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Principal Ledy To Retire; Board Renews Contracts
"Bonnie has just done a fantastic job and I have tried to talk her out of this for quite some time," said Superintendent Mike Springsteen. Mrs. Ledy, who serves as the elementary and middle school principal, told the board that despite Mr. Springsteen's efforts, she is ready to retire. During the meeting, the board renewed Mr. Springsteen's contract for one year at the same salary of $94,494, and renewed contracts for high school Principal Don Gustafson and business manager Kathy McLeod with the provision that their salary would be determined at the conclusion of teacher negotiations. The board gave tenure to Jason Byma school band director, who has been with the school for four years. Industrial arts and civics teacher Nicolas Hein and alternative education teacher Beth Hinkson were placed on their second year of probation toward tenure, and science and mathematics teacher Andrew Long was placed on his third year. Mr. Long gave a presentation on an interactive teaching tool he is using in mathematics classes, called a "Smart Board," which links lessons on a computer to digital screen that can be seen by all the students. The board is interactive with the computer, so a teacher can write on it with a digital pen. At a cost of $1,300, the board arrived four weeks ago. Mr. Long said he still is learning all of the capabilities of the technology. The Smart Board allows students to follow calculator computations, plots points on a graph, and follow mathematical steps in problem solving, and Mr. Long can save images from the board to the school's Web site for students who miss a class or students who want to review the lessons. The new technology, he said, has engaged students and increased class participation. "I have a lot of trouble keeping some students in their seats," he said. Mr. Long believes grades will improve by using the Smart Board. "Overall," he said, "I think it is a powerful tool." Technology coordinator Gregg Fettig, who did not attend the meeting, is working with teachers to develop a five-year technology plan for the school. The plan, said Mr. Springsteen, calls for a computer for each student in grades six through 12. The concern now, he said, is finding the funds to support the plan. The issue will be discussed during the upcoming budget process for the 2008-2009 school year. Final approval of the plan will be considered when the board adopts next year's budget. The amount of state funding each school receives, he said, remains uncertain. Governor Jennifer Granholm is proposing $104 per student for all districts. Lower funded districts, she proposes would receive twice that, or $208, to bring equity to all public schools. St. Ignace is one of 389 of the state's lowest per-pupil funded schools and would be in line to receive the $208. It now receives $7,204 per student. The highest funded schools receive $12,387. "Does it make any difference where you born or where you live geographically? Yes it does," he said. "It really shouldn't make a difference of where you live at what rate you're funded. It is a real big political issue and difficult to solve right now." The district could save approximately $18,000 a year, said Mr. Springsteen, by using a third party to provide some temporary staff services, including substitute teachers and non-faculty coaches. The savings would be realized by eliminating payment into the state retirement fund. The district pays 16.72% of employee salary into the fund and the employee pays 4%, he said, and in many cases the temporary staff rarely have the opportunity to collect from the retirement fund. To qualify to collect from the fund, an employee needs to have 15 years of service, he said, which often does not happen with substitute teachers. This year, winter weather has caused the school to close for four days, said Mr. Springsteen, the maximum allowed without requiring makeup time. Most of the closures, he said, were caused by icy roads. Plans are underway to introduce incoming kindergarten students and their families to the school. Events are planned for the children April 8, at 6:30 p.m. The elementary choir will sing and the kindergarten scavenger hunt will send the future students around the school and even to a bus. Kindergarten registration will be March 17. Students are reading more this year compared to last year. For the first four days of March reading month, said Mrs. Ledy, students have read 220 books and passed the reading tests. This equals 3,130,000 words read. Last year, students read 3,506,000 the entire month. Juniors at the high school are testing this week, said Mr. Gustafson, taking the Michigan Merit Exam, which now includes the ACT. The testing is being held at Little Bear East Convention Center to eliminate noise distractions, including class bells. In prior years, the ACT was only required for those students interested in attending college. He is hoping that some students who take the test and were not considering attending college, will learn they have the potential to attend a university, and then make plans to continue on with their education. He gave board members sample ACT test booklets and asked them to look over the material to have an idea of what is required of students. The Cheboygan Opera House, said Mr. Gustafson, will offer free public concerts in March. The Steel Drum bands will be performing Thursday, March 13, at 7 p.m. The Elementary Choir, the Youth Chamber Choir, and the High School Choir will perform Tuesday, March 25 at 7 p.m. The third marking period ends next week and report cards will be mailed March 27. Less than eight weeks will remain of the school year, when students return to class April 7, following spring break. At the end of the meeting the board went into closed session to discuss strategy for upcoming teacher negotiations. The next regular school board meeting is Monday, April 14, at 7 p.m. in the middle school library. |
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