It was great to see all of the smiling faces at school on Tuesday. A lot of work has been done over the summer to create a better environment for our students and it was good to hear their "oohs and ahs" as they looked around at the facilities.
The construction over the summer went very well, on schedule, and just about everything we wanted done, got done. We have 10 renovated bathrooms at the middle school and two elementary schools, all new windows and doors at the elementary schools, and a new "secure" entryway at the middle school. That's been one of my biggest concerns since I became superintendent 3 1/2 years ago.
As you know, the economy in Michigan has not been good the past 3-5 years. It appears Croswell-Lexington Schools have weathered the worst of it and things are looking up. While 95% percent of school districts in Michigan will decline in enrollment this fall, I'm thrilled to report that it appears after the first day that our enrollment has increased. That is extremely good news and I believe it's a mandate of the great things we're doing for kids in our district.
I can honestly tell you that before every decision we make we ask the question "how will this positively impact kids?" With that mantra, I believe you cannot go wrong. As always, feel free to contact me at any time at kmiller@croslex.org
Sincerely,
Kevin D. Miller, Ph.D
Superintendent
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
School year winds down
I want to thank about 100 members of the community for joining staff and students at the historic groundbreaking for the soon-to-be-renovated Cros-Lex High School. We should see earth moving vehicles on the grounds north of the existing high school in a couple of weeks. The 18 month construction period will contain four phases. In Phase 1, the additions will get underway including the new science labs, new gymnasium, and new cafeteria/auditorium.
It really has been an historic year in our district. Not only are we embarking on the remodeling and renovation of our buildings, but we also added our Early College program. We have 45 students starting simultaneous high school and college courses for their junior year in the fall at our new Geiger College Center.
Our goal eventually is to see more than 50-percent of our high school graduates achieve a college diploma. The Early College program will lead us toward that goal. I'm also working with Oakland University to bring Bachelor's and Master's degree courses to our College Center. We hope to see those courses begin as early as the winter of 2011.
Cros-Lex always welcomes "Schools of Choice" students. If you have friends who live in a district that borders Cros-Lex who want to be a part of our exciting future, please have them come to Central Office to complete the necessary forms. They can also download fill-in Choice forms at our website.
Have a great summer! It's been a busy, but terrific year!
Sincerely,
Kevin D. Miller, Ph.D.
Superintendent
It really has been an historic year in our district. Not only are we embarking on the remodeling and renovation of our buildings, but we also added our Early College program. We have 45 students starting simultaneous high school and college courses for their junior year in the fall at our new Geiger College Center.
Our goal eventually is to see more than 50-percent of our high school graduates achieve a college diploma. The Early College program will lead us toward that goal. I'm also working with Oakland University to bring Bachelor's and Master's degree courses to our College Center. We hope to see those courses begin as early as the winter of 2011.
Cros-Lex always welcomes "Schools of Choice" students. If you have friends who live in a district that borders Cros-Lex who want to be a part of our exciting future, please have them come to Central Office to complete the necessary forms. They can also download fill-in Choice forms at our website.
Have a great summer! It's been a busy, but terrific year!
Sincerely,
Kevin D. Miller, Ph.D.
Superintendent
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
December happenings
Wow! The first trimester blew by this year! Why does it seem that the older I get, the faster the years go by?
As we wrap up the fall, I encourage you to check out the link on our district's main home page (www.croslex.org) that will take you to a slide show with the latest 3-D color drawings of our soon-to-be renovated Croswell-Lexington High School. Or, you can click here to get right to the page. I hope you'll be as excited as I was the first time I saw these drawings. It is exciting to see the hours we've spent with our architect pay off with these amazing drawings.
I also hope to have a major announcement right after the new year on an amazing program that will have a dramatic impact on our students' ability to attend college in the future! Stay tuned for that.
Thanks for your continued support. Despite the difficult economic times, there are great days ahead for Croswell-Lexington Schools.
As we near the holiday season, I want to wish each of you a blessed Christmas. All three of my daughters will be home this year and my oldest daughter's fiance will also be with us for Christmas. I am extremely thankful for my family, my job with Cros-Lex, and for our school district.
Sincerely,
Kevin D. Miller, Ph.D.
Cros-Lex Superintendent
As we wrap up the fall, I encourage you to check out the link on our district's main home page (www.croslex.org) that will take you to a slide show with the latest 3-D color drawings of our soon-to-be renovated Croswell-Lexington High School. Or, you can click here to get right to the page. I hope you'll be as excited as I was the first time I saw these drawings. It is exciting to see the hours we've spent with our architect pay off with these amazing drawings.
I also hope to have a major announcement right after the new year on an amazing program that will have a dramatic impact on our students' ability to attend college in the future! Stay tuned for that.
