It may seem hard to believe but we are less than one month away from the beginning of another school year. The summer has been filled with a variety of projects and activities in preparation for the upcoming school year. The following are the recent happenings and events from the summer: The Back to School packets have been sent out and posted on the school website (www.usd386.net). This packet includes the school supply lists as well as information regarding preparation for the start of a new school year. At Madison Elementary, the third and final phase of the asbestos project is being completed this summer. This was the main improvement project from this summer, but each summer the classrooms are cleaned, floors waxed, carpets shampooed, and various painting projects are completed. The improvement projects are part of the districts long range / strategic plan. Completing a portion of the improvement projects from the long range / strategic plan enables the district to maintain facilities in the most cost effective manner. Recently, the board of education renewed the Capital Outlay Resolution. It is important to note that this action does not levy a tax. It is simply renewing the boards’ authority to do so at some point in the future. USD #386 has had a Capital Outlay Resolution for several years, but has not levied a tax. I do not anticipate a levy in Capital Outlay for the coming school year. The Kansas State Board of Education recently voted not to release State Assessments from 2013-2014 school year due to concerns regarding validity of the assessments. As you may remember, there were multiple issues with the rollout and distribution of assessments this past year. In place of releasing test results, they will release areas that appeared problematic for all students (state-wide) on the assessment. This was the pilot year for the new assessment. In recent months, the topic of establishing a Recreation Commission was brought to the USD #386 Board of Education as well as the City of Madison. Two members of each body, formed a committee to explore the possibility of establishing a Recreation Commission. The committee reported back to both boards with the following proposal: o Establishing a Recreation Commission as a partnership between the City of Madison and USD #386 Madison-Virgil. o The benefits of establishing the commission include expanding the youth athletic programs. Possibilities discussed include volleyball, wrestling, track, and indoor soccer. Current youth programs include football, basketball, and baseball. Additional benefits include lower insurance costs and lower participation costs thus allowing more students the opportunity to participate. o The City of Madison would maintain all supervision, funding, etc. for the city pool. They would also continue to provide the same level of financial support for youth programs including maintenance of the baseball fields, etc.. o As required by law, the recreation commissions would consist of five members appointed in the following manner. In the case of a joint recreation system established by a city and a school district the school district selects two members and the city selects two members, with the final member being selected by the appointed members. The term of the members is different in a joint recreation system as well. Of the members selected by the school district, one shall serve for a term of one year and one for a term of four years. Of the members selected by the city, one shall serve a term of two years and the other member shall serve a term of three years. The fifth member to the commission will serve a four year term. After the commission has been established, it is the duty of the commission to set up the rules governing the recreation system. The school district merely becomes the taxing district for the commission, with the sole purpose of levying the 1 mill tax every year. The recreation system is governed solely by the recreation commission and is not subordinate to the city or school district's governing bodies. After hearing from the committee, both USD #386 Board of Education and City of Madison agreed to move forward with the project. The first formal step in the process will be completing a petition containing the signatures of 5% of the qualified voters from the school district. Once this is completed, the question of whether to establish a recreation commission is then submitted to the voters on the November election ballot. The main goal in establishing the Recreation Commission is to increase the athletic opportunities for our young people all while lowering the cost to the participants. Have a good week and remember, “It’s A Great Day to Be a Bulldog!” |
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