The Paynesville Area Schools will join school districts throughout the state to salute their local education leaders during Minnesota’s annual School Board Recognition Week February 20-24.
The commemorative week is designed to recognize the contributions made by Minnesota’s school board members, including the Paynesville Area School Board, who are charged with governing public education under state law.
Minnesota school board members are chosen by their communities through election or appointment to manage local schools. They oversee multimillion dollar budgets which fund education programs for more than 825,000 students in approximately 2,000 schools. Their personnel decisions affect more than 52,000 teachers and thousands of administrators and support workers.
These volunteer leaders also are responsible for formulating school district policy, approving curricula, maintaining school facilities, and adhering to state and federal education law. Legal concerns and the complexities of school finance, including budgeting and taxation, require them to spend many hours in board training programs and personal study to enhance their understanding of these issues.
Our deepest appreciation is extended to the dedicated men and women who make it possible for local citizens to participate in education in our community. We salute the public servants of the Paynesville Area School Board whose commitment and civic responsibility make local control of public schools in our community possible: Dave Johnson, Deb Glenz, Gretchen O’Fallon, Mark Dingmann, Dave Currens, Bob Bowden, and Lew Storkamp.
Please join us by saying thanks to our school board members during Minnesota’s School Board Recognition Week.
Sincerely,
Todd Burlingame
PAS Superintendent
Monday, February 20, 2012
Friday, October 7, 2011
Paynesville Area Schools Makes Adequate Yearly Progress!!!
Hats off to Paynesville Area Schools staff, students, volunteers, parents, and community members!!! Paynesville Area Schools made Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) for the 2010-11 school year. Our staff has been working very hard to increase student achievement. Although I may not agree with all of the requirements of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act, it has enabled our staff to work collaboratively towards a common goal of student achievement. Our staff is working together analyzing test data, curriculum, and teaching styles to improve our approach to teaching. I can say that our staff has come together as a team to improve on our strengths and address our weaknesses, in providing the best education for our students.
The federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act requires that all schools in the nation make Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) toward achieving the goal of all students being proficient in reading and math. As you may be aware, Paynesville Area Schools has been designated as a school in need of improvement due to not making AYP for the last three years.
The goal of No Child Left Behind has been to have all children in the United States reading and doing math at grade level by the 2013-14 school year. To accomplish that, the law required states to implement a system of standardized tests with achievement levels ramping up each year.
Schools and districts must meet the requirements in a variety of subgroups to make adequate yearly progress. If they fall short in one category, the entire district may be labeled as not making AYP. The categories include ethnic minorities, students learning English, low-income students and special education students.
AYP status is calculated by the growth each district makes from the previous year and the target achievement rates from the base line year of testing in Reading and Math. Once the bar is set, it incrementally increases to 100% for the 2013-14 school year. Districts receive points for growth and reaching the bar. Once a district is identified as Not Making AYP, they are designated as a District in Need of Improvement for at least 2 years or until the district makes AYP for two consecutive years. Our district will need to make AYP again this year to get out of the District in Need of Improvement designation. This year, 226 of 335 school districts did not make adequate yearly progress. We were one of 109 school districts who made AYP for the 2010-11 school year.
We are working together within the district to ensure that all students receive the best education possible. The Paynesville Area staff has implemented the following strategies to improve the quality of education: Power Half Hour, Paynesville Area Targeted Services (PATS), Core plus More, and Summer Boot Camp for reading and math. Once again, hats off to our staff, students and parents on a great achievement. It truly does take an entire village to raise a child. Paynesville Area Schools is making strides to become an excellent school for student growth and achievement.
To review our scores and to see how other districts around the state are performing please refer to the Minnesota Department of Education’s Website, School Report Cards at http://education.state.mn.us/ReportCard2005/index.do. If you have questions please contact me at 320-243-3410 ext. 1149.
Todd Burlingame
PAS Superintendent
The federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act requires that all schools in the nation make Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) toward achieving the goal of all students being proficient in reading and math. As you may be aware, Paynesville Area Schools has been designated as a school in need of improvement due to not making AYP for the last three years.
The goal of No Child Left Behind has been to have all children in the United States reading and doing math at grade level by the 2013-14 school year. To accomplish that, the law required states to implement a system of standardized tests with achievement levels ramping up each year.
Schools and districts must meet the requirements in a variety of subgroups to make adequate yearly progress. If they fall short in one category, the entire district may be labeled as not making AYP. The categories include ethnic minorities, students learning English, low-income students and special education students.
