Superintendent's Message:
Dear Staff,
As we continue
to experience the intensity of “spring time in Kyrene,” let’s remind
ourselves of the excellence and quality this school district is known
for. My most recent reminder of this was the annual District Art Show
that just concluded where student art work from every school was on
display at Furlong Center. The students with the support and guidance
of their art teachers created the most amazing art pieces many of which
I would be proud to display in my home. Tuesday evening was a special
evening event where the community was invited to the exhibit and the
enthusiasm and energy in the building from the hundreds of people who
were here was truly exhilarating.
The American
School Boards Association Technology Site Visit is another example and
one might think that since that event was over a month ago that we might
not still be talking about it. However, you need to know that people
from all over the country continue to express interest and a number of
people who attended the conference want to make arrangements to return
with teams of people so they can begin developing technology plans for
their own school districts. The feedback from the attendees was
extremely complimentary of Kyrene and our schools, and while technology
was the draw, people were most impressed with the quality of instruction
they observed, the engagement of students in their own learning and the
fantastic facilities and resources we have.
It’s important
to note that we together are responsible for creating this high
performing, phenomenal school district that well over 3000 families from
outside of the district choose for that reason. Remember, too, that we
constantly hear that families relocating to the East Valley from other
parts of the country often tell us that after carefully researching
school districts that Kyrene was their #1 choice for where they wanted
their children to go to school. We have a lot to be proud of and let’s
keep remembering that!
David
District News:
Governing Board Decision
As you may know,
the Certified Meet and Confer teams have been meeting since February to
discuss salary, benefits, and working conditions for the 08-09 certified
contracts. Last night the Kyrene Governing Board met and took the
following actions:
-
Approved the
framework of the new compensation system proposed by the Compensation
Team with a recognition that work is ongoing for several aspects of
this new system, including how education credits may look in the
future. Once a plan and transition strategies have been developed,
the Compensation Team will return to the Governing Board for feedback,
and ultimately, approval.
-
Directed Human
Resource Services to issue contracts to certified employees as soon as
possible.
Certified Employee Contracts
Contracts will
be issued as soon as possible in order to provide notice of continued
employment to our current teachers as well as to establish staffing
needs as early as possible.
Due to unknown
state funding variables, and possible unfunded mandates related to ELL,
the district will not know what monies will be available for salary
increases until the legislature concludes the budget process. As a
result, the contracts issued will reflect your current 07-08 base salary
amount.
We realize this
may cause some concern for teachers. Please know that the Kyrene
Governing Board is committed to providing salary increases once the
state budget has been approved and funding variables become known. The
Governing Board has agreed to fund approximately $300,000 in
professional growth funding in addition to a $595 increase in heath
benefits. You will note that in the contract there is contingency
language which provides an opportunity to the Board to review salaries
for the 08 – 09 school year. Action will be triggered once the
legislature adopts the State budget and votes to approve funding for
education and the Governing Board has established its allocation of
resources for the budget year 2008-2009.
The Kyrene
Governing Board has asked the Meet and Confer teams to meet again to
learn about how final legislative decisions will impact Kyrene’s funding
variables and/or for the purpose of discussing funds for salary
increases.
Clarification Information
Contracts were sent out for certified staff
for 2008/2009 on Friday, March 28. In the cover letter included with
the contract it stated that for 2008/2009 school year an additional $595
per employee, per year, is being contributed by the District for medical
benefits. This is the dollar figure that was given to the Governing
Board for their approval based on the District share of a 32.3% total
recommended premium increase approved by the Kyrene Employee Benefit
Trust.
To clarify, the estimated increase amount
of $595 per full-time employee, per year, refers to monies that will be
paid by the District for the medical premium allowance, in addition to
the employer paid district life insurance and administrative fees that
the District pays for health benefits.
Support Staff Meet and Confer
Meet and Confer
for support staff started
this week! The KESPA members are Leon Savage, President, Mike Williams,
Vice-President, and one additional member to be named. The Board team
consists of David Schauer, Superintendent, Terry Tatterfield, Assistant
Superintendent, Kelly Alexander, Director, Ken Helling, Principal and
Mark Knight, HR. Ad hoc members Karin Smith, Deb Spurgin and Karla
Izzett will also provide technical assistance as needed.
The dates and
times for the next meetings are as follows:
April 2, 4:00 –
5:30
April 9, 4:00 –
5:30
These meetings
are open to the public. We hope that you can attend.
