Full Day Kindergarten

For the 2016-2017 school year, the Raymond School District will be able to offer full day kindergarten to all students.  Prior to this, some students had full day kindergarten based on need and the number of openings that were available.  For the first time, thanks to our voters, this is available to all Raymond students.  Listed below are some of the requirements to enroll in kindergarten and some upcoming important dates.

• According to School Board Policy JEB "Entrance Age Requirements":

 A student may enter Kindergarten if his/her chronological age will be five (5) before September 30 of the year of entering school. A birth certificate must be presented upon registration as proof of the date of birth.

• According to School Board Policy JFAA, "Admission of Resident Students" and RSA 193:12, II:

Children entering school for the first time must have proof of physical examination, immunization records, a copy of the child's birth certificate, and proof of residency satisfactory to the Superintendent or his/her designee. Principals or their designees will meet with new children and parents and explain school programs.

These policies and all School Board Policies can be found at: www.sau33.com 
under "School Board".
 
An information night will be held on April 7, 2016 from 6:00-7:00 PM in the elementary school cafeteria.  Teachers and administrators will be there to explain the kindergarten program and answer any questions families might have.  Kindergarten screenings and registration will take place on the following dates:  April 21, May 19 and June 21.  Please call the elementary school at 895-3117 for an appointment for your child and plan on 30 minutes for the screening and registration process.

This is an exciting time for Raymond students:  full day kindergarten is the best way for us to start all of our students on a path of success.  I am very excited about this change!

Sharing Town and School Resources

Sharing Town and School Resources

There was a time that I remember school and town did not get along.  I think some of the  reasoning went like this:  "If they get all the money, we won't get our stuff approved". I prefer the way things are now- everyone working for the benefit of the entire community.  With that in mind, Raymond School District and Town Officials held joint meetings to investigate sharing resources.  Some of our discussions included:  Technology, Maintenance and Facilities, Human Resources, Payroll, and contractual obligations.  

Technology:  Bailey Rigg, Technology Director for the Raymond School District, discussed ways in which the school district would be able to help the town.  He met with Ernie Creveling on several occasions to set up a timeline and what would work between the town and school.  Bailey believes that some of the software used by the town could be phased out if the town used google apps.  He has been working with town employees and they have been invited to school district trainings 

Facilities and Maintenance:  Todd Ledoux and Steve Brewer met with the committee to discuss areas that are already being shared as well as ideas to continue this relationship. The following are just some of the resources that are shared between the town and school: 

• Town helps with plowing the school area, and depending on the severity of the storm, school staff work collaboratively to address the circumstances.

• School helps with scheduling after school activities for recreation (the District purchased scheduling software for the town to use in this area)

• Fields, maintenance, irrigation, use and general operations need to keep the fields in good shape and used by the public

• Electricity contract, both the Town and SAU are part of an electric utility contract that enables both uses to purchase electricity at reduced rates. This contract is in place for another year.

• School District Superintendent and a combined effort of Raymond Dispatch/Raymond Police and Craig Sykes (DPW) work to address road conditions regarding a “no-school” announcement.

• There is a continual and consistent flow of equipment and staff time and cooperation between the DPW professionals and SAU staff as required. This one on one approach is the most effective and functional way that demonstrates the positive working relationship between the two public agencies.

• Summer programs and summer recreation is a shared community program that addresses the needs of Raymond Recreation and Raymond Residents. (School District purchased scheduling software for the Recreation Dept to use when scheduling events in any of the school buildings

•  The SAU and building facilities hosts the Board of Selectmen meeting and all land use Board(s) meeting and public hearings.

• RCTV has invested time and money into the “studio” and necessary infrastructure (camera, microphones, etc) to be able to video, and live stream meeting and events held at the High School
• Trainings for the school custodial staff will be shared with town staff

Payroll and Finances:

School and Town Officials met to discuss Finances including the software used by the town and the software used by the school district.  The town uses MuniSmart while the school district uses Munis.  Account numbers would need to change if we tried to merge these two.  .After considerable research done by the SAU Finance and Business Department and the Town's Finance Director, the cost benefit analysis to merge to one system (MUNIS) was not a viable option. We spoke to communities who have tried to “merge” into one operating system and their advice was NOT to move in that direction. The costs in these cases were double what was originally anticipated and the performance and levels of service were not sufficient to meet the needs of the various disciplines, particularly Town Clerk/Tax Collector.  The Town Clerk requires software that integrates with the software used by the Division of Motor Vehicles- Munis does not currently do this.

• The Town has taken advantage of the purchasing vendor for supplies associated with the SAU and continues to support that service.

Human Resources:

There was considerable discussion regarding the need by both organizations to address the “Human Resource” requirements of each organization.  Both the SAU and Town do not have highly qualified and trained individual to serve in this capacity. There were various concepts discussed on possible personnel solutions to address the joint need and possible job sharing to address this need.  However the more that the job sharing concept was explored, it became clear that the Human Resource needs of the SAU and the Town were quite different.  The final conclusion was to seek personnel in each area and move in that direction with possible joint and cross training in the future.

