| MSAD #44 SCHOOL BUDGET of $10,253,190 APPROVED BY BOARD | ||
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The FY 09 MSAD #44 General Fund Budget was approved on 4/28/08 after several months of deliberation by the school administration, the MSAD #44 Finance Committee and the School Board. Listed below is a breakdown of the approved budget. The proposed budget reflects a 2.45% increase over last year with most of that increase directly attributable to the 2007 voter approval of an addition project to the Region 9 School of Applied Technology. This budget will now go to vote at a Public Meeting to be held at 7:00 p.m. in the Helen C. Berry Auditorium at Telstar Middle/High School on June 5, 2008 and then on to a district wide referendum for final approval on 6/10/08. Any questions related to the summary listed below may be directed to the Superintendent of Schools, Dr. David W. Murphy at murphyd@sad44.org MSAD # 44 Budget Revenue FY 09 Budget Total General Fund Expenditure Budget 10,253,190.00 State Aid for Education 2,467,856.00 Other Revenue (Tuition, Trans., etc. 1,143,258.00 Carry over funds fro Previous year 600,000.00 Total Revenue from above 4,211,114.00 Required Local Share (EPS) 4,692,367.00 Non-State Funded Debt Service 153,941.00 Additional Local Funding Required 1,195,768.00 Total Local Funding, General Fund 6,042,076.00 Local Share of Adult Education 106,721.00 Local ShareGeneral Fund and Adult Ed. 6,148,797.00 4/24/2008 |
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| Daniel O. Hart Chosen As New Principal of Telstar High School | ||
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Mr. Dan Hart, a former Guidance Director at Telstar High School, recently received the enthusiastic recommendation of Superintendent David W. Murphy and the unanimous support of the MSAD #44 Board of Directors to become the new principal of Telstar effective July 1, 2008. Mr. Hart, currently the principal of Dirigo High School in SAD #21, will take the place of Mr. Ted Davis. Mr. Davis had come out of retirement two years ago to lead the high school through the recent accreditation process. His efforts to the district have been greatly appreciated. |
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| 2008 - 2009 State Aid to MSAD #44 Reduced Significantly | ||
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Initial reports from the Department of Education show that the amount of state aid that MSAD #44 can expect to receive for the FY 09 school year will be reduced substantially due to increased property valuations as defined by the state, a decrease in school enrollment slightly greater than the state average and changes made at the state level to the Essential Programs and Services (EPS) Funding Formula. In addition, the requirement for the state to provide 55% of the cost of education (as determined by the EPS formula and required by the passage of LD 1 several years ago) will not happen. Instead, that percentage will remain fixed at the 53.7% level from last year. On average, state valuation has increased by 11% over the past year while the five towns that comprise MSAD #44 have increased by 19%. Across the state, school enrollment is down by 2% whereas the population of MSAD 44 towns has decreased by 4%. As the result of these two indices and due to additional reductions in the Essential Programs and Services formula that determines the amount of state aid to education, MSAD 44 projects that the amount of state aid that will be received will be reduced by approximately $277,460 from last year. That number may receive some level of adjustment in the coming weeks but will not come close to the amount received last year. In fact, state aid to education for FY 09 is projected to be $2,394,245. It is interesting to note that in 1995, MSAD #44 received $2,457,119 in state aid to education. It should be pointed out that although LD 1 required that the state's share of education be adjusted to 55% this year, that will not happen. Instead, the percentage of state aid will remain fixed at only 53.7%, the same as last year. In addition, several reductions to the EPS formula have resulted in less funding for System Administration, Transportation and the Maintenance of School Facilities, all costs that will now possibly need to be borne in greater amounts by the local taxpayer. This means that the local taxpayers could now be asked to absorb this portion of the budget previously covered by the state. As the district begins reviewing the proposed FY 09 budget, it will be faced with fiscal challenges including the increasing cost of fuel, the Region 9 addition project approved by voters last year and the cost of negotiated increases in salaries and benefits to all bargaining units in the district. These challenges will result in yet another difficult budget year for MSAD #44. Since the 2003-2004 school year, the school budget has increased at a rate of just under 2.3% per year with two of those years actually reflecting slight decreases to the previous years' budgets. For further information on the FY 09 budget, please continue to check this web site. Sincerely, David W. Murphy, Ed.D. Superintendent of Schools |
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| MSAD #44 School Consolidation Update | ||
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With final consolidation plans due on March 28,2008 the MSAD #44 School Board recently voted to authorize the Superintendent of Schools to submit a letter to the Department of Education (DOE) indicating that the district will be forced to continue to be without partners in the required school consolidation of Maine schools. In December, the district requested assistance and guidance from the DOE since all of the surrounding districts had already been approved to participate in other consolidation efforts. Due to the fact that the Legislature has yet to finalize LD 1932, a law designed to revisit the school consolidation requirement and address the flaws that have emerged since the law's initial passage a year ago, the DOE has not been in a position to be able to provide the district with the assistance it has requested. Please continue to check this web site for updates to MSAD #44's situation with regard to the school consolidation issue. Sincerely, David W. Murphy, Ed.D. Superintendent of Schools |