AYP status is calculated by the growth each district makes from the previous year and the target achievement rates from the base line year of testing in Reading and Math. Once the bar is set, it incrementally increases to 100% for the 2013-14 school year. Districts receive points for growth and reaching the bar. Once a district is identified as Not Making AYP, they are designated as a District in Need of Improvement for at least 2 years or until the district makes AYP for two consecutive years. Our district will need to make AYP again this year to get out of the District in Need of Improvement designation. This year, 226 of 335 school districts did not make adequate yearly progress. We were one of 109 school districts who made AYP for the 2010-11 school year.
We are working together within the district to ensure that all students receive the best education possible. The Paynesville Area staff has implemented the following strategies to improve the quality of education: Power Half Hour, Paynesville Area Targeted Services (PATS), Core plus More, and Summer Boot Camp for reading and math. Once again, hats off to our staff, students and parents on a great achievement. It truly does take an entire village to raise a child. Paynesville Area Schools is making strides to become an excellent school for student growth and achievement.
To review our scores and to see how other districts around the state are performing please refer to the Minnesota Department of Education’s Website, School Report Cards at http://education.state.mn.us/ReportCard2005/index.do. If you have questions please contact me at 320-243-3410 ext. 1149.
Todd Burlingame
PAS Superintendent
Thursday, September 29, 2011
District Honors Support Staff
Paynesville Area Schools is proud to give long overdue recognition to our educational support staff - paraprofessionals, clerical personnel, school bus drivers, custodians, food service personnel, buildings and grounds personnel, health and safety staff, technicians, custodians, school nurses and all other support staff.
On Wednesday, September 14th the educational community honored 75 support staff from 23 school districts. Paynesville Area Schools honored Polly Jaeger, administrative assistant, and Diane Utsch, special education paraprofessional, for their outstanding performance which has had a profound impact on our students and our community.
Support staff are an integral part of our school district. They promote student achievement, ensure student safety and contribute to the establishment and promotion of a positive instructional environment. The Educational Support Staff Recognition Event is an opportunity to recognize and honor those school support personnel who go above and beyond their required duties.
The following is a list of criteria used to help selecting honorees:
School support staff who:
* are non-licensed educators
* possess a thorough knowledge of work responsibilities, demonstrate safety for self and others, and cultivate respect for resources and facilities.
* portray a positive role model for students, staff and the community.
* are exemplary staff members who recognize students, peers and colleagues as individuals and who show genuine respect and concern for others.
* seek to improve personally and professionally.
* make a difference every day in the lives of students, staff and their community.
The district is proud of all our support staff, and would like to take this time to thank all support staff for their commitment and dedication to our students. Congratulations to Polly and Diane.
Todd Burlingame
PAS Superintendent
On Wednesday, September 14th the educational community honored 75 support staff from 23 school districts. Paynesville Area Schools honored Polly Jaeger, administrative assistant, and Diane Utsch, special education paraprofessional, for their outstanding performance which has had a profound impact on our students and our community.
Support staff are an integral part of our school district. They promote student achievement, ensure student safety and contribute to the establishment and promotion of a positive instructional environment. The Educational Support Staff Recognition Event is an opportunity to recognize and honor those school support personnel who go above and beyond their required duties.
The following is a list of criteria used to help selecting honorees:
School support staff who:
* are non-licensed educators
* possess a thorough knowledge of work responsibilities, demonstrate safety for self and others, and cultivate respect for resources and facilities.
* portray a positive role model for students, staff and the community.
* are exemplary staff members who recognize students, peers and colleagues as individuals and who show genuine respect and concern for others.
* seek to improve personally and professionally.
* make a difference every day in the lives of students, staff and their community.
The district is proud of all our support staff, and would like to take this time to thank all support staff for their commitment and dedication to our students. Congratulations to Polly and Diane.
