|
|
What is sequestration and what does it mean for us?
a message from Superintendent Dr. Curtis Jones
"...Seriously- this whole government thing- we are state employed and the threat that we are going to be laid off by the federal government? Perhaps you need to address this with employees? I am sure there are a lot of questions and doubt?...)
The above was sent to me in an email earlier this week and I want to address the concerns in today's Communicator. First, I have asked Ashley McLemore, our director of federal programs, to respond and her response follows. I have also asked Jim Smith, our assistant superintendent for administrative services and chief financial officer, to comment.
To the teacher who asked the questions, thank you. I am sure others are wondering and I hope this provides more clarity. If it does not, let me know!
Have a great weekend everybody.
Curtis
|
Sequestration
by Ashley McLemore, Federal Programs
Background
Generally in U.S. law sequestration is a procedure by which an automatic spending cut is triggered. This trigger has occurred five times since it was first initiated in 1985.
Currently, "Sequestration" or "the sequester" are terms used to describe the automatic budget cuts passed into law under the Budget Control Act (BCA).
The Congressional Debt Supercommittee made up of members from the House and Senate was instructed to cut at least $1.5 trillion from the federal budget.
Since the Supercommittee recessed permanently in November 2011 without coming to an agreement, the sequestration cuts are set at $1.2 trillion and are spread between January 2013 and October 2021.
Changes to the sequestration procedure were enacted in January 2013 through the American Taxpayer Relief Act. This legislation delayed the implementation of automatic cuts by two months to March 1, 2013, and reduced the automatic cuts in FY2013 by $24 billion.
The "lost" automatic spending cuts were replaced with $12 billion in taxes on retirement plans converted from traditional to Roth IRAs and $12 billion in reductions to Congressional spending caps.
Federal Programs affected
Federal Programs, such as Title I, Title II, IDEA, and CTAE, receive two allocations, one in October and one in July. The October funds are advance allocations (a year in advance) which are 75% of the appropriation. Therefore, 2013-2014 federal funds will be affected by the sequestration.
Latest estimates for sequestration are between 4.9% and 5.4%.
With the sequestration, many programs and services for children in Georgia will be affected. States and school systems will be facing difficult years ahead as funding decreases while the number of students in poverty increases.
Secretary Duncan stated in a testimony to the Senate that "When the cuts hit, they will hurt the most vulnerable students worst".
What's Next? - March 1 - The President will issue a sequestration order that will go into effect at midnight - US ED is planning for budget cuts - March 27 - Continuing Resolution - Congress needs to pass a new continuing resolution (line by line allocation of funds) by March 27th. This will be a time of intense negotiations with varying political positions and cuts will be distributed among different programs in different ways. - Mid-May - debt ceiling limit will be reached What about Griffin-Spalding? The Griffin-Spalding County School System receives millions of dollars in federal funding through Title I, Title II (Teacher Quality), IDEA (Student with Disabilities) and Career Tech.
|
FY13 Allocation
| |
Title I
|
$3,929,869
| |
Title II
|
$543,394
| |
IDEA
|
$2,107,882
| |
CTAE
|
$108,763
| |
Total
|
$6,689,908
|
In order to prepare for the expected sequestration and potential discretionary cuts, the Griffin-Spalding County School System has prepared for a 15% budget cut. This will account for sequestration, discretionary cuts and variances in cuts between school districts. Schools have been given preliminary Title I and II allocations based on the estimated cuts and their school poverty numbers. Schools are in the process of planning for the 2013-2014 school year. Sources: National Title I Association Brustein and Manasevit, PPLC Sequestration Cheat Sheet
From Jim Smith, CFO
Federal funds account for approximately 14% of our total school system budget. The sequestration will not affect any programs that are solely funded by local or state resources which includes the primary, daily operation of our schools.
|
Griffin-Spalding County Schools "Serve up" Health and Wellness through Tennis
Griffin, GA - Griffin-Spalding County Schools, the Southern Crescent Youth Tennis and Education Foundation, and the United States Tennis Association (USTA) have joined forces to bring the sport of tennis into the lives of local school children. The partnership incorporates programs that introduce all elementary school students to the game of tennis during physical education classes, and provide opportunities for children to participate in tennis programs offered after school and during the summer.
