Athletes Make Improvements to BHS Fieldhouse Long Lane School Gets New Sign and Equipment Mens Choir Competes at State Competition Buffalo High Pilots the Smarter Balance Exam in Mathematics Dallas County R 1 Schools Spring Report FACILITY IMPROVEMENTS CONTINUE DISTRICT MAKES TOUGH BUDGET DECISIONS FOR 2014-15 The Dallas Co. R1 School Board has been very focused the past few years upon continued improvements to all of the buildings and grounds included in the Dallas Co. R1 School District. Taking pride in our existing facilities and striving to make improvements over time have been one of the many goals of the Board of Education. Input regarding the facility improvements has been gathered by the Board of Education from a Community Advisory Committee, as well as the staff and administration in order to prioritize annual facility projects. Some of the projects from past years have been numerous and included such things as two FEMA shelters, parking lot renovations, refinishing the field house gym floor, renovations on the Vocational Agriculture building (roof, exterior work), electrical upgrades, security doors/windows, security camera addition at Mallory, awning addition at Mallory, painting, tile work, replacement of sidewalks, interior and exterior door replacement at BPMS, additional security lighting and emergency lighting, and new intercom/fire alarm system at DCTC & Mallory. This summer the Board has approved a few more projects to continue our facility improvement efforts. (1) The field house roof has been approved for a restoration project awarded to Stiles Roofing Company. After approximately twenty years, this roof is badly in need of some work. (2) Several exterior doors will be replaced at BHS, BPMS, and Mallory campuses. (3) The Board is reviewing the options for restoration on the exterior Dry-Vit material that covers the majority of the high school. All of these projects will be completed with use of Capital Projects Funds. These funds are limited in amount by the rules governing school finance in the state of Missouri. With recent loss of funds to the district, maintaining our facilities will begin to be a challenge since we will need to keep as much of our revenues available for paying the operational expenses of the district. It will be important for the community and school district to work together to determine if a local bond issue could be considered for passage in order to continue maintaining our facilities in an appropriate manner. With grant funding from the United States Department of Transportation we will be constructing over $200,000 worth of new sidewalks and walking trails on the Buffalo Prairie Middle School campus and new sidewalks on the Buffalo High School campus. These projects will begin con- struction in June and should be completed by the start of the school year in August. We feel these new sidewalks will make our campuses much safer and they will be a great resource for the entire community as a safe place to walk for exercise. Preparations for the 2014-15 school year began last October (2013) as the Board of Education and Administration faced a situation similar to many other rural schools in Missouri—a short fall in revenue to support operations of the district. There are many reasons that the Dallas Co. R1 School District is struggling to fi nancially support the basic operational expenses and facility needs in the District. Taking a look at some of the factors affecting the fi nancial stability of the district may be helpful to patrons seeking to understand the financial challenges of our district. (1) Local Revenue Stagnant—Approximately 39% of the revenue for the Dallas Co. R1 School District comes from local property taxes and Prop C Sales Tax. This is much lower when compared to an average of 58% collected at the local level from other districts throughout Missouri. The local tax rate ceiling for our district is $3.35—which we reached in the 2010-11 school year. Our district has one of the lowest tax levies in the area. The local tax rate and the assessed valuation of properties in our school district determine the amount of local revenue collected for the district. Because we have had little to no increase in property valued (assessed valuation) and no increases to the local levy (has stayed at $3.35 for the past three years), this means that we have seen stagnant revenues at the local level against rising expenditures. (2) Declining State Revenue—Approximately 46% of the revenue for the Dallas Co. R1 School District comes from the state foundation formula. This is much greater than the average of 33% collected by other Missouri school districts. Because our district depends greatly on state aid, this has been a large factor in our declining revenues over the past few years. The state foundation formula is based primarily upon the average daily attendance of students enrolled in the district. This means that the numbers of students and their attendance determines the amount of state funds the district receives. In 2005-2006, the enrollment of the Dallas Co. R1 School District was 1909. This year (2013-14) our enrollment is 1706. The district has lost 203 students over the last eight years. Less kids means less state revenue. Less