Class Size Reduction Funding
The Humboldt County School Board of Trustees approved their report on class size reduction(CSR) which will be submitted to the State Board of Education. Class size reduction money from the state provides funding for teacher salaries. When a classroom exceed the statutory teacher to student ratio, the school district must request variance.
This year, there were 15.25 CSR positions totaling $1.24 million in salaries (about $81,000 per position) funded through the program. Excluding rural schools, class sizes, in grades 1 to 3, range from 17.33 to 22.83. Board chairman John Seeliger voted no on the approval because the district chose to fill support positions instead of teacher positions, he said that sent the wrong message.
Dr. Dave Jensen, superintendent of schools, said it was important the legislature knew how critical this funding is to Humboldt County Schools.
Early Retirement Incentive Plan
The trustees chose not to fund an early retirement incentive plan for the 2014-2015 school year. Board members said the money for the plan could be better spent but reserved the right to address in future years.
Meeting in McDermitt
The board changed their plans to meet in McDermitt on Nov. 11 because of the Veterans Day holiday. The board will meet in the rural community on Nov. 25, and will hold the Nov. 11 meeting in Winnemucca.
Annual Financial Report Audit
The board approved the fiscal year 2014 audit, performed by Drake Rose and Associates, LLC. According to the audit, "The District's General Fund ending balance is $4,499,437, which represents a 53 percent decrease from the previous year's ending fund balance of $9,582,468. This decrease is a result of decreased mining activities in the area due to a drop in gold prices."
Sonoma Heights School Presentation
Principal Amy Nelson presented the board members with her school presentation plan. She said her goals for the year were to implement intervention blocks and improve teacher instruction. Nelson said it was important that high achieving students were not forgotten in the push to improve test scores of low-achieving students. Nelson also wanted the board members to know that the new teacher evaluation system would require much of school administrators, who already manage the building, 60 staff members and about 500 students.
Winnemucca Junior High School Presentation
Principal Janet Kennedy and vice principal Jonathan Reynolds presented the junior high school's performance plan. Their goals for the year include having 100 percent of school departments create a school sequencing guide including pre- and post assessments, and having 100 percent of teachers implementing reading for meaning in every classroom and for every subject. Students requiring remediation classes are working to make up courses in Warrior Hall, a school within a school, said Kennedy. In the first eight weeks of school, Kennedy said students had completed 63 semester credit hours in remediation.[[In-content Ad]]