The Griffin-Spalding County School Tennis initiative is part of a larger nationwide campaign that encourages young people to get more active and lead healthier lifestyles. A number of studies confirm the addition of tennis into school physical education curriculums and after school programs provides more healthful recreation and physical fitness for school children, and thereby bolsters their long-term educational success.
The USTA "Ten and Under Tennis" physical education curriculum, which does not require a tennis court, is extremely versatile and can be used in any setting for both large and small groups. The "USTA Kids Tennis Club" after school program is designed specifically to enhance the physical skills and abilities of young students, and provide interested kids more opportunities and access to the sport of tennis. Both nationally recognized programs are fully endorsed by notable organizations such as the American Heart Association and the Cleveland Clinic.
The Griffin-Spalding County School System will incorporate the USTA School Tennis Program in all eleven of its elementary schools and will be the first entire school district in Georgia to fully implement the total USTA program. All training, tennis equipment, and supplies needed to conduct the program will be provided to the schools by the USTA free of charge.
The USTA is in the final stages of training Griffin-Spalding County teachers, after school program coordinators, and interested parents in the proper techniques of teaching tennis to elementary school aged children. Five schools have been fully trained and equipped. Teachers from the remaining schools are trained and will receive equipment in the very near future.
|
|
Race to the Top (RT3)-Where we are and where we are heading...
Griffin-Spalding County School System is a Race to the Top (RT3) system receiving $3,160,619 as part of a four-year grant. 2013-2014 is the final year of the grant which includes four education reform areas: Great Teachers and Leaders, Standards and Assessment, Data Systems to Support Instruction, and Turning around our lowest-achieving schools. Several initiatives in our district support these reform targets.
The new teacher and new principal mentor programs provide professional development and guided support, while the Teacher Keys Effectiveness System (TKES) and Leader Keys Effectiveness System (LKES) tie the work to standards and are the instruments used to evaluate all teachers and administrators. The adoption of the Common Core Georgia Performance Standards points our way in providing a guided and viable curriculum. The process of unwrapping and prioritizing these standards continues.
Data drives our instruction and an important source of information has been added this year in the form of the Student Longitudinal Data System (SLDS). Valuable information is just a "click" away where one can find class schedules and rosters, course standards, and student attendance history to name a few.
As we look down the road and see the end of RT3 as we know it in 2014, a Project Management Plan will be completed to include a focus on program sustainability. Some questions to be asked are what initiatives must be sustained, who will be involved, and how much will it cost?
|
|
Kennedy Road Girls Win!
Kennedy Rd Middle School Lady Cougar Basketball Team completed their season with a Championship. They finished 14-1 to win the Central Georgia Middle School Athletic League C.G.M.S.A.L.). They defeated Carver Rd 37 to 31 in the championship game on Tuesday, Feb. 5 at Kennedy.The league is composed of 15 basketball teams (seven on the East and 8 on the West). KRMS won the west side with a record of 11-1 and won three playoff games to be league champions. |
|
Congrats to Spalding High
Georgia has moved up to 12th in the nation in the percentage of seniors scoring a 3 or higher - a passing score - on Advanced Placement (AP) exams, according to The College Board's AP Report to the Nation released today. Georgia ranked 13th in the nation last year.
Spalding High School is an AP STEM Honors School with students testing in at least two (2) AP math courses and two (2) AP science courses. They are also an AP STEM Achievement School with students testing in at least two (2) AP math courses and two (2) AP sciences couses and at least 40% of the exam scores on the exams earning three (3) or higher.
This report measures progress of the Class of 2012. When results are broken out by subgroup, Georgia's African-American students rank 2nd in the nation (behind Washington D.C.) in the percentage of seniors scoring a 3 or higher on AP exams. Georgia's 10-year increase (10.1%) in the percentage of seniors scoring a 3 or higher on AP exams also shows impressive results, ranking 9th in the nation.
