December 5, 2015
The December 2nd RSU 18 board meeting had on its agenda a presentation highlighting one of its most beneficial and long lived partnerships. Jobs for Maine’s Graduates, or JMG, is a non-profit organization that was established by the Maine State Legislature in 1993 with the goal of identifying and assisting students who face barriers to education. RSU18 has been fortunate enough to have a JMG program since 1998. Last Wednesday six students and three specialists from the district spoke about the organization’s recent projects and the overall benefits that JMG offers to students in school and beyond.
Our district features three different JMG programs: a project and adventure-based program at China Middle School, a mandatory Freshman course that focuses on professionalism and skills needed to enter the workforce, and a second high school program that covers sophomores through seniors and focuses on career aspirations, leadership and volunteerism.
The China Middle School JMG program is led by specialist Ryan Sweeney, and has recently been a lot of work with the district wide Farm to School initiative. Students worked to build raised beds at both China Middle School and China Primary School, and helped with the Maine Harvest Week Taste Testing. JMG students also run the school wide recycling program and engage in volunteerism in the community throughout the year, including work at the Waterville Homeless Shelter and putting together the town of China’s holiday Giving Tree. CMS student Andrew Weymouth told the board that, “JMG has helped me realize how important it is to give back to the community.” Students can be involved in JMG all three years of middle school and the program also helps students transition to high school and maintains contact with them during their 9th grade year.
Ninth grade brings more opportunities with the Freshman JMG program taught by Lindsey Withee. The course focuses on career prep and is required for graduation. The eight-week course covers self and society, career research, career prep, and financial literacy. Students are also taught basic communication skills, etiquette, and the importance of volunteerism and social engagement. It is one of three such programs in the state and gives students a leg up on career prep. While Freshman year may seem early to be talking resumes and job interview skills, Mrs. Withee stated that her students often come back to see her at the beginning of Sophomore year to thank her for the skills that helped them get their first job.
The second high school program works with sophomores through seniors and is taught by Skip Bessey. In order to enroll in this course, students must already have completed JMG Career Prep and must have an interview with Mr. Bessey to ensure proper placement. The course is designed for students who face a certain amount of barriers that they need to overcome to succeed in school and in life. The program provides students with numerous opportunities to practice skills in collaboration and leadership, and encourages professionalism and civic mindedness.
Mr. Bessey’s group is currently working on a number of fundraisers and activities. The Coat for Kids raffle has the students selling tickets to provide coats to Belgrade Central School students in need this winter, and the MHS’s Holiday store is taking donations of everything from socks and mittens to framed pictures and cookbooks to help brighten Christmas for those who might otherwise go without gifts.
Finally RSU 18 JMG is also participating in the JOY (Jumpstart our Youth) program where they will award $1000 to one or more non-profits in the district. Students will learn stewardship, planning, and decision making as they review grant proposals, interview prospective non-profits and finally choose the recipient or recipients.
Since their first year, the state JMG program has helped over 25 000 students graduate and serves more than 5000 students a year. According to their brochure, JMG has a 96% student retention rate, a four-year graduation rate of 90% or better, and over half of JMG students enroll in postsecondary education within a year. According to the RSU 18 students who spoke at the presentation to the board last Wednesday, the program helped them become better students, better citizens, and put them on the path to success.
The voting results are in and the hard work by many has paid off. The RSU 18 School Budget passed by a vote tally of 1092 YES (56%) Votes and 869 No Votes (44%). The school budget vote passed in China, Oakland, Rome & Sidney and failed in Belgrade but by only 20 votes. Thanks to all who helped to make this happen!
Important RSU 18 Budget Vote June 30th – Words From a Wise Woman
Posted: June 25, 2015 in UncategorizedBelow are the wise words of Laura Tracy (RSU 18 Board Chairperson) prior to the start of most recent District Budget Meeting for the School Budget for the 2015-16 School Year. Her message is spot on and I wanted to share this with you. Next Tuesday, June 30th, Voters in RSU 18 will have the chance to go to the polls to vote on this budget. Please get out to vote that day!
Fellow citizens, voters, tax payers, parents – I so much appreciate you coming tonight to vote on this important topic: the RSU 18 Fiscal 2015 – 2016 budget. The budget is important, and the votes you make tonight are very important. Each of you has taken time and made the effort to be for these important votes. We are so pleased to have you. I thank you for everything you will do tonight. These decisions are very important – and you will make them.