revenue against rising expenditures results in difficulty creating a balanced budget. (3) Declining Federal Revenue—Approximately 15% of the revenue for the Dallas Co. R1 School District comes from the Federal Government. This is greater than the average of 9% col- lected by other Missouri school districts. During the last few years school districts have received many cuts and re- ductions in federal funding streams. Sequestration has also affected revenues and resulted in reductions. Our third and fi nal source of revenue has also been declining in the face of rising expenditures which has contributed to the financial difficulties of our district. (4) Rising Expenditures—The Dallas Co. R1 School District have seen rising expenditures in many areas during the last few years. Some of these rising costs include: retirement benefi ts, insurance benefi ts, utilities, fuel, food, and buses just to name a few. When declining revenues are paired against rising expenditures, then tough decisions must be made regarding a balanced budget for the school district. The bottom line is that either expenditures must be cut or another source of revenue must be found in order to meet the operational and facility needs in the district. The Board of Education approved a budget for 2013-14 school year with a $1.3 million dollar deficit. While the district has balances to absorb this deficit, balances will drop to 16% by the end of the current school year. Financial advisors and auditors advise that districts keep balances in reserve of approximately 20-25%, which amounts to three months of operating expenses for the district. Strong balances are recommended in order to maintain the fi nancial stability of the district should any unforeseen expenditures or revenue reductions occur. Therefore, this level of defi cit spending can not continue if we are to preserve the financial stability of the district. District Superintendent Robin Ritchie projected approximately a $2 million dollar deficit based upon current expenditures for the 2014-15 school year. Recommendations for signifi cant cuts to the expenditures were presented to the Board. In December 2013, the Board of Education made $1.6 million dollars worth of reductions to the budget for the Dallas Co. R1 School District in order to try and close the gap between the declining revenues and rising expenditures of the district. These cuts included Career Ladder, Summer Athletic Stipends, 13 teaching positions, 3 full time classified positions, 3 part time classifi ed positions, and reductions to purchased service, supply, and library book accounts. A vertical and horizontal salary freeze for 2014-15 was also approved by the Board. The Superintendent is hopeful that the remaining $400,000 defi cit will be closed with the increases to state aid being currently proposed by the governor for next year. Until the Missouri Legislature makes its fi nal state budget decisions later this year in May, the amount of state funding will be uncertain. In the Superintendent’s Budget Message for the current school year, Mrs. Ritchie stated the following: “There is no doubt that unless there are increases to revenue at the state and federal level, which do not appear to be forthcoming, that the District will either have to ask the folks to raise the levy for operational purposes if the District wishes to continue funding at the levels anticipated over the next few years. If no increase in local levies occurs, then substantial cuts will need to be made in order to keep the district fi scally sound.” Even with the possibility of increased funding from the state level, the fact that the district has stagnant local revenue and a trend of steadily declining student enrollment, more budget cuts/reductions will undoubtedly be necessary in the next few years unless levy increases are passed by local patrons. Despite these cuts, Superintendent Ritchie reminded the Board of Education during last December’s meeting that the staff’s services to children would not waiver. Ritchie stated that our ministry to students is not a “job”—but it is a “service”. She went on to state that the staff she works alongside will continue to go above and beyond to help students and their families. Ritchie added that the staff that work in the Dallas Co. School District next year will continue to offer quality services to students without Career Ladder, or without as many supplies or purchased services, considering that the “school” is not made up of “stuff” but is made up of these “people”—with our staff being the district’s greatest resource. Ritchie reminded the Board of Education of the following statement shared with her by a staff member: “We are all in this together. You are not in this alone. We are with you.” Ritchie’s final comments to the Board were that despite necessary cuts that would have to be made, the Board could rest assured that this district will continue to make progress and that we would continue to move forward because the staff will make sure of it. Ritchie stressed that “This is what professional do.” Superintendent Ritchie’s final comment to the board was as follows: “I fear that this is only the beginning of the hard decisions you will have to make this year—but