In this Issue

Welcome back to the second half of the school year and Happy New Year! Even though we had a two week break, the pace of things seems not to have slowed down at all! However, there are many great things happening throughout the district and there are many more exciting things to come.

I have recently written an article that was published in the Arizona Republic, Wrangler News and Ahwatukee Foothills News about the budget challenges facing the state of Arizona. Specifically, I discussed the fact that school districts like Kyrene are not immune to this crisis and that this will likely have an impact on the district budget.

It is more important than ever to keep the One Team concept in mind as we face this uncertain future together.

Kyrene has planned well over the years and is positioned to weather this situation better than many other school districts. Conservative budgeting that allows us to partially “prepay” expenses like insurance and health care help to defray the increased costs of those expensive programs. In addition we have “swept” from 15% to 30% of school and departmental budgets to reserve funds for reductions that may come from the legislature and elsewhere. While this causes a certain amount of hardship, it is important that we remember that any funds we are able to reserve now are available to all of us in the future.

This edition of the Insider contains some talking points about the budget situation. Please educate yourselves about this so you will be able to talk with your colleagues and interested community members about how all this is impacting the school district. Most of all, remember that we are in this together and that great strength comes from unity!

Like the rest of the global economy, the State of Arizona is currently facing significant budget challenges. Kyrene is not immune from the most recent economic challenges and all predictions indicate that schools will be impacted as the state balances their budget. We are preparing for this uncertain future.

Kyrene currently maximizes dollars spent in the classroom and is well above state averages in classroom spending and well below in administrative spending.

Even without the current economic challenges, Kyrene has been watching several budget variables. These variables include:

The good news is that Kyrene has excellent fiscal management, has prepaid insurance premiums, and has also been proactive in maximizing savings that are allowed to carry forward from year to year.

We are also fortunate that we have had wonderful community support by approving our override and bond initiatives. Because of this voter support, our construction projects and technology initiatives should continue as planned.

With the support of our schools and departments, we are currently saving a portion current year unspent dollars to reserve them for future challenges.

We are asking our staff to be as fiscally responsible as possible and are soliciting current and future budget saving ideas.

It is expected that final budgetary decisions for 2009-2010 will be made in late June or early July once the state legislature makes funding decisions.

Grand Canyon University is hosting an Open House for the faculty and staff of Kyrene School District. During the meeting, we will be discussing our graduate and undergraduate degree programs that are currently offered. We will also be discussing scholarships available for Kyrene staff members, the financial aid process as well as details about the Federal Loan Forgiveness Program which entitles eligible teachers up to $5,000 (for teachers of all subjects) or up to $17,500 (for teachers of Math, Science of Special Education) in loan forgiveness.

A GCU Scholarship of $1,000 and GCU Application Fee Waiver will be offered to all interested teachers and staff.

Please RSVP through Gail Lafnear/Holly Mitchell (instructions below) to qualify for the available scholarships:

Kyrene School Board Members Honored at State Conference

Two members of the Kyrene School Board were honored at the Annual Arizona School Boards Association conference this year.

Rae Waters was named to the All-Arizona School Board making her one of the Top Five Board members in the entire state. (See list below.) This is the highest honor the Arizona School Boards Association bestows on individual governing board members.

Ms. Waters also received a Master of Boardsmanship Cluster Award. She was among forty-seven school board members state-wide receiving cluster awards for having completed more than 120 hours of training throughout their years of board service. Ms. Waters has completed 413 hours of training.

Rich Zawtocki was named to the ASBA Honor Roll. This award recognizes retiring governing board members who have served at least two consecutive terms and were nominated by their boards for outstanding service.

All-Arizona School Board Award:

Eva Carillo Dong, Sunnyside USD (Tucson)

Frank “Chic” Maldonado, Benson USD

Martie Payne, Palominas ESD (Hereford)

Rae J. Waters, Kyrene ESD (Tempe)

Martha Yardley-Jones, Antelope UHSD (Wellton)

We want to thank all of our Kyrene teachers for participating in Kids Voting this year. What a fantastic success it was! Approximately 15,000 Kyrene students voted in the recent election and all students were affected by Kids Voting lessons that took place in their classroom. A special “Thank You” goes out to all of the school site Kids Voting Coordinators. Thank you!

Each year Kyrene Elementary School District honors its top middle school orchestra, band and choir students by selecting them to perform in a special concert. New this year, there will be two locations for the Annual Kyrene Concert to be held simultaneously on Tuesday, February 3 at 7:00 p.m.

There are no tickets for the concerts so seating is on a first come, first serve basis at both locations. Doors open at 6:30 p.m.

For more information call Joy Fogarty at 480-783-4112, Marcos de Niza High 480-838-3200 or Desert Vista High 480-706-7900.

January 9, 2009

Superintendent’s Message