April 1, 2016 at 4:00 PM - Superintendent's Weekly Update to the Board of Education

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Phil shared with me our anticipated open enrollment numbers for kindergarten in 2016-17.  You will see we still do draw students from outside the school district.  The birth rates were probably low five years ago.  Some people suggest it is related to the economy and a married couples decision whether or not another child was affordable for the family.  Possibly?  Probably is a combination of factors.  

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Attached you will find a report for all the iPad repairs this school year. It does not include any of the recent broken devices.  The damages did slow down for a while but lately we have had a few more.  It is David's guess by the end of the school year we will for sure be above $7,000 and possibly even closer to $8,000.

Please know we are considering an optional insurance plan for families to pay each school year.  Other school districts in the area with a one-to-one personal learning device do have one.  For example, at LPGE they charge each student $25/year and this provides them full coverage for damages.

The principals, David and I are thinking about offering an optional $15/year insurance plan.  If the iPad or Chromebook breaks we fix it at no additional cost to the student's family.  If, however, the family chooses not to purchase the insurance they will be responsible for the full cost of repairs and replacement.

A family with three children may want to insure all three kids.  And it is possible they may only want to insure that one lovable child who trips over his own feet.  In all actuality if the iPads remain inside the protective cases they will not break.  The chances are extremely slim.  The Chromebooks we're purchasing for high school students may be another story.  They are like a laptop in a carrying case.  

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Please see attached Kevin Gadacz's email request to pay Paul Blombom above and beyond the agreed four (4) hours per day.

"Brent I would like approval in writing to pay Paul Plombom for the summer weight lifting program. In our meeting with MR.Ellerbush we agreed to pick up the extra ex pence if Paul worked more than four hours a day," Kevin Gadacz.

Mark Petron, Kevin Gadacz, Brent Lieser and I had a conversation about the Royals Wrestling Club sharing the cost of a summer weight lifting supervisor.  We did not talk about the school district paying for four (4) hours and the Club paying for an additional four (4) hours.  The conversation was about the school district hiring someone and they would donate money to hep support it.

I don't know what to tell you other than another lie by leadership of the Royals Wrestling Club.  

The Royals Wrestling Club have not offered to fulfill the agreement and donate money to pay for some of Paul's costs for the four (4) hours hired.  With everything that has happened the last nine months I figured it was a lost cause to ask.  What we never expected was Paul saying now he worked more than what he reported on the time sheet.  On the time sheet his recorded hours match the same amount of hours we hired him to perform.  We did NOT hire Paul for eight (8) hours/day.     

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Please see attached Paul's Blombon's self-recorded hours and signature on the Royalton Public Schools Time Sheet.  You will notice the comment above the signature line, "I declare under penalties of law that this amount, claim or demand is just and correct and that no part of it has been paid."

Paul should not be paid more than the four (4) hours we agreed to hire him for during the summer 2015.  He himself has acknowledged these four (4) hours on his time sheet.   

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Kevin Rupp has recommended no responses to either Jason or Ellie's questions.  In addition, he is recommending board members and administrators begin using the statement, "we've dealt with this issue and we're moving on."  And don't follow it up with any further words.

It is also a good idea to begin a practice used by other school boards in regard to public comments.  The board members and administrators should listen to the public comments and then thank the individual(s) for coming in.  There is no requirement or need to interact with the guests.  I think this is actually a very good idea.  It allows the board members and administrators to really listen to the ideas and absorb the thoughts/recommendations/concerns for awhile before responding or acting.    

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Please see attached the weekly bills for your approval.