Thanks for your continued support. Despite the difficult economic times, there are great days ahead for Croswell-Lexington Schools.
As we near the holiday season, I want to wish each of you a blessed Christmas. All three of my daughters will be home this year and my oldest daughter's fiance will also be with us for Christmas. I am extremely thankful for my family, my job with Cros-Lex, and for our school district.
Sincerely,
Kevin D. Miller, Ph.D.
Cros-Lex Superintendent
Monday, November 23, 2009
Latest news on school funding and architectural plans
The November 20 deadline has passed for our legislature to enact revenue enhancements to halt additional funding cuts. The governor now says that all Michigan school districts will see another $127 per pupil cut beginning with our December 20 state aid payment. That brings the total cut to $292 per child, or more than $630,000 reduction for Croswell-Lexington Schools.
On the positive side, we have put the final stamp of approval on the renovation and addition plans for the high school. The architectural drawings are extremely impressive. If you get a chance to stop by the high school, see our principal, Mr. Kerhoulas, to look at the plans.
It's hard to believe that Thanksgiving is upon us. Where has the fall gone? I hope you have a great holiday weekend with your families and that we all take time to be thankful for what we have.
Sincerely,
Kevin Miller, Ph.D.
Cros-Lex Superintendent
On the positive side, we have put the final stamp of approval on the renovation and addition plans for the high school. The architectural drawings are extremely impressive. If you get a chance to stop by the high school, see our principal, Mr. Kerhoulas, to look at the plans.
It's hard to believe that Thanksgiving is upon us. Where has the fall gone? I hope you have a great holiday weekend with your families and that we all take time to be thankful for what we have.
Sincerely,
Kevin Miller, Ph.D.
Cros-Lex Superintendent
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Funding and Flu
Funding and flu...how's that for alliteration? I know most of you are probably not aware of how school funding works, so let me give you a quick "School Funding 101" course. Normally, we get 11 state aid payments, but our final check for the current school year doesn't come until August 20. Remember that our fiscal (budget) year begins on July 1. Yesterday (October 21) we got our first state aid payment with money for the 2009-2010 school year. So, technically we run our district from July 1 through October 20 on our fund equity. That's one of the reasons we keep a healthy fund equity; so we don't have to borrow money to pay our employees, etc.
The newest state aid bill, signed recently by Governor Granholm, cut our state payment by $165 per student divided into those 11 payments. There are multiple line items on our payment from the state, including special ed funding, at risk money, school lunch reimbursement, and a discretionary amount that we can use any way we want. Much to our surprise, there was an additional HUGE cut in our discretionary payment; nearly double the size of our per pupil cut. So...our payment from the state was $93,000 less than it should have been. Multiply $93,000 by 11 payments and that would be a cut of more than $1 million. We're being told that we'll be able to get the discretionary money back if we formulate a district consolidation plan by February 1. Our state government never ceases to amaze me!
Regarding the flu...districts to the west and north of us have already been closed for 1-2 days because of high student absences due to the flu. We continue to monitor our attendance daily and we are in communication with the Sanilac County Health Department and the Michigan Department of Community Health regularly. I can tell you daily what districts are closed due to illness. If we see our incidences of flu increase dramatically, we would consider shutting down schools to stop the rampant spread of the virus. Generally, if we dip below 80% attendance, we begin to consider closing. So far, each building has stayed well above 90% and we have not seen a dramatic increase in flu-related absence. We'll use our School Messenger system to keep you informed in the event that it becomes an issue for the district.
Sincerely,
Kevin D. Miller, Ph.D.
Cros-Lex Superintendent.
The newest state aid bill, signed recently by Governor Granholm, cut our state payment by $165 per student divided into those 11 payments. There are multiple line items on our payment from the state, including special ed funding, at risk money, school lunch reimbursement, and a discretionary amount that we can use any way we want. Much to our surprise, there was an additional HUGE cut in our discretionary payment; nearly double the size of our per pupil cut. So...our payment from the state was $93,000 less than it should have been. Multiply $93,000 by 11 payments and that would be a cut of more than $1 million. We're being told that we'll be able to get the discretionary money back if we formulate a district consolidation plan by February 1. Our state government never ceases to amaze me!
Regarding the flu...districts to the west and north of us have already been closed for 1-2 days because of high student absences due to the flu. We continue to monitor our attendance daily and we are in communication with the Sanilac County Health Department and the Michigan Department of Community Health regularly. I can tell you daily what districts are closed due to illness. If we see our incidences of flu increase dramatically, we would consider shutting down schools to stop the rampant spread of the virus. Generally, if we dip below 80% attendance, we begin to consider closing. So far, each building has stayed well above 90% and we have not seen a dramatic increase in flu-related absence. We'll use our School Messenger system to keep you informed in the event that it becomes an issue for the district.
