progress at a future meeting.

13.2 How to Fill Board Vacancy—Election or Appointment

The board voted to fill the vacancy by appointment. Ms. Peters’ letter gives 60 day notice, the last day of which would be January 5. The board has 60 days from January 5 to fill the vacancy. If they are no suitable candidates and they cannot fill the vacancy, they can run with a 4 person board until the next election. There will be a notice in next week’s Gazette, and the week after that. The Superintendent would like two board members to review the letters and any other materials requested that come in by early December, and hold the interviews in public session at the December 17 meeting.

14 Pending items

Estimated presentation dates:

Motor Pool – Dec
TB/Fingerprinting process – Dec
Food Service – Ms. Levesque met with the committee last Friday, and they will meet again
Election by Trustee Area vs Trustees at Large – Jan
Graduation Requirements – Jan
PE Curriculum – Jan
Alternative Class Schedules – Jan

15 Future Agenda Items

Mr. Cardoso asked for an update on the Yaqui Gulch property. Mr. Cardoso also asked for a resolution to be drafted to the state, explaining the unique characteristics of our district and how particularly devastating state cuts are to MCUSD. Ms. Gamble requested an update on the Lake Don Pedro High School situation since the joint board meeting with the Groveland Big Oak Flat school board.

Kathy Brand, the curriculum coach at Doby’s Mill Elementary, has been honored as the “Conservation Teacher of the Year” by the Kershaw County Conservation District.  Kathy has been instrumental in starting the “Green Steps” program at Doby’s Mill.  Congratulations on a richly-deserved honor!

Each year, the Kershaw County International Literacy Association recognizes individual school and district Reading Teachers of the Year.   I was pleased to learn that the following teachers are this year’s Reading Teachers of the Year for their respective schools:  Sophia Knight, Baron DeKalb Elementary; Paula Bordner, Blaney Elementary; Amanda McGee, Bethune Elementary; Wendy Todd, Doby’s Mill Elementary; Karen Perrotta, Jackson Elementary; Beverly Weatherford, Pine Tree Hill Elementary; Tonya Seay, Lugoff Elementary; Camden Elementary, Molly Eckenroth; Midway Elementary, Alice Brice; Wateree Elementary, Elizabeth Davis; Kayci Brazell, Lugoff Elgin Middle; James Marlow, Stover Middle; Cindy Sparks, North Central Middle.

At its annual banquet last week,  Wendy Todd, second grade teacher at Doby’s Mill Elementary and Cindy Sparks, Library Media Specialist at North Central Middle School were recognized by the Association as the district’s Reading Teachers of the Year.

Congratulations!

Last night, I got to see the production of a comedy entitled “Chateau La Roach” staged by Ms. Julie McCallum’s Drama II class at Lugoff-Elgin High School.  Normally, this class will put on a series of one-act plays, but this year, the students in this class decided to do a whole production.  They did a great job in every way!  Ms. McCollum always brings out the best in her students, and this production was no exception.  (The memory of a young man named Conner Bull playing a human-sized cockroach will stay with me forever!)  Bravo!

It was a beautiful day for a Book Parade at Wateree Elementary School!  Each class marched around the driveway in front of the school dressed as characters from a book chosen by the class.  The costumes were extremely clever and creative and the students were obviously very proud.  I was also overwhelmed with how many parents were able to come to enjoy the festivities.  I got there just before everything started and thought I was going to have to park in Elgin (just exaggerating).  Great event!

Since it was my turn to cook last night, I solved my dilemma by taking my wife to the annual turkey dinner at Lugoff-Elgin Middle School.  This yearly tradition is always a great time!  What made last night’s dinner very special was the fact that the school has partnered with the Optimist Club and SAFE Credit Union to give out citizenship awards every nine weeks.  At last night’s dinner, it was announced that the awards have been named in honor of Larry Patrick, who served as principal at LEMS for 20 years, starting when LEMS was housed in what is now Wateree Elementary School.  This is a fitting honor for an outstanding educator and gentleman.  Mr. Patrick was present last night when it was announced that the awards would be named for him.  The smile on his face lit up the room!

