From the Desk of the Superintendent
Financial Report
I would like to share the PV Financial Report with the entire community. This is the same report that is sent to board members. As with all schools in decline, we are never out of the woods until student population stabilizes and the District has adapted to that number at some time in the future, whatever it is going to be. Obviously, sharing arrangements between districts can bring greater change in a hurry, but sometimes with greater benefits for kids than letting school districts slowly decay individually with consequent loss of opportunities for kids.
Projections in this report are best guesses based on what the DE provides for enrollment data five years into the future. Because PV also relies upon an open enrollment population, that projection is also difficult to make. However, as for nearly every school in this AEA, the near future is going to be one of continued adaptation and reduction to offset declining numbers.
For PV, even though the certified enrollment held steady, the open enrollment numbers have fallen. For next year, new money is at negative 114,000 dollars due to a reduction in budget adjustment dollars, which are being withdrawn entirely by 2014. These were dollars that have been used to prop up declining school districts.
So, is this a dismal report? In the sense that PV has escaped from negative Unspent Balance, that is good news. What has to be remembered is that there is nothing growing on the revenue side of the equation for the District. Even school buses were sold last year to increase the Miscellaneous Income. That is definitely a one-time only strategy. Every increase will be met with a reduction at some point in the future; there is no other way. The recently begun sharing talks with SWG are definitely promising, and every means of sharing needs to be explored as means to cut costs. This district has taken many proactive steps to reduce its budget and will have to continue to do so.
Letter from Superintendents
Prairie Valley Schools
Office of the Superintendents
1005 Riddle Street
P.O. Box 49
Gowrie, Iowa 50543-0049
515-352-5575
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Dear Faculty and Stakeholders of the District:
Prairie Valley Community School District is taking on a new and exciting challenge that may have not been done anywhere else in the State of Iowa before and we are sure that there will tons of questions and challenges as we move through this school year. We would first like to give you our backgrounds in education followed by our main responsibilities.
Safety at School
Keep your child safe and sound on the big yellow bus.
Many children ride the bus to school every day. But how many of them know about its potential dangers? From boarding the bus to crossing the street, it's important that kids take safety precautions. Keep your child safe by teaching him these seven safety tips:
Declining Enrollment
Declining Enrollment
The single most important factor in operating a school in a sound fiscal manner is a stable enrollment. One of the current problems facing most of Iowa's rural schools is a declining enrollment.
Healthy Kids Act
Healthy Kids Act and Physical Activity Requirements
Every year there are many acts that get pass that are not funded. They are called unfunded mandates. One such example it the Healthy Kids Act and Physical Activity Requirements that goes into effect with the 2009-2010 school year. The physical activity and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) requirements go into effect this year. The nutrition standards go into effect in 2010-2011 school years.