Final Summary and Conclusion:

This initiative has been beneficial from the stand point that both Public Officials, School Board and Board of Selectmen, met on a regular basis to discuss various mutual concerns and issues facing the residents of the community. It was the committee’s recommendation that we continue having mutual and positive discussions regarding services, performance and financial impact to the taxpayer.I look forward to continuing the conversation.

How Does a Recount Work?

On Friday, March 18 at 6:00 PM there will be a recount of the votes for Warrant Article #2 in the high school cafeteria.  How does this work and what does it mean?

First, the voting last week had a bond on it that, if approved, would provide money to build an addition and eliminate the portables at the elementary school.  This vote had to be approved by 60% of those who voted either "yes" or "no" on this article. A total of 1456 voted on this article with 855 voting "yes" and 601 voting "no".  This meant, the article failed by 19 votes.  A small number when you consider the number of voters who came out to vote!

A recount was asked for.  Anyone can ask for a recount with ten legal signatures agreeing to this recount and a $10.00 fee.  This request is given to the School Board Clerk.  The School Board Clerk, Linda Hoelzel, sets the date and time for this and it  cannot be earlier than "5 days, nor later than 10 days after receipt of the application."  By the way, the ballots were all sealed in a box following the voting.

Since this is a School District Article, the School Board acts as the  "Recount Board" along with the School District Clerk and the School District Moderator.  This recount concerns a warrant article and not the election of a board member, so all the board members can participate as the board of recount and it is the board members who were elected at this year's meeting who do the recount.

 According to the "New Hampshire Election Procedure Manual:  2014-2015", the"process to be used in conducting the recount is left to the discretion of the Board of Recount." Observers should be present for each team of counters-they are allowed to see the ballot, but not touch it.  If "the observer wishes to protest how the recount team is counting a particular ballot he or she needs to do so at the moment in time when that ballot is being counted by the team."  The Manual further states that,"At some point,..... all the protested ballots should be ruled on by the Board of Recount."

 Following the recount, a determination will  be made on this bond issue- either, yes, the elementary school project is going forward (because the voters approved this by 60%), or no, it will not happen this year.  This has been a very interesting year for voters!

The Results Are In

This week we had voting on both school and town issues.  The number of people who came out to vote is encouraging- 1533 voters!  Depending on what side of an issue people supported there is "good news" and "bad news".  I will report on the votes on the school side of things.

First, I want to congratulate our two new School Board members:  Joe Saulnier and Andrea Peterson.  They will be sworn in over the next week and take their place on the School Board at the March 16 meeting.

Article 2 was for approval of a bond to build an addition on the elementary school and finally remove the aging portables.  Since this is a bond, this article needed to win by a 60% vote.  The final tally was 855 "yes" votes and 601 "no" votes.  This means that the proposed building project failed to be approved by 19 votes.

Article 3 had to do with the school district's operating budget.  The proposed operating budget of $23,285,667 was approved by a vote of 1140 "yes" to 319 "no".

Article 4 was a new contract for our  teachers.  This contract is for two years beginning in the 2016-2017  school year.  This article was approved by a vote of 885 "yes" votes to 597 "no" votes.

Article 6 concerns the spending of Capital Reserve Funds.  One of the big projects that this will fund is an access road at the high school.  996 voters approved this article while 472 voters voted "no" on this article.

Article  7 concerns a citizens petition for the after-school program.  This article also passed with 1135 "yes" votes and 337 "no" votes.

This was a wonderful showing of voters. Thank you to all who  showed up to  vote for these important issues.

An Important Date

My dad was in the Navy for over 23 years- all of my growing up years  We were taught to care about others and to appreciate our country.  After becoming an adult and moving out on my own, I realized the importance of these family values:  with all its faults, our country still provides the best opportunities for everyone.  We will never be perfect- nothing ever is.

Along with this lesson, comes an obligation to vote.  My father (and now me) thought of voting as an important right- a right that none of us should give up.  All my life, I have heard people complain about the government, the schools, the politicians, laws that we need to follow, and so many other things.  Some of these same people have told me that they "never vote".  Their reasons are usually the same: "My vote won't matter"; "It wouldn't make a difference anyway"; and "It's only one vote".

Last year one of our School Board members won by one vote.  Who knows what changes or differences in our district have occurred this past year due to one vote? This year we have several important warrant articles and openings on both Town and School Boards.  Your one vote is important.  Don't give up this right- let your vote speak to these decisions.  Your opinion is important and shapes the way our schools, town, and government improve and go forward.  Voting will take place next Tuesday, March 8 from 7:00 AM - 7:00 PM at the middle school.