Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
ONE OF the Hurley science program's new Ozobots sits on a table at the Hurley School Board meeting Monday. Teacher Dan Rye gave a presentation about how his eighth grade students are using the small robots to learn about coding and programming.
By LARRY HOLCOMBE
Hurley - The Hurley School Board received some financial advice Monday about different ways to fund some projects that have been discussed.
Administrator Chris Patritto said the school has talked about a number of things, including improving the layout of the tech education area, the addition of a wellness center and accompanying locker room, new signage to help people locate the school, and new tables and other furniture.
Lisa Voisin, of Baird Finance, came from Milwaukee and talked to the board and those in attendance about how the state's school funding formula works, and how raising and spending money affects local taxes and state aid to the district.
Voisin started with a primer about school funding in the state and millage rates, taking a few questions from board members. She praised the school for having no referendum debt and for being in the bottom third statewide for tax rate.
Patritto said he and Voisin had talked about the school spending $2 million on the above projects – a ballpark figure. He said the district is not interested in asking for a referendum, but may decide to spend some of its $4 million fund balance.
He acknowledged that the district would take a hit - nearly 12 percent - in the state aid formula for any additional spending.
Voisin called this "new spending," and said there are ways to lessen the blow on taxpayers. She suggested borrowing some of the money for the project, adding municipal bonds over five or 10 years looked the best right now.
Patritto said the district was working with a Houghton firm which is making some drawings and cost estimates would follow.
Later, in a presentation on the coming budget, he spoke about the importance of having the fund balance and how it protects the school from short-term borrowing to pay its bill, adding the district hasn't done that for 12 years.
He said the fund balance should not be used for paying day-to-day needs, but instead be used for larger things to improve the school. "We'll take a hit for using it, but we have to do things to make the school better," he said.
Patritto said recent news from the state has help cut a projected $195,000 budget deficit for the beginning of the next fiscal year, including a $204 per student increase in state aid, and additional $100 sparsity aid per student. That adds up to $150,000, leaving a $49,000 projected deficit, he said.
He said there are many factors that are still unknowns including insurance costs and equalized value.
After making some cuts to the budgets in legal fees, supplies, maintenance, heating and elsewhere, he said projections are for $7.122 million in revenue and $7.132 million in expenditures, leaving a $9,465 deficit.
He cautioned that the numbers were "very preliminary."
In other action, the board:
Heard a plea from fourth grade teacher Monica Kolpin for the board to consider closely the affects of a proposal to not bring back an unnamed staff member who she said has done so much for the students, working in various classrooms since 2000.
Heard and saw a presentation from kindergarten teachers Tonette Obradovich and Jan Swetkovich about their students use of computers, learning to read and about how to share information with the computer. Principal Kevin Genisot said it is the beginning of talking to the students about using social media. The teachers said many of the kids come to class already advanced in some of the technology.
Heard and saw a presentation from science teacher Dan Rye about his new coding and mini robots program. He shared his Ozobots with board members. The inch high and wide rounded plastic robots sense their surroundings, and flash lights and move around a table top according to their programing or coding. Rye said he calls his STEM class students coders, programmers and developers. He said coding is setting a set of instructions and rules for a computer to understand, and likened it to learning a new language and grammar. He said he started the new program with his eighth grade students, and now the ninth grade students want in on the action. He said the school purchased 24 of the Ozobots at $125 each, adding it's important for each of the students to have one. The students are charged with figuring out how they work and writing code to have them perform all kinds of tasks. Rye said the program could reach into the collegiate level.
Congratulated social studies teacher Aaron Bender for winning the Governor's Financial Literacy Award for 2017. Bender teaches the school's Personal Finance class. He said the semester-long class for juniors has been a requirement for graduation for three years, and covers things like taxes, insurance, retirement and investing. He was one of 14 winners that included other teachers, people in the finance industry, as well as banks and other lending agencies in the state.
