In
1993 the State of Ohio started providing supplemental state payments to
low-wealth districts in an attempt to equalize disparities in per-pupil
spending among districts. These additional monies were called Equity
aid (or the low wealth aid). Equity funds were phased out by Fiscal Year
2005.
These
state-funded unrestricted Equity dollars were placed into restricted
special revenue 499 funds in the late 90's and early 2000's. In 2004
the remaining total of these funds equaled $819,867.65. On May 17, 2004
the Board of Education took action to restrict these monies leaving
them in the 499 fund to be "used for any purpose permissible for the
general fund at such time when the general fund does not have adequate
funds." To date, these monies have remained untouched.
Next
month the Board of Education will take action to more adequately
reflect the existence of these funds by moving them into the General
Fund with possibly all or a portion of these monies continuing to have
some type of restriction. Restricted funds are funds that are to be
used only in a specific way or for a specific purpose. If you have any
questions or concerns about these monies please contact your Board of
Education.
Special Announcements
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Board Meetings
Finance Committee Meeting May 15, 2013 6:30 p.m. Bethel-Tate High School Regular Monthly Meeting May 20, 2013
7:00 p.m. Bethel-Tate Middle School (moved from Bick Primary) Safety Committee Meeting May 29, 2013 7:00 p.m. Bethel-Tate High School |
Posted May 8, 2013, 8:50 AM by Linda Mathes
District Updates
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Superintendent's Message
We are saddened by the
events in Connecticut. It is important for our district and all of our
schools to continue to provide a safe learning environment for all students and
staff. I want to assure you that our staff will be diligent. Our
safety and security procedures continue to be followed with a heightened
awareness. We continue our ongoing partnership with local law
enforcement. The Administrative staff will meet on Monday to clarify and
discuss questions about the concerns from Friday and to assure that our
procedures remain current with optimal effectiveness.
It is always difficult to know what to say
regarding a tragedy like Sandy Hook. Keeping it simple is often the best
course of action. We offer these concise yet wise thoughts about what to
say to children –
HELPING CHILDREN COPE WITH
TRAGIC LOSS
by Robert Evans, Ed.D., psychologist and school consultant
Tragic loss of any kind, including large,
dramatic events reverberates throughout a school and a community. Like everyone
else, parents and teachers feel shock and disbelief, followed by immediate
concern about those who have been hurt and killed--and then by concern about
impact on their own children and students. All of us who are raising or working
with children worry about helping them understand how such a thing could
happen, especially when we ourselves cannot always make sense of it. We worry
about saying too much or too little, about not having enough information, about
saying the wrong thing. Though there is no perfect solution, there are five
guidelines that can often make a positive difference in talking with children.
• It is helpful not to
over-assume what the tragedy means to children. They react differently
depending on their age, their closeness to the situation, their own personalities,
what they hear and are told, and their family's pattern of communication. Some
may be deeply moved, others less so. Some may have many questions, others
fewer. Not all will be intensely affected. Showing little reaction does not
automatically mean a student is hiding or denying his or her feelings.
• Young people are
remarkably resilient. They may become quite upset, but given a chance to
express what they feel, they usually resume their normal lives--and often do so
more rapidly than we adults. Tragic deaths can actually hit adults harder than
they do teenagers or young children. Most young people do not benefit from
extensive, probing adult-led questioning about their reactions. They do profit
from simple, direct information and from adults being available to respond to
their questions and to listen.
• If you receive difficult
questions from children it can be useful to understand these before answering
them. Often a request for information is spurred not only by curiosity, but by
a feeling. Usually, the child already has some idea about this. We may be more
helpful if, rather than plunging into an immediate answer, we learn what
motivates the question. This is particularly true if the question is a
difficult one. Parents can say, "What made you think of that?" or
"Can you tell me what you were thinking about?" Also, it can be good
to ask "What ideas do you have?" Once you know the meaning of the
question, it is easier to answer effectively.
• There may be questions we
cannot answer, which can make us feel inadequate. But children and teenagers
are typically more comforted by straight talk than by false assurances. Rather
than to invent a response, it can be much more helpful to say, "I don't
know," or, "I'll try to find out."
• Coping with a tragedy is
not primarily a matter of technique, not something best handled by a
"strategy" that deviates sharply from a family's or a school's
familiar patterns of communication. The routines of school, for example, are
all by themselves a source of comforting continuity and assurance. Parents and
teachers both will rarely go wrong by relying on what is most basic between
them and children--caring and connection. At these times, even if everyone
feels deeply upset, your presence--your simply being with them, their knowing
that you are available--will be reassuring.
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Posted Dec 17, 2012, 8:37 AM by Linda Mathes
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