Dr. Shibler's Blog

You may be hearing a lot on the news lately about the State Legislature’s efforts to save school districts money with an incentive encouraging public school employees to retire.

In the early hours of May 14, legislators agreed on a plan they say will save districts money.  (more…)

Following recent news reports about moving one of our 2010 home football games to Fifth Third Ballpark, I have heard there are a few questions and misinformation, so I would like to clarify a few of the issues.        (more…)

As you know, plans are underway to renovate the pool at North Rockford Middle School.  The pool was built in 1966 as a community pool, and funds (more…)

For information on the unstable state funding over the past year and its impact on the RPS budget, see my recent article.

Mark your calendar for Monday, February 8, 2010 at 7 p.m., to attend an education town hall meeting hosted by East Grand Rapids Public Schools.  Click here for more information.

You may have heard in the news about the Governor’s withdrawal of the $127 reduction in our per-pupil funding. 

 As you will recall, the Board of Education reduced the district budget by $2.1 million last June in response to a freeze in our State Aid.  Then, on December 14, the Board approved an additional $2.7 million in cuts as a result of two funding reductions ($165 and $127 per-pupil, equating to $1.7 million and $1 million, respectively).

While elimination of the $127 per-pupil reduction is good news, we are still in jeopardy of losing an additional $350-500 per student in our State Aid for the 2010-11 school year.  In addition, we must plan for uncertain rate increases for health insurance, retirement, and utilities.

Therefore, we will proceed cautiously before considering reinstatement of any of the cuts made in December.  Central office administrators will work with the administrative team and Board of Education to determine our direction.

In my memory, Michigan’s funding of public education has never been as dire as it is today. We must work together to help our lawmakers find reasonable solutions to the funding of essential public services.  Don’t hesitate to contact me with your questions or concerns.  Thank you.

Many concerns have been voiced over the last several days about Rockford Public Schools laying off staff while construction projects continue throughout the district.

The succinct answer to this is that staff are paid through operating funds and building improvements are paid through bond funds.  Co-mingling of these funds is illegal.  In other words, bond monies cannot be used for operations such as payroll expenses.

For more information, please see my March 2009 article, which appeared in local newspapers and the district newsletter.  If you have any questions, feel free to contact me at mshibler@rockfordschools.org or 616-863-6557.  Thank you.

URGENT:

It is imperative that you contact your legislators TODAY and tell them to vote NO on the Conference Committee’s recommendation to reduce school districts’ foundation allowances by $218 per child.  This is in addition to the freeze we have already experienced.  If this becomes law, it will be CATASTROPHIC for the majority of school districts in Michigan.  You must do this right away, and I urge you to pass this message along to other supporters of public education. For more information and a sample letter, please click here.

On November 3, 2009, we will ask our constituents to consider renewing the district’s non-homestead millage.  This tax is not levied on primary residences (more…)