Summer Kids Club Reminder
The Department of Health Services Emergency Information Card and
copies of Immunizations (also a Birth Certificate for infants,
toddlers and three and four year olds) are due by
8:00am
on May 12, 2008,
to the Customer Service Center located at the Furlong Center (District
Office), 8700 S. Kyrene Road, Tempe, AZ 85284. Families that have NOT
submitted these forms by the deadline will be withdrawn from Summer
registration. The DHS Emergency Information Card is available online
at
http://www.kyrene.org/eservices/forms/forms.htm
Summer 2008 Professional Development Workshops
Offered by Kyrene Curriculum & Assessment and Technology Departments
During summer
2008 there will be a variety of offerings for professional growth that
meet many needs and many schedules. The Curriculum & Assessment
Department and the Technology Department will be offering a number of
outstanding workshops for teachers and administrators. As in past
years, the Curriculum & Assessment Department is committed to
providing quality professional development to Kyrene teachers and will
once again host a number of workshops provided by national and state
experts. The department selects the experts to bring to Kyrene based
on feedback from Kyrene teachers and administrators. It will be a
summer filled with enriching educational opportunities that you won’t
want to miss!
Classes and workshops will be open for registration on
Friday, April 4, 2008 at 2:30 pm.
To register
for a workshop, go to KIP
http://www.kyrene.org/kip/ to enroll.
Gifted Language Arts Curriculum
Exceptional Student Services and the Curriculum and Assessment
Departments have been working with the Gifted Language Arts Curriculum
Committee to revise the various gifted Language Arts curricula to
better meet the needs of gifted students in grades K – 5.
A draft of the curricula is available for review at
http://www.kyrene.org/resource/gifted/curriculum/curriculum_draft.htm.
Please forward your input to Lori McClellan in the Exceptional Student
Services Department, Mail Stop 18, by April 11, 2008. Your input is
greatly appreciated!
Arts Jam 2008
Arts Jam 2008
is
on April 26 at
the Tempe Library courtyard! It's going to be a great day. We have 5
different professional artists demonstrating, at least 5 free art
activities for kids, 25 booths, student art gallery by Estrella,
Cerritos, Sureno and Corona del Sol schools, Poetry Cove,
Orchestra Stage Percussion Jam, Corvette raffle will benefit our
co-sponsors Tempe Union High Schools Education Foundation, and the
following groups from our schools are performing on Main Stage:
9:00 am-
Brisas Mallet Masters
9:30 am-
Lagos D.R.U.M.
10:00 am-
Pueblo Show Choir
10:30 am-
Corona del Sol High School Jaztecs Ensemble and Men's Chorus
11:15 am-
KMS 8th Grade Chorus
11:45 am-
KMS Scorpion Bells
12:00 pm-
Cnetennial Middle School Chorus
Press
Releases sent March 17- April 3
Kyrene
Governing Board Candidate Preview Session
Kyrene de
los Cerritos Principal made official
Kyrene
School District Art Show
Akimel
A-al Middle School 15th Annual Patriotic Day
Kyrene de los
Lagos 20th Anniversary
60 Day Health Curriculum Review
Kyrene de la Esperanza Kindergarten Orientation
60 Day Special Education Curriculum
School News:
Corona del Sol Situation Update
Any mold found
at Corona del Sol was quickly and appropriately removed by professional
abatement specialists. All clean up has been completed. TUHSD is
working with professional industrial hygienists to review any additional
tests that might need to be completed to ensure that the environmental
conditions at Corona are safe. The main issue at Cornoa is an outdated
HVAC system that does not provide an adequate amount of “fresh air” into
the building thus creating sometimes what the professional consultants
recommend as “below standard”. Funding is the problem. The School
Facilities Board denied funding this replacement because they did not
consider it to be an emergency. TUHSD has also removed carpet and
replaced areas of the walls where there was potential for mold. They
are pursuing other alternatives, including legal action and possibly
having a special bond on the November election in order to resolve this
problem.
On-Site Opportunity Available at Monte Vista!
Live on the Chandler/Ray loop for $775/month - including utilities!!
Live in
Ahwatukee for less than the surrounding area apartments are asking!
Kyrene offers a unique employment benefit program known as On-Site. Most
schools employ an On-site to live on the school campus in either an
apartment or a trailer (Monte Vista has a 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom
apartment.) Part of the employment agreement is that the On-site
performs a daily check ensuring the school is secure and that the alarms
are set. For performing these checks, the On-site is paid $12/hour (or
$18/hour when overtime applies!) for up to four hours per week. Kyrene
employees who are interested in the position can apply
online or obtain an application at the Furlong Center.
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