Todd Burlingame
PAS Superintendent
Friday, September 16, 2011
Facilities Improvement Update
I would like to publicly apologize for being misled into a facilities improvement project which would have cost our residents $16.4 million dollars. I believe the board acted in good faith believing that we had good information from Johnson Controls. I believe we are guilty of trusting Johnsons Controls and their recommendations. Johnson Controls misled the board and me into believing we needed to make improvements to our buildings through Health and Safety funding. The district is going into mediation with Johnson Controls in an effort to get out of the contracts. I have learned a lot from this experience. The board and I are committed to doing what is in the best interest of the students, staff, parents and community members. The district has hired Deb Metz, who is representing the district in this facilities improvement project. The board has hired Hallberg Engineering to provide an independent neutral opinion as to the actual needs of our buildings. Hallberg identified similar issues with our facilities, but gave us less expensive solutions. The board has also enlisted community input by including three community members as part of our facilities committee. We have taken several steps in these past months to ensure we are making well informed decisions, assessing our needs and looking at all options available for improving our infrastructure with the intent of obtaining the most value for our costs.
The 12 person facilities committee met several times over the past 10 months, working diligently to learn about our mechanical systems, to understand how they function and to discuss and assess our needs. This was done with the goal of providing a comprehensive recommendation to the full board. I would like to thank all those involved including: Deb Metz; Kyle Simonson from Hallberg Engineering; the entire facilities committee including staff members Lorie Floura, Donnie Mayer, David Oehrlein, Max Meagher, Matt Dickhausen, and myself; board members David Johnson, Lew Storkamp and Mark Dingmann; community members Bob Pederson, Dick Johnson, and Paul Bugbee. Community members Dick Kruger, Daryl Larson and Bruce Vanderpool also provided much input throughout this process.
At our last board meeting on September 13, the board had a lengthy discussion on our operation referendum which will expire after the 2012-13 school year and our facilities needs. We feel both are important to the success of our schools. The board decided to put the facilities project on hold and focus their attention on the operating referendum. The board would like to recalibrate the pneumatic controls and complete a test & balance process to our current systems, in an attempt to get our systems working as efficiently as possible at minimal costs for the time being. The district will solicit bids and explore funding options to accomplish this task. The board believes dollars would be better spent educating our students vs. upgrading our buildings. These are tough economic times for all of us and we all are faced with difficult decisions on spending declining resources.
I would like to thank all of our board members for their dedication and commitment to making Paynesville Area Schools a great academic experience for our students.
Todd Burlingame
Superintendent of Schools
The 12 person facilities committee met several times over the past 10 months, working diligently to learn about our mechanical systems, to understand how they function and to discuss and assess our needs. This was done with the goal of providing a comprehensive recommendation to the full board. I would like to thank all those involved including: Deb Metz; Kyle Simonson from Hallberg Engineering; the entire facilities committee including staff members Lorie Floura, Donnie Mayer, David Oehrlein, Max Meagher, Matt Dickhausen, and myself; board members David Johnson, Lew Storkamp and Mark Dingmann; community members Bob Pederson, Dick Johnson, and Paul Bugbee. Community members Dick Kruger, Daryl Larson and Bruce Vanderpool also provided much input throughout this process.
At our last board meeting on September 13, the board had a lengthy discussion on our operation referendum which will expire after the 2012-13 school year and our facilities needs. We feel both are important to the success of our schools. The board decided to put the facilities project on hold and focus their attention on the operating referendum. The board would like to recalibrate the pneumatic controls and complete a test & balance process to our current systems, in an attempt to get our systems working as efficiently as possible at minimal costs for the time being. The district will solicit bids and explore funding options to accomplish this task. The board believes dollars would be better spent educating our students vs. upgrading our buildings. These are tough economic times for all of us and we all are faced with difficult decisions on spending declining resources.
I would like to thank all of our board members for their dedication and commitment to making Paynesville Area Schools a great academic experience for our students.
Todd Burlingame
Superintendent of Schools
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Keep the Quality Foundation Works Collaboratively with Paynesville Area Schools
Keep the Quality kicked off the 2010-11 school year with a bang. Teachers were asked “What would you do with $1,000 in your classroom to improve student achievement?” Keep the Quality sponsored an essay contest and awarded $1,000 to any teacher with a great idea to implement in their classroom. Keep the Quality awarded 2 classroom sets of SMART response clickers that work in conjunction with the SMART boards. The clickers help to determine the gaps in understanding for students and provide instant feedback for teachers, as well as making learning fun. The district has one set in the elementary and one in the secondary building. Keep the Quality also purchased a Forensics curriculum and kits for our consumer science class to instill the love of science. The K-1 multiage teachers wrote a grant called “Bridging the Summer Reading Gap” where they will purchase books for students to read over the summer. Students will receive a bag of ten age appropriate books each summer and will have 2 bag exchanges over the summer. Keep the Quality also sponsored 2 partial grants. One supporting gifted/talented materials for grade 1 and another supporting our foreign languages by purchasing web cams to record lessons which allows students to take a German class online. Keep the Quality is looking at making this an annual event. The response and ideas received were great.