Georgia is also a national leader when it comes to public school students enrolling in AP courses and taking the exams. Only five other states in the country had a greater percentage of AP exam takers last year. The percentage of Georgia seniors who took an AP exam was 41.1%, compared to 32.4% for the nation.
|
|
Scenes from Professional Development Days
Beaverbrook Elementary School achievement discussion
Kennedy Road Middle teambuilding
Griffin High training |
|
High School Grants Awarded by DOE
Griffin High and Spalding High received a total of $2200 in grants to train teachers for new AP STEM classes through the 2013 AP Summer Institutes.
|
|
Scholarships Available for Teachers
The Georgia Retired Educators Association, will be awarding twelve (12) $500.00 grants/scholarships to certified educators to use in a manner most suited to the individual's need in pursing advanced certification, or while adding a field. Any educator who is certified and employed in Georgia, Pre-K through 12, is eligible to apply for the scholarship.
Application Deadline: April 19, 2013
Click here for more information.
|
|
Ferst Foundation Prepares Children for School
Spalding County is now a chapter of the Ferst Foundation, an organization that mails books to children each month for their first five years.
Any child may be registered here. It costs the foundation $28 per child per year to provide this service. GSCS's own retiree Louisa Melton is the founder of the Spalding County Ferst Foundation. |
|
Beth Kirby in All State Chorus
During winter break, Spalding High School sophomore Beth Kirby attended All-State Chorus in Savannah, GA. All-State chorus is the highest honor a chorus student can recieve. In order to attend, each student has to pass two rigorous auditions including solo singing, sight-reading, a written test, and more. Students who pass these auditions attend All-State chorus along with other top students from around the state of Georgia. The students have a busy rehearsal schedule for two and half days with a well-known choral conductor before performing a concert. Beth was a part of the Senior Women's Choir and was Griffin-Spalding's only participant. We are very proud of her accomplishment and hope to take a larger group from SHS next year
|
|
Grant Received for PBIS
GSCS received a $2,500 grant from the NASP Children's Fund Service. This money was used to purchase Wii Games Systems and Games for the PBIS (Positive Behavior Intervention and Support) programs. PBIS coaches check out the systems as a reward for students that have demonstrated the schools expectations. The Center for Leadership in Disability at Georgia State University has partnered with GSCS to provide behavior support training to PBIS coaches. The grant was written as part of the partnership we have with them.
|
|
UGA-Griffin wants your feedback
The UGA-Griffin Campus is currently trying to determine specific continuing education needs of clients served in Spalding and surrounding counties.
Please click the link below and complete the Needs Assessment so your voice can be heard.
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/9BYHRY3
If clicking the link does not work, please copy and paste the link into your web browser. The survey will be open until March 8 so you prompt response shall be appreciated.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Employee of the Month
Nutrition
Sherri Burdette
Sherri Burdette is the heart and soul of GSCS Nutrition. She juggles many, many duties with a patient and kind spirit. We can always count on her to take care of the little details that often slip by unnoticed. She is the example of efficiency and organization, and she takes on every new task with positive and get-it-done attitude. Our department could not function without her!
|
|
Important Extras
Fingerprint costs will be $45 effective March 1.
~~
The Georgia Retired Educators Foundation will award $500 grants and scholarships to educators pursuing advanced certification. Any certificated educator is eligible to apply. Copies of the application form were placed in each school mailbox. Deadline for applying is June 1, 2013.
~~
Did you know...Georgia's 2014 governor's budget underfunds public education by $1 billion according to the Georgia Budget & Policy Institute?
~~
Congratulations to Moore Elementary teachers who won $4,650 Visions for Learning grants for books and learning materials.
Check out the training for the Student Longtitudinal Data System. Click here.
The new password for GALILEO is viola. The password will be changed on March 24. ~~ |
|
Board of Education
March 5, 2013
. |
|
