Lunch Rates Raised, New Personnel Committee Reassigned
Les Cheneaux Community Schools Board Adopts Audit, ISD Curriculum
By Amy Polk

Lunch rates have been raised to help keep pace with increasing food costs and a shorter school year at Les Cheneaux Community Schools. Elementary students will now pay $1.75 for lunch, instead of $1.60. Middle and high school students will pay $2, a 15¢ increase, and adults will pay $2.75, a 25¢ increase.

The board of education adopted the increases Tuesday night, September 25, at its monthly meeting. The meeting had been rescheduled owing to a lack of quorum on the regular night September 17.

Trustees at the Tuesday meeting also accepted the district's 2006- 2007 fiscal year audit, adopted changes to the district's student athlete

handbook, adopted Eastern Upper Peninsula school improvement and curriculum resolutions, signed a pre-buy purchase agreement to buy $116,250 worth of propane for the year from Autore Oil of Cedarville, and re-assigned the board's newly formed personnel committee.

The Personnel Committee needs to be adopted formally by the board, said President Dan Burrows, who said he mistakenly established the committee and appointed its members in August. In July, he started planning a committee to address occasional personnel concerns and create position descriptions, among other duties. Trustees assigned to the committee, Dave Murray, Dave Sudol, and Marianne Coyne, will now serve as an ad hoc committee to define how and when the committee will act. Mr. Murray suggested a formal procedure that defines whether people go to the committee after first following another procedure, or if a person will be referred to the committee. The committee was established as a self-evaluating body, Mr. Burrows said, so it needs to review its role and decide under what circumstances it will meet. Members will work on criteria and ground rules, and Mr. Murray promised a progress update at the October meeting.

Lunch Rates Raised

A shorter school year and fewer students are providing less potential for the district to make enough money to cover its expenses on lunches. Coupled with higher food costs, the enrollment and budget factors are expected to widen the deficit between the food service expenses and revenues. The district used approximately $18,000 of general fund money to cover last year's deficit, Business Manager Kris Hill said. She expects the district to serve 5,158 less lunches this year.

The higher lunch charges will begin October 15, and should generate an additional $2,300 in revenue. Breakfast charges of $1 for all grades will remain the same.

President Burrows wondered if the higher rates might deter students from buying lunch at school, but Mrs. Hill and trustees agreed the meal prices are still quite affordable. Price is not a factor in the number of high school students who eat lunch off campus, Mrs. Hill said, and students will most likely continue eating off campus when they do not like what is being served that day.

"We feel this is a fairly modest increase," Superintendent Rod Goehmann said.

Athletic Handbook

Revisions Made

As part of its continuing policy review, trustees updated the district's handbook for student athletes, with several changes. Among those, "Student athletes must be in school a minimum of three hours of a school day in order to participate that day. In case of sickness, they must be in attendance the second half of the day in order to participate that day." The athletic director can make an exception on a "case by case basis."

"We felt that if a student is sick enough to not come to school, they wouldn't be able to practice or play, either," High School Principal Randy Schaedig said.

As part of the district's recommendation for a healthy lifestyle, the handbook now states that "Students must refrain from the use of tobacco, alcohol, illegal performance enhancing drugs, and controlled substances, look-alikes, or mood-altering substances."

Asuspended student-athlete who wishes to appeal suspension can do so within 48 hours of the suspension, however, trustees adopted a stipulation that if the suspension is appealed, the student "may be present at the appeal hearing but may not participate in or testify" during the appeal process.

Another addition is a $25 limit on the value of awards for athletic participation. According to the Michigan High School Athletic Association, accepting gifts valued at more than $25, or taking cash, merchandise, gift certificates, and other items could affect the athlete's eligibility.

The district's attorney also recommended the addition of a section that stipulates athletes will be "considered innocent until proven guilty," and if the athlete is found guilty of a misdemeanor offense that occurred during the athletic season, penalties may be imposed. "All felony convictions are grounds for permanent loss of athletic eligibility," according to the new policy.

Students who plan to participate in athletics will have to read the policy and sign an acknowledgment that they read it before they can participate.

EUP Regional Curriculum Resolution and EUP School

Improvement Resolution

An area-wide education improvement plan for the Eastern Upper Peninsula was adopted by the board. Amy Scott, curriculum coordinator for the E.U.P. Intermediate School District (ISD), said it is based on a thesis by education researcher Dr. Robert Marzano, "What Works in Schools," which she believes will help districts standardize classes and course descriptions.

Eastern Upper Peninsula schools want to integrate Dr. Marzano's suggestions for success by encouraging more parent and community involvement, creating a safe and orderly learning environment, and stimulating discussion about improving education.

The ISD will help facilitate the program in area districts. Teachers, she said, can learn instruction strategies, classroom management skills, and better classroom communication from the Marzano plan

The school improvement plan also calls for ISD programs like science and social studies fairs, suggestions for improving the home atmosphere for learning, and improving a child's willingness to learn.

"We're trying to build the best school system in the state," Mrs. Scott said, responding to questions about how this plan differs from past improvement goals. "It's different from what we've been trying to do all along, because Marzano provides the medicine for problems and remedies for issues we've had before. Marzano didn't invent these strategies. He just looks at all the research [on successful schools] and condensed it into 11 easy steps that schools can use."

2007-2008 School Audit

Trustees formally accepted the audit, which reflects a $155,864 fund balance, or fund equity. Mr. Goehmann noted that $100,000 of that fund balance has already been earmarked for any staff health insurance claims that exceed the amount the district budgeted for the year's health care costs. This leaves $55,864 in fund balance to cover the projected $16,000 deficit between this school year's revenues and expenditures.

The district did sell its rental house to Jim Berryhill of Cedarville for $75,000, which will help trim the widening deficit, Mr. Goehmann said. The deficit is expected to increase from the amount adopted in June because the district started the year with 18 fewer students than it budgeted for in the summer. Fewer students means less per-pupil revenue. A new budget reflecting the house sale, latest student count, and revenue and expenditure adjustments will be presented at the Monday, October 15, meeting.

Mr. Goehmann advised the board and audience to "watch the news very closely" for reports on legislative decisions regarding school funding.

He said the Michigan Senate's proposed school funding bill eliminates a declining enrollment provision, and "that would be devastating for us." The provision now allows districts like Les Cheneaux with dwindling enrollment to average enrollment numbers over three years to cushion the impact of the reduced revenue caused by fewer students.

If the Michigan House also passes the bill, he said, it would increase Les Cheneaux's budget deficit to $300,000.

"We would be dead in the water," he said. "I see no way that we could reshape the budget at this point in the school year."