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| Important Notification of Current Position Openings in MSAD 44 | ||
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MSAD #44 is currently adverising for the following positions. All have a July 1, 2008 start date. ~ Director of Special Services - Full time ~ Telstar Middle School Principal ~ Telstar Middle/High School Athletic Director (1/2 time) ~ Multi-Age elementary school teacher - Andover School - previous experience in multi-age education preferred. ~ Spare Bus Drivers All positions will close when a suitable candidate is chosen. For further information, please visit www.servingschools.com or contact Dr. David W. Murphy Superintendent of Schools 21 Philbrook St. Bethel, ME 04217 murphyd@sad44.org |
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| Delays/No School Announcements | ||
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Click below for online link for School Delays or No School Announcements STORM CENTER No School Announcements |
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| Update on School Consolidation in Maine - January, 2007 | ||
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Dear Friends, I hope you are gearing up for a healthy and productive 2008! I recently became aware of a new podcast developed by the law firm of Skelton, Taintor, & Abbott. It is called Talk of The Town and features a variety of discussions on municipal issues. The most recent Talk of the Town program consisted of a panel discussion focused on school consolidation. I recently listened to the podcast in its entirety and feel that it did an extraordinary job of succinctly summarizing the history of the school consolidation law, the current climate around the law, the challenges and problems confronting its possible implementation and possible alternative solutions. Talk of the Town is available as a podcast at www.stalegal.com Bryan Dench, a partner at the firm, served as the moderator for this session. Special guests were Geoff Hermann from the Maine Municipal Association and Skip Greenlaw, a former state legislator and the person currently coordinating the petition drive to repeal the law. The podcast is just about 50 minutes long and is well worth the time. I would urge you to listen to this in its entirety. Please also feel free to forward the site to others. You will need to sign on to listen to the broadcast but it is a very simple process to do so. Once signed on, you will see the Talk of the Town topic of School Consolidation. As you are aware, School Consolidation has emerged as one of the most challenging and controversial changes to Maine education over the past 50 years. It is important for all of us to be as informed on this important topic as possible because, ultimately, it will be the voters who decide the future of any consolidation proposals affecting their towns. If you have any questions about the School Consolidation process in general or how it affects the towns that currently comprise MSAD #44, please do not hesitate to contact me at murphyd@sad44.org Sincerely, David W. Murphy, Ed.D. David W. Murphy, Ed.D. Superintendent of Schools |
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| Important information on Mumps Outbreak in Maine | ||
| Mumps Outbreak Information | ||
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| 2007-2008 MSAD44 School Calendar | ||
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Click below to view the District Calendar 07-08 Calendar *The Calendar is in Adobe PDF Format. You will need adobe acrobat reader to view the file. If you do not have adobe reader please visit the Adobe website. Thank You! |
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| Instant Alert System | ||
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Dear MSAD #44 Parents, Keeping parents informed and involved helps to assure student safety and improve student success. With today’s on-the-go lifestyles, it has become more difficult for our schools to reach families quickly and effectively. This is why MSAD #44 has decided to implement a new system called Instant AlertTM for Schools. Instant Alert for Schools should prove to be an essential tool for notification and communication. Within minutes of an emergency, school officials can use Instant Alert to deliver a single, clear message to the students’ parents or guardians by telephone, cell phone, e-mail, pager or PDA in any combination. Instant Alert can also be used to notify you of a school closing due to inclement weather. It is an equally effective way to keep you informed of everyday activities, such as changes in event times and locations. Instant Alert is an Internet based system. It allows each family to maintain a secure, password protected online profile. Included in this letter is an instruction sheet for accessing the system and creating your individual profile. You can log into your profile at any time to update your contact information. Maintaining the accuracy of your profile will increase the ability of the school to keep you informed. I would urge you to take a few minutes today to complete this process. Instant Alert System |
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| Know About Networking Sites | ||
| Please be aware that although networking sites such as myspace.com, facebook.com, and friendster.com are not accessible on school computers, students are using them. Many students use these sites appropriately. But other students discuss and/or post pictures of inappropriate behavior on them and could be putting themselves at risk by disclosing personal information. Parents should become familiar with these sites and how their children are using them. The full letter that was sent home regarding this concern is below: | ||
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