I am confi dent that we can make them by shouldering them together.” This proved to be true later this year in February when the Board approved no increases to insurance benefi ts, as had been customary in the past. Only time will tell what other tough decisions the district will be facing, but there is no doubt that a supportive staff, administration, board and community will be required to keep the district moving forward. The idea started with the Lady Bison basketball team to make improvements to the girls’ locker room by adding some fresh paint. The students began the project in the fieldhouse locker room on one of many snow days. Amber Austin says, “It’s really looking good.” They enjoyed the time working together as a team, not just on the court. They added school colors, black and white with some red emphasis. When the new locker room color boosted the team spirit, they decided to expand the project to the hallways around the fieldhouse. Some members of the team and a few friends spent their spring break painting the east hallway. They discovered the project was much more time consuming than anticipated. Morgan Henderson said, “This project is really sweet. I wished we had started it sooner.” There work really brings out the bison pride. Junior students at Buffalo High School will be piloting a new exam in mathematics. The exam is the first for Common Core State Standards in Missouri. The exams will be administered online March 31 and April 1. Many other schools will also be piloting exams in math and English language arts. The tests are developed by the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium which includes Missouri and 23 other states. Teachers have been involved in professional development to prepare for the assessments. The tests will include multiple choice questions, constructed response questions, and performance tasks to measure critical thinking and problem solving. Students will participate in two testing sessions. One session will include the non-performance questions (multiple choice) while the second session will include performance tasks. The pilot will help test the online assessment system and provide information to fine tune questions in effectively assessing student achievement. The standards and assessments are designed to measure student preparation for college and career readiness. The pilot tests will also show parents, staff, and community members how the new assessments will work. Student are encouraged to be in attendance on their scheduled day of testing, get plenty of rest the night before, eat a healthy breakfast, and do their very best on the tests. Students giving their best effort and being in attendance on their test date will be rewarded with a special lunch planned after test administrations are completed. Communication with parents and the community was enhanced this year with the installation of a new sign in front of the Long Lane campus. This changeable sign was purchased by the PTO with funds from the school’s yearly carnival. The sign allows us to keep both our families and the community apprised of events that will be happening during the school year. Another project underway at Long Lane is the replacement of the basketball goals on the play area in front of the building. Thanks to a generous donation of four new backboards and hoops from the Dallas County YMCA and the 21st Century grant, we will be improving the basketball court. This play area is used often during the winter season when our playground is too wet. Long Lane students and staff would like to thank both these organizations for their generous donations to help improve our campus. For the first time that can be remembered by staff and former staff, Buffalo High School will have a Men’s Choir competing at state competition. There is only one competition in the state of Missouri for choirs. The group will compete at Camdenton High School Saturday, April 5. The 16 members of the Men’s Choir are also members of the Mixed Chorus. They will perform two numbers “Tollite Hostias” and “Tell My Father.” You can also see this group perform at the Spring Concert held in the Shewmaker Auditorium on the Buffalo High School campus Sunday, May 11 at 3:30 p.m. Members include, front row: Gabe Meraz, Phillips Canole, Kahl Gillispie, Michael Jenks, William Means, and Jeremy Hostetler. Middle row: John Smithson, Andrew Hyder, K.J. Harris, Thai Nguyen, Bailey Bilyeu. Back row: Sam Paro, Austin Hicks, Dakota Lorenz, Collin Crouch, and Ethan Lynch. DCR1 Events Calendar April 17- Kindergarten Jamboree – 6 p.m. @ Mallory April 18- No School- Easter Break April 24- Dallas Co. Technical Center Awards – 7 p.m. @ Shewmaker Cntr. April 26- BHS Prom May 2- BHS NHS Induction & Senior Awards – 7 p.m. @ Shewmaker Cntr. May 5-16- BHS End of Course Exams May 8- Elementary Musical Performance – 7 p.m. @ Shewmaker Cntr. May 12-15- Elementary and BPMS M.A.P. Testing May 16-17- 7/8th grade choir “Beauty and the Beast Jr.” musical – 7 p.m. @ Shewmaker Center May 18- BHS Baccalaureate – 6 p.m. @ Shewmaker Cntr. May 23- BHS Graduation – 8 p.m. May 29- BPMS Field Day May 30- BPMS Talent Show and Awards Ceremony June 2- Last Day of School (early release 1:15) June 4-27- Summer School 400979cl