Get Tuned In

Find Your Polling Place for May 18th

wittwerr — Mon, 17 May 2010 06:27:55 +0000

Polling places change frequently. Make sure you know where your polling place is for the special Tuesday, May 18th election. Proposition 100, the temporary 1 cent sales tax increase, is the only item on the ballot. Let your voice be heard at the polls.

Type in your address on the Pima County Recorder’s Office website to find your polling place.

What Are the Numbers? How Much Will Proposition 100 Affect the Vail School District Budget?

wittwerr — Sat, 15 May 2010 05:38:18 +0000

In a letter sent to staff on May 4, 2010, Superintendent Baker announced the amount of funding the district will lose in the event that Proposition 100 passes AND in the event that it should fail.

Mr. Baker states, “The success or failure of Proposition 100 is most definitely a big deal for the Vail School District. Each voter is certainly free to make his or her own decision about how to vote regarding Proposition 100, but there is no doubt that if Proposition 100 fails, the impact on education in Vail will be harsh. Even with Proposition 100 passing, the District is losing $4.9 million of funding. If Prop. 100 fails, that amount goes up to $8.6 million. Salaries will be reduced for every job classification, many employees will have work days and hours cut, money for supplies and equipment will be almost non-existent, student fees will go up 2.5 times the current level, class sizes will go up even more, and so on. Everyone will be expected to do additional work with even less resources. Bottom line – Services to students will suffer.”

New Voter Registration and Permanent Early Voter List Now Available

wittwerr — Sat, 15 May 2010 04:48:43 +0000

A new form was recently released which includes both the sign-up for voter registration and the Permanent Early Voter List. Read about the new Permanent Early Voter sign-up in Arizona Education Network outreach director, Melissa Megna’s Voter Registration Letter to parents and education staff of Arizona and sign up for your permanent early voting ballot today.

Budget Cuts are Coming But How Much Will Go? Voters Will Decide May 18th on Prop 100

wittwerr — Mon, 10 May 2010 17:32:00 +0000

Education budgets will be cut across the state of Arizona regardless of the outcome of Proposition 100, but if it fails, the damage will be far more severe. The Arizona Daily Star reports what many districts including Vail are considering for their 2010/2011 budgets including increased class sizes, layoffs, cuts and increased fees for athletics, and cuts to fine arts programs. For further details read the full Sunday, May 9, 2010 article entitled, “More School Cuts Coming Even if Prop. 100 Passes.”

How Prop 100 Will Affect High School Sports in Southern Arizona

wittwerr — Mon, 10 May 2010 16:57:18 +0000

While the Vail School District anticipates an increase of fees for student participation in high school athletics due to budget cuts and the possible failure of Proposition 100, many Southern Arizona school districts foresee cutting some programs including cutting freshman and JV teams completely. Many fear that thousands of athletes will be forced to stop playing because of canceled programs or rising fees. The Southern Arizona athletic directors will be holding a special meeting May 24^th to discuss how they will proceed after Proposition 100. For further details read the full Arizona Daily Star Sunday, May 9, 2010 article entitled, “Trouble looms for prep sports if new tax fails.”

Local Parent Group Speaks Out, RE: Voting

wittwerr — Fri, 07 May 2010 23:10:07 +0000

A Tucson based parent group, recently gathered at Mountain View High School in Marana, voiced extreme concern for the low voter turnout in the March election. As the voting days near, the Arizona Education Network encouraged all to be informed and to simply vote. Marana Unified School District Superintendent, Dr. Doug Wilson, told the gathering of parents and staff, “An informed electorate is really very, very important in order to save our state.” Melissa Megna, AEN co-founder explains - Arizona’s K-12 funding is $6,248 per pupil whereas the national average is $9,389. Dave Perry explains further in his Explorer release.

Voting Dates to Remember:

May 18^th – Special 1 Cent Sales Tax Increase Election

August 24^th – Primary Elections

November 2^nd – National and Local Election Day

Mr. Baker Stresses Citizens’ Duty in Recent AZ Star Guest Editorial on Prop 100

wittwerr — Fri, 07 May 2010 19:59:28 +0000

The AZ Star is now running pro and con guest editorials each day regarding Proposition 100. Read Superintendent Calvin Baker’s as well as Senator Ron Gould’s editorials released on April 30, 2010.