We are all gathered here tonight with two significant responsibilities. The responsibility to provide the students of our communities with a sound education. And the responsibility to take great care with the hard earned money of our tax payers and voters.
Tonight all of us in this room, have to balance these two significant responsibilities.
On one side of the balance we have a carefully prepared school budget. It supports a quality education, at a cost per student lower than our neighbors. A carefully prepared budget which is focused on “instruction” – not administration – I emphasize -it is focused on “instruction.”
On the other side of the balance we have a budget which shows growth. It is a very modest growth, in fact that the net budget has grown less than ½% per year over the last 7 years, but it is growth none the less. Much more significantly, State Financial support for our district’s education has dropped, dramatically. As a result more of the cost of education is falling on our voter’s real estate taxes.
Tonight – We all have a responsibility – balancing quality education ….and ……prudent use of our voter’s hard earned funds.
The School Board, I & my peers here, worked hard to present the budget proposals you will vote on to night. We have taken our responsibility seriously – to present to you, tonight a prudent budget – that shows balance.
This budget is “in balance.” RSU 18 can deliver a quality education. And the cost to our tax payers prudent.
However, tonight, we are very concerned that changes in the balance, in either way, may result in a budget that fails to pass the June 30 vote.
A tipping of the balance could results in poorer education for the students, or it could result in an undue burden to our taxpayers. Either impact could be adverse, and could lead us all to yet another contentious voting cycle.
For this reason, tonight, I ask – as your as School Board chairwoman, as a citizen, as a tax payer, and as member of the community, – I ask us all to take responsibility to keep things in balance.
I, and my peers on the school board here, feel the best way to maintain this important balance – is to support the warrants as presented.
I and we ask you tonight to accept them.
The responsibility– to the students – to the tax payers – falls on all of us here in this auditorium– to stay in balance. I ask you tonight for your support to support the warrants as they stand.
Thank you
Vote YES! – RSU 18 Budget Story by Bob Bennett RSU 18 Board of Director from China
Posted: June 23, 2015 in Uncategorized
To The Citizens of China (RSU18),
I started composing this letter in my head as I sat in the China Lake Conference Center on the evening of June 12 watching the 8th graders “graduate” from the China Middle School. As I watched these kids receive their diplomas, A number of thoughts ran through my mind.
These young people were students I had in class when I did a two week substitute teaching stint at CMS my first fall after retirement from Erskine Academy. Watching them move across the stage, I was amazed at how much they had matured, both physically and as young adults, as evidenced by the various awards and recognitions that many had received, according to the commendations read by Principal Carl Gartley. I also realized that these students, and their peers, are the foundation of our future. Through them and their accomplishments, or difficulties, our society will be determined for the rest of my life and all of theirs. It is for that reason that as citizens we must give them the best possible education and school experience that we can. At this particular moment in time, this hinges on the passing of the 2015-16 RSU 18 budget in the referendum on June 30.
Regional School Unit 18, comprised of the towns of Belgrade, China, Oakland, Rome and Sidney, is the largest school district in central Maine. The combined student enrollment exceeds 3,000 and the staff numbers about 500. The district functions very efficiently. The per-student cost for the proposed budget is $11,362, the lowest in our immediate area. Yet, the percentage amounts spent on student instruction and support are among the highest, and administrative costs are considerably lower than most neighboring school districts. These facts reflect an intelligent and effective use of your tax dollars. And yes, this proposed budget, even with its less than 3% increase, will impact property taxes, mine included.
Much of this increase concerns issues over which the towns of the district, and the district administration, have no control. The state has shifted an increased amount of teacher retirement costs to local districts, and at the same time is not meeting the legally required funding levels as set by the State Legislature several years ago. Given these issues, it is remarkable that the RSU has kept its financial outlays and requests as low as they have been for the past several years. And, this monetary care has led to other issues as well since our contingency or emergency fund level is extremely low, to the point where getting necessary loans may become difficult.
In closing, as a member of the RSU 18 School Board and a resident of China, I sincerely request that you get out and vote to support the district’s budget on June 30. In addition, gather support from friends, neighbors and family members; every vote counts and it is crucial that this budget be approved. Our society and the way it functions depends to a great extent on the ways that our students are educated. OnJune 30, give them, and us, a fighting chance for success!
