School Statistics, School Needs & Public Awareness

[Margaret Johns]

Hello all,

 

At the last meeting of the Town of Farragut’s Education Relations Committee, our group discussed its interest in elevating public awareness of some of the key issues each of you as administrators are facing.

 

Among the topics discussed were transfer students and the strain this places on resources as well as the rising number of participants in the free & reduced fee lunch programs.  I believe that it would be beneficial to have stories in the local publications run on these topics.   Our goal is to help Farragut residents and other Knox County residents realize that there are needs in your schools, despite the perceptions of affluence in Farragut & Hardin Valley’s demographics.

 

It would be excellent if you could provide some insight into key statistics at our October 5 meeting.  A few areas in particular that we would like to gain further understanding of are as follows:

 

# of participants in free & reduced lunch programs – last year to this year (% change increase or decrease would be helpful as well)

Financial shortages – key areas

Loss of staff members & teachers – how many and what positions

# of students last year to this year – any increases?  Any transfer students?  Any No Child Left Behind transfer students?
# of transfer students last year

Is your school at capacity? 

Is your school “above capacity” (in excess of desired teacher to student ratio)?  

Most major operating expenditures for the year – (aside from staff)?  For some schools it is paper while for others it is infrastructure or repairs – please confirm for your school.  Also, do you see help for these expenditures emerging from your foundation (if applicable) or do you perceive that you will need to seek funding or support from other sources?  

 

Additionally, we would like to follow up with each of you regarding the funds provided earlier this year by the Town of Farragut.  We would like to gain an understanding of what programs or expenditures the funds were directed toward, so we can provide insight to the Board of Mayor and Aldermen as we plan for the coming year ahead.  

 

Finally, we would like to have another in-gathering of the needs (monetary and non-monetary) for the current school year.  We are starting our committee’s annual cycle as well and would like to have a current list as we prioritize immediate, mid-range and long-range goals in support of each of your schools.

 

We thank you for sharing this information and for your continued interface with our committee.  

 

Sincerely,

Margaret Johns

 

 

 

Chairman

Town of Farragut

Education Relations Committee

 

 

 

[Betty Clemens]

Excellent beginning, but accountability for all funding sources would generate a clearer picture of needs to avoid duplication of services.  As a governing agency, representing the public's interest, the Board of Mayor and Aldermen is relying on this committee to advise and recommend, based on an accumulation of pertinent information. In my opinion, this requires our understanding of both revenues received and disbursement of funds, prior to our involvement in funneling additional resources. This is common practice in government, unless we are assuming an "ombudsman" role in simply supporting needs and wants. 

My questions for the school site principals would include the following:

1. What is per pupil expenditure allowed by federal, state, and county sources? 

2. Would you explain the 2009 Report Card to the group at a future meeting?

3. Any laptop security solutions in place?

4. Which academic area do you recognize as your most efficient?

5. Which is in need of most improvement and what is your plan for upgrading it?

All discussion following presentations should be held sans speaker, before a unanimous opinion is solicited. This avoids an emotional reaction and allows more freedom of expression. Keeping monthly meetings scheduled at the Town Hall alleviates this problem and provides a more professional atmosphere for deliberation.

I recognize that the Farragut Town functions on a volunteer basis, but expenditure of public funds is serious business and the public deserves a serious and informed opinion. This committee has done an excellent job in its first year of existence. Looking forward to renewed commitment of the group's energy and time. 

On Sep 16, 2010, at 10:05 PM, Margaret Johns wrote:

Hello all,

 

At the last meeting of the Town of Farragut’s Education Relations Committee, our group discussed its interest in elevating public awareness of some of the key issues each of you as administrators are facing.

 

Among the topics discussed were transfer students and the strain this places on resources as well as the rising number of participants in the free & reduced fee lunch programs.  I believe that it would be beneficial to have stories in the local publications run on these topics.   Our goal is to help Farragut residents and otherKnox County residents realize that there are needs in your schools, despite the perceptions of affluence in Farragut & Hardin Valley’s demographics.

[Margaret Johns]

Betty,

 

Your insights are appreciated and given the depth of subject matter here, I believe it would be best for the committee to have spoken dialogue on this.  I believe we are all in alignment on what our charter requires of us in terms of role and reach.  

 

I look forward to what each administrator is able to share at our October meeting.  We have asked them to provide some statistical data that takes time to compile, so I would ask that we be flexible as we gather data over the next few months.  I would also encourage you to request that certain items be added to the agenda for future meetings.  The 2009 report card is a great example of a subject that could be addressed by an invited speaker if the committee determines that it would like to spend meeting time in that area

 

I’ve posted the draft agenda for the October meeting to our Google groups site.  Valerie will need to post it tomorrow for the week-ahead public notification.

