SCHOOL DISTRICT NEWS AND NOTES

Calendars Approved for Summer School and 2009-10 Year
The 2009 Summer School program will begin on June 22 and run for five weeks through July 24. July 3 will be a vacation day for the calendar that is similar to previous years. The Ripon Board of Education and the Ripon Education Association also agreed on the 2009-10 school year calendar with classes beginning on September 1. The complete 2009-10 school calendar can be viewed and printed from the District website at: www.ripon.k12.wi.us.
Referendum Options Discussed
Three referendum questions have been suggested for the April 7 election and are now being discussed:
Question 1: $500,000 bond for replacing the RHS boiler and roof maintenance at various schools
Question 2: $500,000 annual revenue limit override to be used for purchasing textbooks, computers & technology, maintenance repairs and vehicle replacements that have been eliminated from the budget
Question 3: $500,000 annual revenue limit override for five years to maintain current staffing and class size levels.
The Board of Education will make a decision on any upcoming referendum at its January 19 meeting.

Board Sets Listening Session for Referendum Community Feedback
Four community Listening Sessions have been set for early January to gather feedback on the referendum options now being discussed. Board members and administrators will provide information, answer questions, and collect feedback during these listening sessions. The sessions are scheduled for: January 6 and January 15 at 6:30 p.m. in RHS room 167; January 8 at 10:00 a.m. at the Ripon Public Library; and January 14 at 1:30 p.m. at the Ripon Public Library. A decision about any referendum questions will be made by the Board at its January 19 meeting.

Board Honors Hanke for WSPRA Awards
The Ripon Board of Education honored Karin Hanke at its December meeting for her award-winning work at providing the community with information about its schools. The Wisconsin School Public Relations Association (WSPRA) recently presented Ripon with three awards in its annual judging competition. Hanke, district office receptionist, provides layout design and coordination of various publications. The awards were received for the Ripon School News community newsletter, the Spanish language news summaries, and advertisements.

Congratulations to Karin on this well-deserved award. I think the district has done a very good job of keeping the voters, and stakeholders, informed and up-to-date. As for the referendum issue, that really tears me up right now. If I were a betting man, I would say the odds are against the questions passing, but I look forward to the informational meetings in January, and will trying to make it to at least one of them.