January 22, 2010

District-Wide PCN Meeting
The district is excited to welcome you to the district-wide PCN (Parent Communications Network) meeting at West Bloomfield High School on January 27 at 7:00 p.m. Our focus will be on the video “Two Million Minutes”. This meeting is open to the entire community, so please come and bring a friend to dialog about what 21st Century Learning might look like for our students.

West Bloomfield Educational Foundation
The foundation is moving along nicely with great initiatives taking place. On Sunday, January 31st, families will be contacted by phone urging them to donate to the Save Our Schools campaign. The campaign has received over $150,000 in pledges and donations. We are thrilled that our parents are choosing to generously contribute and support the campaign. We have had our first $10,000 pledge from one of our parents. The names of donors of $2,500 or more will be added to our Wall of Champions at the entrance to the high school.

The foundation’s next big event is the Detroit Pistons’ game on February 21. Please go to the foundation’s website www.wbef.org for information on discounted tickets. Click on “Pistons Tickets” and see where your seats are located. Fifty percent of the proceeds will go to the foundation. Join the West Bloomfield School District community at an area restaurant prior to the game that will offer discounted meals along with the proceeds also going to the district. Thank you for supporting us in this endeavor.

Hooper, the Pistons’ mascot was at all elementary schools this week promoting ticket sales to this game.

New Coffee Talk Dates
We have added two new Coffee Talk dates to the calendar. It is important that parents attend these Coffee Talks to be informed about what is happening and have the opportunity for input in the budget process.
The new dates are:
Sunday, January 31 from 3:30 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. at Temple Shir Shalom (corner of Walnut Lake and Orchard Lake roads)
Thursday, February 4 at Orchard Lake Middle School from 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
All are welcome to attend. Please find the time to join us and learn more about what is going on in the district.

Legislative Update
Hold Harmless districts are being asked to write Governor Granholm to ask her to restore 20j funding in her budget proposal that she will present in February. Email or call her to stress how important this funding is to West Bloomfield and other districts in our state. Let her know that our district is making severe cuts as a result of the decision to cut 20j funding and we need her help to restore the funding.
Governor Jennifer Granholm
P.O. Box 30013
Lansing, MI 48909
517-373-3400 Phone 517-335-6863 Fax
www.michigan.gov/gov

New Semester Begins
The second semester begins at the secondary schools on Monday. All secondary students are in the process of completing exams this week.

Enhancing While Reducing

Recently, there has been much activity in Lansing regarding legislation and preparation of the state’s application for the federal “Race to the Top” grant. West Bloomfield joins other districts throughout the state in signing a Memorandum of Understanding regarding this grant. If Michigan receives the anticipated $400 million in federal grant funds, West Bloomfield’s grant will be $168,000. As of this writing, the final details of the grant have not been released. Please check the State’s website at www.michigan.gov/mde for the latest information.

The West Bloomfield School District has been making budget reductions and staff cuts for the last 7 years. As you recall, significant staff cuts were made at the end of the 2008-2009 school year in anticipation of a shortfall in revenue. As a result, we have 23 fewer positions in the schools this year than in the 2008-2009 school year. We are looking at further reductions in staff for the 2010-2011 school year, as well as, consolidation of services and bus routes, which will result in walking distances for the 2010-2011 school year at the middle schools, high school and some elementary schools.

As of January 1^st, our support staff, supervisors, Cabinet members and the superintendent have all taken concessions including a 10% wage reduction, an increase in healthcare deductibles and contributions to insurance premiums. These changes are significant as we develop our Deficit Reduction Plan for possible submission to the state in February.

The high school is working diligently to update its curriculum offerings and consolidating programs for efficiency and responding to the loss of staff due to retirements. We will be losing a minimum of 38 staff across the district due to the early retirement incentive. Many positions will not be replaced, allowing us to reduce the number of potential layoffs.

While facing difficult economic times, the West Bloomfield School District continues to look forward to create new initiatives and plan for the future in an effort to remain competitive with our neighboring school districts, schools around the country and globally. You will be hearing about new initiatives allowing us to attract and hold onto students, which in the long-term equates to allowing us to retain quality staff. As an example, we are seeking board approval of three new courses to enhance the high school curriculum and help students meet their state-required senior math requirement: Statistics and Advanced Placement Statistics.

Budget Coffee Talks

Also, please attend the Budget Coffee Talks as they are scheduled so that you have input into the budget reductions being considered and will be informed of actions taken.

West Bloomfield Educational Foundation

Please support the foundation as they are working diligently to raise funds in an effort to minimize the effects of the programs being reduced and the loss of teaching positions for next year. One way you can do this is by purchasing discounted Detroit Pistons tickets for Sunday, February 21. Proceeds will go to the West Bloomfield Educational Foundation. Go to www.wbef.org and click on the Pistons logo at the top of the page to purchase tickets on-line.

Watch for fun and exciting events that are being developed by the Foundation!

Future Messages

As a result of events changing rapidly, I hope to communicate with you regularly with brief updates and news that impacts our schools.