News from
Sheridan School District No. 2
Contact: Mark
Stevens
[email protected]
303-495-8699
(mobile) • 720-328-5488 (office)
News
Release
March 15, 2018
Superintendent Applications Will Be Reviewed Saturday, March 17
The Board of
Education will meet in executive session on Saturday, March 17 to review
superintendent applications. The meeting will be held in the board room at SOAR
Academy, 4107 S. Federal Blvd., beginning at 9 a.m.
The closed-door
meeting is scheduled to run until 1 p.m. However, Superintendent Michael Clough
told board members that Ray & Associates search consultant Ricardo Medina
said more than 60 applications have been received and the board may need more
than four hours to review them all. “He’s feeling very positive about the
pool,” said Superintendent Clough.
Applications were
due March 12.
Superintendent
Michael Clough is leaving the district in June after a decade of leadership.
The board is planning to select a replacement by mid-April.
PERA Woes
Ongoing
deliberations among Colorado state lawmakers about how to address under-funding
of the state’s retirement system, PERA, is being closely watched by all school
districts, said Superintendent Clough.
A bipartisan bill
currently being discussed in the legislature proposes sacrifices from retirees,
all current state employees and from the government agencies that employ them.
PERA is currently underfunded by at least $32 billion. Some estimates range up
to $50 billion.
Superintendent
Clough told the board that the current proposal could cost Sheridan School
District $290,539 in the first year and $411,952 in the second year.
That’s the
equivalent of $213 per student in the first year and $303 per student in the
second year. The reduction from teacher and staff paychecks will generate
another $650,000. On average, that would represent a 3 percent cut in take-home
pay.
Sheridan is
already facing the need to cut $600,000 in expenses from the 2018-2019 school
year budget due to a drop in enrollment this year of 124 students.
Mill Levy
Sheridan board
members recently asked about considering an increase in the district’s property
tax rate as a possible source of additional revenue, particularly in hopes of
remaining competitive with teacher salaries.
Superintendent
Michael Clough displayed a chart with comparisons between Sheridan’s current
mill levy rate and many nearby and surrounding districts.
Sheridan School
District’s total mill levy rate is currently lower than 10 other Metro Denver
school districts including Adams 12, Adams 14, Jefferson County, Douglas
County, Westminster 50, Mapleton, Littleton, Englewood, Denver and Cherry
Creek.
Sheridan’s total
mill levy rate is 35.259. The next highest is Adams 14 at 40.759. At the high
end of all 11 school districts is Adams 12 at 63.259.
The total mill
levy rate is a combination of three levies—general fund, bond redemption and
overrides. Sheridan’s general fund mill levy rate is the lowest in the group.
“We are the best
bargain for taxes in the Denver Metro area when it comes to schools,” said
Superintendent Clough.
At the current
rate, a homeowner in Sheridan pays $253.72 each year for every $100,000 of
property owned.
Raising an
additional $1 million in override money would cost an additional $30.89
annually for every $100,000 of property value.
Superintendent
Clough pointed out the high mill levy override rates already approved by voters
in Littleton and Cherry Creek. Littleton’s mill levy override rate is 16.973.
By comparison, Sheridan’s is 4.964. If the Littleton override rate were applied
in Sheridan, said Superintendent Clough, it would generate an additional $4
million.
SOAR –
Accomplishment #2
Superintendent
Clough took a few minutes to recognize the growth and progress at SOAR Academy,
the district’s alternative school for high school students. SOAR started in
2009 in the basement at Sheridan High School but moved in 2015 to its current
location at 4107 S. Federal Blvd. in the building previously occupied by the
middle school.
Superintendent
Clough recalled that the board of education supported the ongoing development
and expansion of SOAR despite knowing that reaching out to students who struggle
with academics might harm the district’s overall performance as measured by the
state accountability system. “We knew SOAR would hurt the data,” said
Superintendent Clough. “The board said of course we follow the dream” of
reaching as many students as possible.
To date, SOAR has
graduated 150 students. “We should be very proud of it,” said Superintendent
Clough.
SOAR
Admission Process
SOAR Academy
principal Christian Ramaker and Sheridan High School principal Shirley Miles
presented information about the process for enrolling students at SOAR.
The presentation
included the steps that go into evaluating students from the high school who
might be a candidate for SOAR’s smaller class sizes and more personalized
instruction.
SOAR also enrolls
students from across Metro Denver who have previously not attended any Sheridan
schools.
Principal Ramaker
reviewed SOAR’s system for tying credits to attendance, including an appeals
process that is reviewed by the entire leadership team.
“We do go through
a process,” said principal Miles. “And we make sure that we work with the
parents every step of the way.”
District
Marketing Push
Data and
Assessment Manager Kirk Henwood is heading up in informal committee of district
leadership and staff to work on a new effort to market Sheridan schools. Only
in the early stages, said Henwood, the committee will meet later this week and
is identifying the positive messages it wants to promote and various ways to
communicate them, including social media, videos, and Spanish-language radio.
School
Lunch Program Audit
An audit of the
school lunch program by the Colorado Department of Education found no errors on
Sheridan’s application process for students who qualify for free or
reduced-price lunches. The audit reviewed 300 applications at random from Fort
Logan Northgate School and found no issues, said Chief Operations Officer
Kristen Colonell.
In addition,
Colonell discussed the ongoing efforts under Food Service Director Kim Butler
to emphasize meals cooked from scratch, to improve the environment in all
school cafeterias, and to involve students in taste-testing new menu items.
Bully
Prevention Grant
Fort Logan
Northgate School assistant principal Beth Joswick provided an update to the
board on implementation of a state grant that is working to reduce bullying and
intimidation among students. The school is in year two of a three-year
grant.
Research shows
that bullies are frequently seeking attention from peers. With the assistance
of a peer-nominated group of student leaders, the grant is working to highlight
positive behavior and to shift the culture so students aren’t bystanders when
they observe bullying behavior.
Students are
encouraged to recognize other students who are caught “doing the right thing.”
Joswick demonstrated the “STOP, WALK, TALK” steps that show students how to
handle conflict on their own. The process urges students to clearly state when
they are feeling disrespected, to walk away or find somewhere else to go when
confronted, and to tell an adult if needed.
Former
Teacher Turns 100
Superintendent
Clough noted that Wednesday, March 14 marked the 100th birthday of
former Fort Logan Elementary School teacher Bernadine Hanson, who taught from
1967 to 1988. Hanson was taking care all of her own needs until recently, said
Clough. Her motto had been “ninety-nine and doing fine” but she now needs some
assistance.
Consent
Agenda
All consent
agenda items were approved.
About
Sheridan School District 2
Located southwest
of Denver, Sheridan School District 2 seeks high-level post-secondary options
for all students through continuous improvement of quality instruction. More: www.ssd2.org
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