"God must love the common man, He made so many of them..." Abraham Lincoln

Monday, March 16, 2009



Whew – last week was a busy week as far as meetings go. There was a Budget Committee Training Session and a School Board Work Session. When the kids were little and into every sport, I developed an intense case of bleacher backside due to the hours spent perched on the bleachers. The chairs in the board room are padded, but I found the symptoms returning. So I call this new malady board room backside. Thankfully, it disappeared when the meeting was over and no medical intervention was required!

Budget Committee Training Session
One of the best facilitators in the business, Betsy Miller-Jones, led the whole committee through the do’s and don’ts of school district budgets. Believe it or not, the budget committee is not supposed to debate the budget, mess with salaries, cut programs or change policy. Well then, what is it supposed to do? The committee is supposed to hear the budget, hold public meetings about the budget, get public comment, discuss and revise it if necessary, approve the budget and finally send it on to the school board.

The district has a really very civilized budget process, with every principal working closely together with each other and the superintendent. They build a sound and balanced budget before it ever even gets to the committee. After the committee sends it along, the board is then responsible for revision and adoption.

The whole problem this year is that there’s too much budget left over when the money runs out. Just like at home between paydays. Sigh.

Work Session
It was a full agenda, lots to do! The calendar for next school year was adopted and the late-start days are gone thanks to some creative time management. The science textbook adoptions were presented – kudos to the committees for their thoughtfulness and hard work to find affordable, reliable text books that meet the needs of our students. Licensed and administrative contracts were renewed. Thank you for all your work every day in the hallways, in the offices, in the classrooms and on the playing fields. You guys (and gals!) are just the best!

And just like that…Ta Da! Meeting adjourned until the next work session on April 13th.