In December, Keep the Quality also sent out 105 “Thank You” postcards to individuals and groups who volunteer their time at school. In March, Keep the Quality will be sponsoring a “Showcase and Tell” event. Students will be invited to display their work for our residents. Examples may include taxidermy, art work, and much more. This will be done before and after the Lollipop Concert on March 25th.
The Keep the Quality Education Foundation was formed to support and improve the Paynesville Area Public Schools.
In December, Keep the Quality also sent out 105 “Thank You” postcards to individuals and groups who volunteer their time at school. In March, Keep the Quality will be sponsoring a “Showcase and Tell” event. Students will be invited to display their work for our residents. Examples may include taxidermy, art work, and much more. This will be done before and after the Lollipop Concert on March 25th.
The Keep the Quality Education Foundation was formed to support and improve the Paynesville Area Public Schools.
Friday, September 3, 2010
School District to Benefit from Education Jobs Fund (Ed Jobs) Program
The Ed Jobs program is a one-time Federal program that provides $10 billion in assistance to states, (including $167 million to Minnesota), to save or create education jobs for the 2010-11 school year. Jobs funded under this program include those that provide educational and related services for early childhood, elementary, and secondary education. The Ed Jobs program is authorized in Public Law No. 111-226, which was signed into law on August 10,2010.
The main goal of this program is to put people back to work. Our district will receive approximately $213,000. We received our preliminary allotment on Monday, August 30th. The staff and administration are putting a plan together for board approval, with the main focus on hiring staff to improve student achievement. These dollars may not be spent on supplies/materials or staff training.
Todd Burlingame
PAS Superintendent
The main goal of this program is to put people back to work. Our district will receive approximately $213,000. We received our preliminary allotment on Monday, August 30th. The staff and administration are putting a plan together for board approval, with the main focus on hiring staff to improve student achievement. These dollars may not be spent on supplies/materials or staff training.
Todd Burlingame
PAS Superintendent
Friday, June 11, 2010
2010 Legislative Session
Some key legislative action as it relates to K-12 Education and funding:
• Budget Bill payment shift at 70 – 30 for the 2010-11 school year
• Modified MS 127A.46 to make state aid payment delays to school districts optional instead of mandatory before the state does short term borrowing.
What does this mean to our district? The payment shift affects our cash flow and the district may have to borrow money to stay in the black. The analogy I like to use is this: you will receive 70% of your salary, yet you have 100% of your bills to pay like car payments, house payment, insurances, and utility bills etc. The district will receive the remaining 30% in the 2011-12 school year. It costs money to borrow money and with the tough economy, this adds additional costs.
MS 127A.46 gives the state the option to delay state aid payment to districts with a fund balance of $700/resident pupil unit. This again has a direct impact on our school as it has a direct impact on our cash flow. This may force the district to create a line of credit or do some short term borrowing, because we do not know if the state will delay our payments, which makes it difficult to budget for.
The next legislative session will be difficult as we will have a new Governor and many new legislators. The state will be looking at a $5.8 billion budget shortfall. There will be numerous tough decisions that will need to be made to correct the State’s financial issues.
Todd Burlingame
PAS Superintendent
• Budget Bill payment shift at 70 – 30 for the 2010-11 school year
• Modified MS 127A.46 to make state aid payment delays to school districts optional instead of mandatory before the state does short term borrowing.
What does this mean to our district? The payment shift affects our cash flow and the district may have to borrow money to stay in the black. The analogy I like to use is this: you will receive 70% of your salary, yet you have 100% of your bills to pay like car payments, house payment, insurances, and utility bills etc. The district will receive the remaining 30% in the 2011-12 school year. It costs money to borrow money and with the tough economy, this adds additional costs.
MS 127A.46 gives the state the option to delay state aid payment to districts with a fund balance of $700/resident pupil unit. This again has a direct impact on our school as it has a direct impact on our cash flow. This may force the district to create a line of credit or do some short term borrowing, because we do not know if the state will delay our payments, which makes it difficult to budget for.
The next legislative session will be difficult as we will have a new Governor and many new legislators. The state will be looking at a $5.8 billion budget shortfall. There will be numerous tough decisions that will need to be made to correct the State’s financial issues.
Todd Burlingame
PAS Superintendent
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