Proposition 100 May Affect Vail Athlete Families

wittwerr — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 13:45:10 +0000

With budget cuts coming, Vail contemplates ways to keep the quality education it is so well known for as well as the many activities that provide opportunities for students. Assistant Principal and Football Coach Nemer Hassey of Cienega High School says, “We are going to have sports somehow.” Watch the KVOA report from April 28, 2010.

See How Prop 100 Will Affect The University of Arizona

wittwerr — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 13:24:42 +0000

As the day for voting on Proposition 100 nears, many educators and public safety officials across the state of Arizona make plans for the best and the worst. But the proposition will make a drastic impact on many more than just public safety and K-12 schools. It also significantly impacts the University of Arizona. Find out how here.

Mr. Baker’s Email To Staff, RE: Draft of Cuts

wittwerr — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 14:15:49 +0000

In response to numerous reports regarding pending layoffs of teachers in the Tuscon area, Superintendent Baker sent the following email to all staff on April 15, 2010 regarding the draft of possible cuts should Proposition 100 pass or fail.

All Staff:

There were numerous news reports this week about hundreds of teachers being laid off at other school districts in the Tucson Area.

Some of those news reports may have caused you to wonder what is happening with the budget situation in Vail. The purpose of this email is to provide a broad overview — without a lot of numbers and details.

More information is becoming available and the budget situation is becoming somewhat clearer. In the process, we have developed the hope/goal of not laying off any teachers — if the sales tax passes.

It is true that teaching positions will need to be cut even if the sales tax does pass, but we hope to move teachers from cut positions to other new positions required by growth or to positions that are vacant due to attrition (teachers who are moving or leaving their jobs for other reasons).

In an effort to make sure there is enough growth to avoid having to lay our teachers off, we are increasing the acceptance of open enrollment students who live outside of the District. I will write more about that issue in a separate email.

In our draft sales-tax-passes budget (which the Board has carefully studied, but NOT voted on), the following adjustments will be made:

All full-day kindergarten classes will be eliminated (there are 1 or 2 at every elementary school)
Staffing levels for paraprofessionals at the kindergarten and first grade level will return to levels that existed before funding for all-day kindergarten. This will result in the loss and/or reduction of 60 instructional paraprofessional positions.
Class sizes will be increased by an average of approximately one student per class across all grade levels and schools.
High school activity fees will be increased by approximately 20%.
Incentive pay for school goals will not be funded.
Incentive pay for administrators will be decreased.
Most soft capital funding will be eliminated.
The loss of special grants for things such as gifted education will be absorbed (programs will continue).

And if the sales tax fails? As per a draft budget proposal, all the adjustments listed above will occur plus the following:

Regular teacher pay will be decreased by approximately $1,500.
Administrative/supervisor pay will be decreased by 3 to 4%.
Classified staff pay will be decreased by 2%.
Site allocations for each school will be decreased by 50% — among other things, this will result in a very significant loss of funding for athletics and activities.
Fees for high school activities will more than double.
The rest of soft capital funding will be lost.
Birthday leave will be cut.
Every school and department will cut personnel costs by an additional 4%. These cuts will be accomplished by eliminating positions, reducing days, reducing hours, or a combination of these options. Principals and other supervisors are currently developing plans for their school or department. It is expected that schools will cut more teaching positions and raise class sizes in order to meet the 4% cut.

Again, the plans described above are still in draft or proposal form. The Board has studied them, but has not taken action to approve them. We are still waiting for some critical information/decisions from the Legislature and the State regarding significant amounts of revenue that we may, or may not, have available for next year’s budget.

Bottom line: at least some changes are almost certain to occur prior to final approval of a budget.

Again, this memo was meant to be broad and general. More information is available. Please contact your principal or supervisor if you would like more detailed information. Or, drop me an email with your questions.

I’ll keep you informed as further budget development occurs.

Calvin Baker