Bob Bennett
Congrats to all of our Athletes this year! Eagles Soar: MHS Softball State Champs!.
Below is a link to the updated budget materials for the 2015-16 school year. On Wednesday June 3rd, the RSU 18 Board of Directors took action to reduce this budget by $292,700. The revised budget now stands at $34,382,408 and is a 1.9% increase over the current year school budget. There are several more key steps in this budget approval process. June 8th at 6PM (Messalonskee Middle School) there will be a public hearing on this proposed budget, on June 18th there will be a District Budget Meeting to allow the public to approve this budget (Messalonskee High School 6PM), and finally on June 30th, Residents of China, Belgrade, Oakland, Rome, and Sidney will vote (Yes/No) on the budget adopted on June 18th. Please get out there and support the many good things happening in RSU 18!
All RSU 18 School Budget information is posted at http://www.rsu18.org/index.php?id=2&sub_id=7574
Here is a Link to a Central Maine News story on the reductions made from the original proposed budget of $34,675,079, a 2.77% increase http://www.centralmaine.com/2015/06/03/rsu-18-approves-292700-in-cuts-to-school-budget/
Here is a great perspective by Jenn McGee, Principal of the Atwood Primary School about RSU18’s recent budget vote that failed. She is spot on. Please take the time to read and to participate in this next round of budget review, discussion, and adoption.
From the Principal’s Pen
June 2015
Submitted by: Jennifer McGee, Principal of Atwood Primary School
I really don’t like talking about money. It seems impolite. I am just as frustrated with the rising taxes as the next person, and when I make out my quarterly check…it takes my breath away. Then I remember my grandfather’s words. He was a Methodist minister. He made next to nothing for a salary, but he always said: “I am always proud when I pay my taxes, because I know I am helping to educate America. It’s the best money I spend”. He lived in a tiny cottage in the woods of East Poland, Maine on a small pension, but he got pretty puffed up and proud when he paid his taxes.
So, that being said, first and foremost, thank you! The Oakland and China residents did, in fact, pass the school budget in their…
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Important Regional School Unit 18 Budget Vote
Your Vote Matters!
Tomorrow, residents of Belgrade, China, Oakland, Sidney & Rome will be going to the polls to vote on the Regional School Unit 18 2015-16 School Budget that was adopted at the District Budget Meeting on May 7th. Many good things are happening in your schools and this is happening while being one of the most fiscally responsible school districts in Maine!
A few factors for you to consider prior to voting:
- RSU 18’s average annual budget increase has been less that 1/2 of one percent per year since being formed 7 years ago!
- RSU 18’s per pupil cost is $10,245 while the State Average is $12,056 – that’s $1811 below the state average (Source: Maine’s Department of Education Data Warehouse – School Year 2013-14)
- Messalonslee High School’s 5 Year Graduation Rate is 90.06% with a 2.35% dropout rate. This achievement way outpaces the 5 Year State Graduation Rate of 84.48% (3.18% dropout rate) and the National Graduation Rate of 78.67%. This is the highest public school graduation rate in Central Maine and among the highest graduation rate for one of Maine’s largest high schools (over 800 students)!
Residents of RSU 18 are getting a quality education system while this education is being provided at one of the lowest per pupil cost in Our State! Please support RSU 18’s budget by voting tomorrow, May 19th.
Please Support Your Students, Your Schools and This Budget by Voting “YES” on the 2015-15 School Budget!
It is time to cast your vote for the RSU 18 school district budget. This budget is necessary to keep the current programing in place for our students. There have been many meeting and events leading up to this validation vote for the district budget. I hope that you will make your way to the polls to support our schools and students. If you would like some more information about our budget, click here. This link will give you some information about how RSU 18 has worked hard to keep our increases low. Thank you for taking the time to go to the polls and cast your vote tomorrow.
Below is a story by Peter McGuire of the Morning Sentinel about RSU18’s School Budget got the 2015-16 School Year that was approved at our District Budget Meeting on May 7th. There remains a final and very important step in our budget approval process and that is the Budget Validation Referendum. This Referendum Vote will be held next Tuesday May 19th and this is when citizens of Belgrade, China, Oakland, Rome & Sidney get a final chance to approve the budget that was adopted on May 7th.