We are excited to begin a new form of communication with our publics.  This blog will be updated weekly.  November 19, 2009

The big news in our school district is the success of our Varsity Football Team.  I cannot go anywhere in the Falls without someone talking about Friday’s State Championship Game at Camp Randall Stadium.  I expect to see many families and residents at Madison on Friday.  Let’s enjoy this moment.

 Join us at 9:00 p.m. for a “Welcome Back” pep rally for the team at the  high school.

Our High School Fall Play – “M*A*S*H” – is this weekend – Thursday, Friday and Saturday evening – 7:30 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. Sunday. 

Please join me at Sentry Foods this Saturday for a community visit.  I’ll be set up in the store between 9:30 – 11:00 a.m.

One of my favorite community events each November is the breakfast sponsored by the Kiwanis over at Lyttleton Street Church.  The Kiwanis do much to support our schools by providing scholarships to our nursing students at ATEC and in many other ways.  This is always a nice opportunity to be with a lot of folks from our community.  Also, where else can you see my colleagues Allen Teal slicing ham, Chet Horton serving breakfast, and Tim Hopkins in an apron, or Councilman Stephen Smoak making scrambled eggs?  Great start to the day!

At last evening’s Board meeting, the Board received a report on the recent “High Schools That Work” visiting teams that came to each of our high schools.  The report generated some excellent discussion, the kind of discussion that should occur at meetings of public boards.  Thanks to Agnes Slayman, Worth Thomasson, Chet Horton, Rose Montgomery, Byron Johnson, Alicia Gaither, Reggie Dean, and Tommy Gladden for working on this presentation.  I think it was extremely beneficial to the Board.

I stopped by ATEC this morning, and remembered that I hadn’t visited the Early Childhood class since the first week of school.  At that point, the new preschoolers in the program didn’t look very sure that they thought this preschool stuff was such a good thing.  I saw such a change today!  The ones who looked so homesick in August looked right at home.  It’s really quite neat to see how the children bond so obviously with the ATEC students working with them.  I was invited to join in with a movement thing called (I think) “Tootie Time.”  Suffice it to say that I’m glad no one was videoing for YouTube.  Great fun!

Yesterday, I visited the clinics that were held at Stover Middle and North Central Middle to provide H1N1 vaccinations for elementary students.  I was extremely pleased with the number of students who were vaccinated.  Everything was extremely well-organized.  Thanks to the staff of DHEC, our nurses, the nursing students from ATEC and our school and district administrators for all the work involved to prepare and hold these clinics.  It means a great deal to our community. 

I was truly pleased and proud to have the North Central High School Teacher Cadets, their teacher Heather Keith, and NCHS assistant principal Rose Montgomery at the School Board meeting last Tuesday evening.  This program, due in no small part to Ms. Keith’s infectious enthusiasm, has really come along at NCHS.  I was especially pleased to see both males and females in the group.  They looked quite snazzy in their Teacher Cadet shirts!  It’s really exciting that we will now have this program in all three of our high schools.

Every year, since 2006, Doby’s Mill Elementary student Alesha Hudson collects contributions to provide Christmas bicyles for needy children.  Since 2006, Alesha has helped to provide over 157 bicycles for children ages 3-14.  Contributions can be made for this wonderful cause at any First Palmetto Savings Bank in the account “Outreach Bicycles for Needy Children.”

Over the next several days, our district will be partnering with DHEC to provide H1N1 vaccine in our schools.  I am deeply appreciative of the support we have received from DHEC and of the way our administrators have stepped up to the plate to help get this done.  A link with specific information about the clinics is provided below. 

http://www.kershaw.k12.sc.us/district/pr/news/2009-11-11_H1N1_vaccine_clinics.htm

Welcome to our School District of Menomonee Falls Blog.  In a continuous effort to improve and expand our communications at the School District of Menomonee Falls, we decided that a blog would be a good avenue to pursue. It is our intention that this communication tool will become an ongoing conversation with our residents to provide information and receive constructive feedback, positive or negative. Our goal is to post updated content on a regular basis, most likely twice a month, at least in the beginning. Of course, posts could become more frequent as more noteworthy discussion topics surface. We invite you to check back regularly, or subscribe to the RSS feed, and you’ll receive a notification when there’s an update.