 

Best Regards,

Margaret

 

 

Margaret Johns

Chairman

Town of Farragut

Education Relations Committee

 

 

[Thomas Deakins]

Just a quick note to give you some background information since I will be in Europe the next 2 weeks for Oracle.  I have tried to answer some of these questions so you have an idea on what is going on. 

 

# of participants in free & reduced lunch programs – last year to this year (% change increase or decrease would be helpful as well) -Not sure how this area or data helps our committee? 

The population at FHS, FPS, FIS and FMS are some of the lowest in the county.  HVA has a higher number than FHS due to the socio-economic demographics.  Please note that just because the numbers are low within these schools, it does not mean there are not needs.  Mike Reynolds has told me stories of students that needed shoes and other necessities.  We do have families that live here and struggle, and their children attend Farragut schools. 
Financial shortages – key areas - All schools can use money.  I want you to understand that the KCS budget does not cover many things and the principals are in charge of funding many of the items they identify.  Examples - mulch for the playground, laptops, active boards, etc.... 
Loss of staff members & teachers – how many and what positions - All schools fall under a staffing formula.  Yes, it is based on many variables and some of those variables are free and reduced lunch percentages.  As I noted earlier, we have some of the lowest rates in the county.  You also need to know that the staffing formula has been tweaked and will continue to be tweaked as needed.  I have asked that we provide additional resources to schools that receive transfers due to NCLB.  Most of our good standing schools are not equipped and ready to deal with some of the challenges we face with students that transfer from higher needs schools.  Dr, McIntyre is addressing this.  Example is FHS with the NCLB transfers from other high schools.  The NCLB transfer process is very challenging due to parents waiting until the last minute to execute on the transfer.  We do our best to project enrollment but it is a projection....  We had a big increase in several schools due to the economy, (leaving private schools) and some companies (Flying J merger with Pilot) relocating to this area. 
# of students last year to this year – any increases?  Any transfer students?  Any No Child Left Behind transfer students?  As I noted above.  FHS received 140-150 transfers since FHS has the space.  Note - NCLB transfers can only go to schools that made AYP and have the capacity.  Bearden is full as well as HVA.

# of transfer students last year

Is your school at capacity?  - I will let the principals report on this, but we are in the middle of trying to build a new SW elementary school (K-5)

Is your school “above capacity” (in excess of desired teacher to student ratio)? 
Most major operating expenditures for the year – (aside from staff)?  For some schools it is paper while for others it is infrastructure or repairs – please confirm for your school.  Also, do you see help for these expenditures emerging from your foundation (if applicable) or do you perceive that you will need to seek funding or support from other sources? 

What is per pupil expenditure allowed by federal, state, and county sources? Great question - we spend around $6,700 - $7,000 per student in KCS.  This number is based on the total budget / the number of students in KCS.  I have been asking this exact question for 4 + years now, as I want a breakdown of $$$ by school.  We will soon have this thanks to our new information system in KCS and the ability to pull expenditures out of the new financial package the county has selected.  We certainly spend more money on students in higher needs schools and other areas of the county.  KCS funding comes from the State of Tennessee, Knox County sales and property tax and some federal funds (Title I and IDEA). 

 

As always, please feel free to ask me for more information.

 

Thanks again for serving!

 

Thomas

--
Thomas A. Deakins

[Julia Craze]

Excellent responses ,Thomas !  I wasn't sure how to address some of these questions because of the very things you stated regarding our population and the reported statistics. You have clearly expressed some of my concerns.

Thank you,

Julia  

[Shannon Warden]

How the first question helps our committee is based on the discussion we had with Mr. Reynolds at our last meeting.  We discussed the need to educate our community on the very issue you address here...that the average person in Knox County and in Farragut likely has the impression that Farragut Schools are not in financial need.  While I think we all understand that our schools have among the lowest percentages of free/reduced lunch, an increase in that number might be significant to note.  As a committee, we discussed the need to engage the Farragut community as a whole as to what the needs are, and more specifically, changing the attitude that seems prevalent...that Farragut doesn't have children/families in need.  Mr. Reynolds let us know that there has been an increase and we wanted to hear from the other schools what the increases have been due to the economy and NCLB transfers.  It doesn't seem to make sense that NCLB transfers don't come with more funding, something we all learned at the last meeting.  Our community should hear that, along with the answers to the other questions to help us translate in layman's terms why they need to be involved.

On Sep 29, 2010, at 12:31 PM, Thomas Deakins wrote:

[kar...@k12tn.net]

Thomas,
Thank you so much for your responses. I was researching some of the
items, myself, and ended up calling Bob Thomas for the financial
information. I forwarded our specific answers in order to give more
information about FMS, specifically! Thank you, again! Heather Karnes

[Betty Clemens]

Good to know that you are moving in that direction. Thanks for all of your support and much success in future endeavors. Good Job!