RSU 18 has many very good things happening in our schools and this is being done while being very fiscally responsible to the taxpayers of RSU 18. Over the past 7 budgets the average annual increase in the budget has been less that 1/2 of one percent! There are not many schools or municipalities that have that kind of track record. For the latest year that data is available (2013-14) from Maine’s Department of Education RSU 18’s per pupil cost is $10,245 while the State Average is $12,056 ($1811 below the state average)!
Residents of RSU 18 are getting a quality education system and it is being provided to them in a very cost efficient manner! Please support RSU 18’s budget by voting next Tuesday. The Polling locations and times are as follows:
Belgrade Residents Belgrade Community Center for All Seasons 12:00 – 8:00 PM
China Residents China Town Office 7:30 AM – 8:00 PM
Oakland Residents Williams Elementary School 8:00 AM – 8:00 PM
Rome Residents Rome Community Center 12:00 – 8:00 PM
Sidney Residents Sidney Town Office 8:00 AM – 8:00 PM
RSU 18 Voters approve school budget – “Morning Sentinel – Saturday May 9th”
Budget meeting OK’s $34.7M plan; final referendum set for May 19
BY PETER MCGUIRE STAFF WRITER
OAKLAND — Voters from Regional School Unit 18 approved a $34.7 million school budget Thursday at the annual budget meeting, but the proposal still awaits adoption in a districtwide referendum on May 19. The package was passed intact, and would budget money to pay charter school tuition for students living in the district, even though the state appears to be willing to pick up that cost starting next school year. Roughly 100 voters from Oakland, Belgrade, Sidney, Rome and China, which make up the school district, assembled at the Performance Center at Messalonskee High School to vote on the budget. The budget increase is about 2.7 percent, or $934,000, more than the spending plan passed last year. About half of the amount, about $17 million, will be paid through local property taxes. To the surprise of some, voters rejected a motion by school board member Kerri Oliver, from Sidney, to take out $115,000 budgeted to pay for district students that were attending charter schools. Earlier this week, a bill that would switch responsibility for paying charter school bills from local school districts to the Maine Department of Education was passed by the Senate, and Gov. Paul LePage is expected to sign it into law. With the state footing the bill, local districts no longer would be required to budget for estimated charter school tuition. Instead, voters decided to keep the money in the budget. “I was surprised,” Oliver said Friday. “With budgets, people are always looking to go down.” There was no discussion from the floor before the vote to remove the funding, Oliver said; but board member Andrew Cook, from Rome, spoke against the motion, noting that if the money stays in the budget, it will be available if needed in emergencies. “I suggested that we not pass the amendment so we could have that money for our reserve,” Cook said Friday. The school district maintains an undesignated fund balance of about $286,000, far less than it should, according to Cook. “They need some reserve, some elasticity for the emergence of unexpected events,” Cook said. He also wanted to make sure that the district wasn’t caught unaware if the state takeover of charter school payments doesn’t pass as expected, leaving the district open to accusations it hadn’t budgeted for them. The move to change the budget was “soundly defeated,” he added. Aside from the first warrant article, the meeting was uneventful, with most voters approving the budget amounts recommended by the board, according to Vice Chairman Elwood Ellis, from China. Although he was “still a little surprised” that Oliver’s amendment was defeated, the district could benefit from having the money available in case of unexpected increases in tuition or special education costs, Ellis said. Superintendent Gary Smith has called the proposed budget the tightest budget the school board has presented, but it has drawn criticism from some in the district, specifically from members of the Belgrade Board of Selectpersons, who told Smith they wouldn’t support the budget. Although budget meeting approval means the package has passed its first hurdle, Smith said it still faces challenges in the next two weeks at the ballot box in member communities. “There are still a lot of people out there who feel a 2.7 percent budget increase is too high,” Smith said, adding that he could understand residents’ anxiety about increased taxes. Three years ago, voters rejected the RSU 18 budget twice before a spending plan finally was approved in October. For Ellis, the passage of the budget at Thursday’s meeting was a good sign, but final passage wasn’t totally certain. “I’m optimistic, but I’ll be happy when it passes,” Ellis said.
Peter McGuire — 861-9239 pmcguire@centralmaine.com Twitter: @PeteL_McGuire
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