Memo

NON-AGENDA ITEMS:

1.0 Capital project is underway! The auditorium is being painted as we speak, and the electricians are on site. Chairs are expected back the week of break as are the new curtains. RAITN Room will be temporarily relocated starting next week so that it can get its facelift during break as well. Basically - so far, so good! Plans call for breaking ground on the addition footer and foundation March 1 weather permitting.
2.0 Steve Szatko was here last Thursday and Friday to interview selected staff for his doctoral research on leadership and financial crises in School Districts. Steve interviewed 12 members of the RCS staff who were here in the 80' and 90's and saw the fiscal crises of '93 through. People were very cooperative with their time and experience. I think everyone enjoyed the chance to reminisce about the hardships they've survived. Steve hopes to be complete with his dissertation by December, and I'll make sure to snag a copy to share with you.
3.0 Foundation Grants Committee has made presentations to the elementary and secondary faculty this past week inviting them to submit applications for mini-grants of up to $750 and cooperative grants for up to $1500 by the Friday of break week. Foundation has close to $10,000 in its coffers right now and will use these mini-grants as a springboard to a charter donor campaign in March or April. They meet next on February 9 and March 8, and hope to bring you money and a list of recommended recipients in time for your first March meeting.
4.0 APPR/PDP committee cancelled its meetings for this afternoon after the teachers on the committee asked to speak with me yesterday. Seems we may be pushing too much too fast and they've asked for a chance to re-group and review the basic mission they’ve been asked to undertake. State Regs require a plan to you by June 1. This is something Bob will need to work on as we will not be done by March 1, and the most recent development leads me to believe we may not get done to our satisfaction this year. Certainly with a new player coming on board that would be understandable. This very good group of very strong people will do good work and will not do speedily a shoddy job just to get it done. We are working on trying to pull the group together before I leave for a little redirecting session.
5.0 Hobart and William Smith cooperative is in full swing. Dave Craig and our team of Ray and Anne met with him yesterday to pilot the screensaver program. I have it on my machine for a test run and it looks GREAT! Once we're sure everything is copacetic, we will install on the full network for the kids to see. Dave will be presenting the social norms approach using RCS data at the Regional Superintendent's Conference Day in March. One more chance for RCS to look good.
6.0 Along the lines of cooperation - Doug Chappell and I met with Barb, Becky Ahouse and Ray Van Cuyck from South Seneca, along with grant writer Basil Dobush on Monday to discuss whether or not we might be interested in submitting a joint application for a 21^st Century Schools Grant. These require consortia efforts and poverty/special needs levels which together we might be able to substantiate better than either of us has separately in prior attempts at this same funding. We have another meeting on Wednesday next week after the Partners For Children core team to further discuss the application. Were we to receive funds, the idea would be to keep school buildings open until 10 every night with a variety of recreational, health and counseling programs available for kids and families, along with things like academic evenings and homework corners. We will submit a joint grant - whether or not we will be funded and have to face the implementation of such far reaching proposals as running a health clinic in the nurse's office three nights a week or not will remain to be seen. A wonderful opportunity to be on the cutting edge of community-centered schooling.
7.0 Keith Barnes and the CSEA group meet with us a second time this afternoon trying to negotiate a quick settlement. Tom, Mike and Norm are the Committee. Gloria will be sitting in for her internship and we can ask her to do some homework for us if needed. So far so good, but you can never tell how these things will go… One sign of optimism on their part is that they have already scheduled a ratification meeting for the week of the break. Let's hope they can keep to that schedule.
8.0 Spent every morning this week getting our money's worth out of Gary. We have a rough draft of a wish-list budget for you for Tuesday night with all of the major areas of increase highlighted on a separate spreadsheet. This is Gary's first time through our process and through our software, so it is very important that he and I work through it together like this. I feel comfortable that he will be fully up to speed on everything we've included in draft one and then you and he and Bob can work out what stays and what goes after that.

