Meeting the Challenges of Less Funding and Higher Standards - February-March 2006
Dr. William C. Skilling, Superintendent
Webberville Community Schools has been able to add programs and opportunities for our students during the last couple of years even though our funding continues to decline while costs continue to increase. However, we cannot continue to maintain our current level of services if there is not financial relief from the state soon. How has the district managed to improve programs and opportunities for students given the worst financial times for schools since the Great Depression? We have reorganized our operations, streamlined services, reduced staff, limited pay raises, and privatized some operations. Recently, the administrators switched from MESSA healthcare insurance to SET-SEG healthcare insurance. The initial savings in healthcare costs to the district will be over $5,000 the first year and in subsequent years the annual savings will increase.
Another way we have helped the district financially is by being more client focused. We are striving to improve our services to the students and community we serve. As a result, we have stopped the eleven consecutive years of declining enrollment. In the past two years our enrollment has increased from 607 students to 650 students as of January 2006. We have gone from losing approximately 20-plus students per year through schools of choice to one student per year the last two years. Our enrollment has increased from the Fourth Friday count day back in September of 2005 by 11 students. Increasing our enrollment brings in more revenue for our school district. We will continue to market our current assets and vision to attract more families to our community. As part of this process, I have started a Superintendent’s Advisory Council. Everyone is welcome to attend. My first council meeting was held in January. This month the meeting will be held Monday, February 6, 2006 at 6:30 p.m. in the high school media center. I will give an update on what is happening in the district and then open it up to questions, concerns, advice, and recommendations, from the people who are in attendance. Please plan on attending these monthly meetings whenever you can. It gives you an opportunity to be heard and helps me to know how the community is feeling about different issues related to the school district. We are here to serve our students and community members and be responsive to their needs and concerns.
The State Board of Education for the state of Michigan has just announced a new proposed required curriculum for high school students designed to increase the rigor for all students. Here is a comparison of the State Board’s new requirements versus our current requirements at Webberville Community High School.
| State Board Requirements | Webberville’s Current Requirements |
| 4 Credits of English | 4 Credits of English |
| 4 Credits of Mathematics | 3 Credits of Mathematics |
| 3 Credits of Science | 3 Credits of Science |
| 3 Credits of Social Science | 3 Credits of Social Science |
| 1 Credit Health/PE | 1 Credit of Health/PE |
| 1 Credit of Fine Arts | 2 Credits of Fine Arts |
| 2 Credits of Foreign Language | 2 Credits of Foreign Language Recommended |
| Must have an on line course | 1 Credit Computer Literacy |
| 20 credits for Graduation | 30 Credits for Graduation |
The Webberville Board of Education approved all of these requirements in our strategic plan on January 19, 2005. The class of 2008 is required to meet our new standards in order to graduate. However, we will have to make two changes. We will need to add a fourth year of math and require two years of foreign language. Currently, we only recommend two years of foreign language for college bound students. One of the courses a student takes during high school must be an on-line course either internet based or distance learning based through interactive television. Currently, Webberville Community High School is the only school in Ingham County who has the technology to offer a distance learning class through interactive television. We are currently offering AP English through interactive television. However, other schools in Ingham County are planning to add this technology to their high schools in the near future.
Additional requirements for graduation include the requirement that all students take the ACT exam which is a college entrance exam and additional state assessments as juniors. The State Board of Education has redefined what electives are as well. Schools will be required to offer courses in six categories. They are Global Literacy; Financial, Economic and Entrepreneurial Literacy; Technology Literacy; Century Learning Skills; Civic Literacy; and Accelerated Learning. All these new requirements proposed by the State Board of Education have gone to the legislature for approval.
The new state graduation requirements proposed by the State Board of Education will have both positive and negative ramifications for our students. One thing we need to be certain of is change; continual change is coming from both the state and federal levels. These changes usually have higher requirements and cost more money. However, there will be no new revenue to support these changes. As a result, schools will be struggling more and more to keep pace academically and financially.
At Webberville Community Schools we are not going to look at these changes as obstacles, but instead as opportunities. Opportunities to provide a better education for our students, to improve test scores, to create more partnerships, to work more closely with staff and parents to meet the challenges that are ahead of us. I want to encourage you to visit our schools at anytime. Please stop by the elementary or secondary office to get a visitor’s pass and feel free to visit any of our classes. When you see first hand what we are doing for your student(s), you will feel more confident about their future and where the school district is going.