Welcome to the Kennebec Intra-District Schools (KIDS) regional school unit web site. The new school unit will be made up of schools in the towns of Dresden, Farmingdale, Hallowell, Monmouth and Richmond.
The files below are working documents defining our strategic plan and best-practices for implementing our standards-based, learner-centered education environment at RSU2. Over the next few months, these may be revised by students, staff and parents of RSU2.
Standards-Based Action Plan V1
RSU Best Practices
Good Day,
This time of year we hear many references to various forms of seasons. This year, we have gone from the holiday season to the flu season, winter sports season, to the fast approaching mud season. For the RSU we get to add one more, the budget season.
At this time of year the RSU prepares the list of anticipated expenses for next year and compares it to anticipated revenues. The expense side of the equation is a process that begins with budget builders, such as principals and directors. As superintendent, I review the requests and build a first draft budget of anticipated expenses. On the revenue side of the budget we estimate a certain amount of money being allocated in the form of Sate subsidy and local contribution. The difference between expenses and revenue from State subsidy is what generates our local additional.
Below are a number of budget facts that will also impact our budget decisions:
1. Throughout the year we have seen small reductions to subsidy equaling nearly $79,000 between August 2012 and November 2012. Additionally, the Governor’s recommended curtailment required the reduction of $138,000 to our State subsidy mid-way through this fiscal year (FY13). Currently we, as well as all other school districts, are preparing for a similar cut to State subsidy in the 2013-2014 budget (FY14). The $276,000 curtailment reduction combined with random reductions throughout the year ($79,000) adds pressure to an already tight budget.
2. Because of existent deficits in the State’s budget, a proposed “push” of the final subsidy payment ($829,000) from June to July would make paying our bills extremely difficult.
3. Over the last three years the State established mil rate to qualify for State subsidy has grown from 6.90 in 2010 to 7.69 in 2012. Currently, a mil rate of 7.80 is being discussed to qualify for State subsidy in FY14.
4. In 2010 the State contribution to the RSU’s budget equaled $11.4 million. This upcoming year (FY14), we are estimating a State subsidy contribution of $10.3 million.
5. Despite the citizen-initiated legislation that requires the State to pay at least 55% of the total costs of public education (voted and approved in November, 2003) the State now currently pays 45%. Unfortunately this requires the local tax base to pay a greater portion of our school budget.
We understand in these difficult times, communication and our ability to work together to find solutions are so important. Our goal this year in working through the budget season is to maintain the quality of our learning communities and extra and co-curricular opportunities that still exist as a result of our budgets the past few years. I feel we have made changes that were needed to stay financially viable as a public learning community; however, we are to a point where we must protect what remains. I aspire to establish a budget that reflects this objective.
As the RSU School Board works through the budget process, please feel free to contact me in the district office if you should have any questions, comments, or suggestions. As a learning community, your thoughts are welcome in helping us through this process.
Respectfully,
Virgel Hammonds
RSU 2 Superintendent
In the future as updates on the budget are sent to our mail list they will be posted in the “Budget News 2013-2014” section of this website.
In collaboration with local police chiefs, RSU 2 will host three school safety forums on the following dates:
Thursday, January 17 @ Monmouth Academy 6:00 p.m.
Tuesday, January 22 @ Richmond High School 6:00 p.m. (Richmond / Dresden)
Wednesday, January 30 @ Hall-Dale Elementary School 6:00 p.m. (Hallowell / Farmingdale)
The police chiefs and Superintendent Virgel Hammonds will discuss the RSU safety plan, measures schools and law enforcement personnel have taken, and also answer any questions community members may have. Please know we all aspire to serve and protect our learning communities and will continually look for ways to improve. As always, thank you for your continued support and feedback.
If you cannot attend your local forum, please do not hesitate to contact your local principal or Superintendent Hammonds.
To the RSU Family,
Last week’s events in Connecticut were tragic and heartbreaking. It is difficult to not reflect on our own little world in Maine and the potential for such dangers. Thankfully, we have communities with local leadership that collaborate often and work together to ensure the safety of our prized treasures. In the spring, we met with all of our local police chiefs to evaluate our protocols and schedule drills in the 2012-2013 school year. We will continue to evaluate our processes and work together to ensure our children and staff are in a safe, comforting, and welcoming environment.
Please know we will extend services to our entire community for as long as necessary. As hard as it is to talk among adults about such a tragedy, it can be even more difficult to talk with our children. Helping Youth and Children Recover from Traumatic Events is a compilation of resources from the U.S. Department of Education, other federal agencies, and counseling experts. It is so important to give children the chance to talk, write, or draw to express their emotions. Please create the time and space for them to do that. We will provide the opportunity for our communities to grieve, cope, and express their feelings in a safe environment. I see our learning communities as perfect places for such discussions, but we will also support our parents in having these discussions at home.
I thank you all for wanting to be a part of the solution. I thank the community members that have offered their services ranging from safety audits to counseling sessions. Such acts of kindness are what make our communities great. Please do not hesitate to contact my office (622-6351 x410) if you should have any questions or feedback. Thank you for helping us keep our treasures safe and happy.
All the best,
Virgel Hammonds
RSU 2 Superintendent
To view bus runs for your town please click on the appropriate link below. Thank you.
Dresden ES: Dresden_Bus_Runs.rtf
Hall-Dale Schools: Hall-Dale_Bus_Runs.rtf
Monmouth Schools: MONMOUTH_SCHOOLS_2012.2013_bus_runs1.docx
Richmond Schools: RICHMOND_SCHOOLS_2012.2013_bus_runs.docx
The school nutrition program is required to raise the cost of student meals because of the following ruling: the interim rule entitled, “National School Lunch Program: School Food Service Account Revenue Amendments Related to the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of “2010.” This rule requires school food service authorities to ensure sufficient funds are provided to the nonprofit school food service account for meals served to students not eligible for free or reduced price meals. There are two ways to meet this requirement: either through prices charged for paid meals or through other non-Federal sources provided to the school food service account such as town appropriations.
Since we charge less than $2.51 for paid lunches we are required to adjust our average price by 4.18%. This is calculated by a $.02 increase in the reimbursement rate this school year and an inflation rate of 2.18 percent. We will need to increase our prices in all schools $.10 per meal. With this increase students will also receive more fruit and vegetable choices in their meal. The cost at the Elementary Schools will increase to $1.90 and the Middle/High Schools will be $2.20.
Staff Workshop Day: Tuesday, 28 August
Grades K-9: Wednesday, 29 August
Grades K-12: Thursday, 30 August
In this presentation we discussed how the Maine Cohort for Customized Learning is working with the 3Shapes software company to develop a system that will manage and maintain standards, share resources and allow students, teachers, administrators and parents to track progress toward proficiency on learning targets and measurement topics. We looked at the software infrastructure from a few viewpoints including curriculum framework development and management as well from a teacher’s and student’s perspective. Presenters included Virgel Hammonds RSU2 Superintendent, John Armentrout RSU2, Matthew Shea and Libby Ladner both teachers at RSU2.
This link contains a PDF of the presentation
(presentation contains an embedded video accessible through a separate link.)
This link contains the Marzano Taxonomy document we referenced in the presentation.
Educate software is developed by a company called 3Shapes, they can be contacted via email at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) for more information
We are pleased to announce that we will be streaming the Hall-Dale High School Graduation 2012 live on the web.
Graduation starts on Saturday June 9th at 7PM.
Feed will start at 6:45 PM…
We will post here with any additional information if there are technical issues or other news.