1.0	Routine should be.
2.0	Leanne will have ready for you the fliers etc. which will be going out from Bob to prospective participants in focus groups for February 16^th as you discussed Tuesday night with Bob and Joe. Putting this on the agenda will also allow the press to focus in on the process and help you get community/parent input potentially.
3.0	February 22 or 29? We HAD changed the normal BOE meeting to leap day when we did our original budget calendar. However, the feedback from your focus groups will be ready and Bob and Joe are available on the 22^nd. SO- we should officially change the meeting date back to the 22^nd anyway and just plan on the fact that some people (Mike Midey for example) will be out of town for the vacation week. Putting this on the agenda also means that it might make the papers so others will know as well.
4.0	Focus of the evening will be on a first draft budget review. Gary and I will walk you through the areas where we know we have problems (and there are some) and the areas which are pretty straight forward. You have a copy of the line by line detail which we entered into CP as well as the summary sheet which I have saved on my hard drive for Bob and Gary to use as the drafts change. This should help you keep your eyes on the prize and have some continuity in the approach you use.
5.0	Shared Services committee met again this past Tuesday night and has something to report.
6.0	Barb and Mike will update you. Barb has some initial information about the playground from Leathers group which she might wish to discuss as it has implications for future building there (maybe added to site work on the capital project if you're lucky…) Barb also may wish to update you on PTA and cafeteria survey they did. Mike will also have coaching recommendations for Spring.
7.0	I want to wait on Sandy Steele's permanent replacement until I clear something else up with an internal candidate. Should have that for you for next time.
8.0	I do anticipate that we will need a brief executive session to discuss my recommendation that Alan Gelatt receive tenure. This is another one of those loose ends I would like to wrap up before I leave you.

1.0	Capital project is underway! The auditorium is being painted as we speak, and the electricians are on site. Chairs are expected back the week of break as are the new curtains. RAITN Room will be temporarily relocated starting next week so that it can get its facelift during break as well. Basically - so far, so good! Plans call for breaking ground on the addition footer and foundation March 1 weather permitting.
2.0	Steve Szatko was here last Thursday and Friday to interview selected staff for his doctoral research on leadership and financial crises in School Districts. Steve interviewed 12 members of the RCS staff who were here in the 80' and 90's and saw the fiscal crises of '93 through. People were very cooperative with their time and experience. I think everyone enjoyed the chance to reminisce about the hardships they've survived. Steve hopes to be complete with his dissertation by December, and I'll make sure to snag a copy to share with you.
3.0	Foundation Grants Committee has made presentations to the elementary and secondary faculty this past week inviting them to submit applications for mini-grants of up to $750 and cooperative grants for up to $1500 by the Friday of break week. Foundation has close to $10,000 in its coffers right now and will use these mini-grants as a springboard to a charter donor campaign in March or April. They meet next on February 9 and March 8, and hope to bring you money and a list of recommended recipients in time for your first March meeting.
4.0	APPR/PDP committee cancelled its meetings for this afternoon after the teachers on the committee asked to speak with me yesterday. Seems we may be pushing too much too fast and they've asked for a chance to re-group and review the basic mission they’ve been asked to undertake. State Regs require a plan to you by June 1. This is something Bob will need to work on as we will not be done by March 1, and the most recent development leads me to believe we may not get done to our satisfaction this year. Certainly with a new player coming on board that would be understandable. This very good group of very strong people will do good work and will not do speedily a shoddy job just to get it done. We are working on trying to pull the group together before I leave for a little redirecting session.
5.0	Hobart and William Smith cooperative is in full swing. Dave Craig and our team of Ray and Anne met with him yesterday to pilot the screensaver program. I have it on my machine for a test run and it looks GREAT! Once we're sure everything is copacetic, we will install on the full network for the kids to see. Dave will be presenting the social norms approach using RCS data at the Regional Superintendent's Conference Day in March. One more chance for RCS to look good.
6.0	Along the lines of cooperation - Doug Chappell and I met with Barb, Becky Ahouse and Ray Van Cuyck from South Seneca, along with grant writer Basil Dobush on Monday to discuss whether or not we might be interested in submitting a joint application for a 21^st Century Schools Grant. These require consortia efforts and poverty/special needs levels which together we might be able to substantiate better than either of us has separately in prior attempts at this same funding. We have another meeting on Wednesday next week after the Partners For Children core team to further discuss the application. Were we to receive funds, the idea would be to keep school buildings open until 10 every night with a variety of recreational, health and counseling programs available for kids and families, along with things like academic evenings and homework corners. We will submit a joint grant - whether or not we will be funded and have to face the implementation of such far reaching proposals as running a health clinic in the nurse's office three nights a week or not will remain to be seen. A wonderful opportunity to be on the cutting edge of community-centered schooling.
7.0	Keith Barnes and the CSEA group meet with us a second time this afternoon trying to negotiate a quick settlement. Tom, Mike and Norm are the Committee. Gloria will be sitting in for her internship and we can ask her to do some homework for us if needed. So far so good, but you can never tell how these things will go… One sign of optimism on their part is that they have already scheduled a ratification meeting for the week of the break. Let's hope they can keep to that schedule.
8.0	Spent every morning this week getting our money's worth out of Gary. We have a rough draft of a wish-list budget for you for Tuesday night with all of the major areas of increase highlighted on a separate spreadsheet. This is Gary's first time through our process and through our software, so it is very important that he and I work through it together like this. I feel comfortable that he will be fully up to speed on everything we've included in draft one and then you and he and Bob can work out what stays and what goes after that.