Sincerely,
Kevin D. Miller, Ph.D.
Cros-Lex Superintendent.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Disappointed in our State Legislature
I write to you today disappointed that our Michigan State Legislature apparently disregards the importance of education for our state's future. I contacted both Senator Barcia and Rep. Espinoza after learning late Wednesday that our legislature will vote soon on one of the most devastating education bills in our state's history.
If approved by the State Senate and House and signed by Governor Granholm, we would see an immediate cut of $218 per pupil in the Croswell-Lexington district. That would equate to nearly $500,000 cut for our district. What makes this legislation even more difficult to understand is that we're nearly 1/4 of the way through our fiscal year. To cut us now gives us much less of an opportunity to reduce spending, especially when 85% of our budget is "people".
One might say, "you have fund equity, use it" and we will. We were already planning to use about $500,000 of our equity this year to balance the budget. That figure would now be doubled. Even more important, though, is that cuts to education don't lead us to a better financial future in Michigan. In fact, we're already hearing that these cuts are just the tip of the iceberg...that further cuts might be made later this school year and into next year. I loved the Detroit Free Press headline last week that said "If Children are our Future...apparently Michigan doesn't care." Education is the ONE thing we need to invest in as it is THE MOST important thing for our children's future and for the future of our state.
I understand that we're in the midst of a state budget crisis. However, the data I'm looking at does not indicate that we can simply "cut our way out of the crisis." We need to look at an overhaul of revenue gathering mechanisms in the state to help offset the crisis.
I hope you'll join me in contacting your state senator and representative to urge them to support education. Call Senator James Barcia (Bar-sha) at 517-373-1777 or Representative John Espinoza at 517-373-0835. Let them know that the MOST important part of our future is the education of our students.
Sincerely,
Kevin D. Miller, Ph.D.
Superintendent
Croswell-Lexington Schools
If approved by the State Senate and House and signed by Governor Granholm, we would see an immediate cut of $218 per pupil in the Croswell-Lexington district. That would equate to nearly $500,000 cut for our district. What makes this legislation even more difficult to understand is that we're nearly 1/4 of the way through our fiscal year. To cut us now gives us much less of an opportunity to reduce spending, especially when 85% of our budget is "people".
One might say, "you have fund equity, use it" and we will. We were already planning to use about $500,000 of our equity this year to balance the budget. That figure would now be doubled. Even more important, though, is that cuts to education don't lead us to a better financial future in Michigan. In fact, we're already hearing that these cuts are just the tip of the iceberg...that further cuts might be made later this school year and into next year. I loved the Detroit Free Press headline last week that said "If Children are our Future...apparently Michigan doesn't care." Education is the ONE thing we need to invest in as it is THE MOST important thing for our children's future and for the future of our state.
I understand that we're in the midst of a state budget crisis. However, the data I'm looking at does not indicate that we can simply "cut our way out of the crisis." We need to look at an overhaul of revenue gathering mechanisms in the state to help offset the crisis.
I hope you'll join me in contacting your state senator and representative to urge them to support education. Call Senator James Barcia (Bar-sha) at 517-373-1777 or Representative John Espinoza at 517-373-0835. Let them know that the MOST important part of our future is the education of our students.
Sincerely,
Kevin D. Miller, Ph.D.
Superintendent
Croswell-Lexington Schools
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Great first day of school!
It was great to have our students and staff back yesterday after a long summer. This is my third year as superintendent and this was the best "first day of school" we've had. Buses all arrived on time, we welcomed the students with open arms, and the day went very smoothly.
Since we're funded by the number of students who attend, our student count is always a concern. It appears that our enrollment projection is very close to our actual count. We'll know more in a few days, but it appears we'll be down about 50-60 kids. This is simply a result of a large graduating class and smaller birthrates in Sanilac County, which results in smaller kindergarten classes.
Our custodial staff had the buildings looking great and our bus drivers did an exceptional job on day one. Our teaching staff is committed to making this the best year ever, especially after a year of transitioning to trimesters at the middle and high schools.
We've dedicated ourselves this year to reaching EVERY student. Failure is not an option and we've put new programs in place to get students immediate help when they are struggling. We debuted new software this summer that helped more than 20 students regain lost credits. This same software can be used during the year to aide students who fall behind.
Here's to a terrific school year ahead!!
Sincerely,
Kevin D. Miller, Ph.D.
Cros-Lex Schools Superintendent
Since we're funded by the number of students who attend, our student count is always a concern. It appears that our enrollment projection is very close to our actual count. We'll know more in a few days, but it appears we'll be down about 50-60 kids. This is simply a result of a large graduating class and smaller birthrates in Sanilac County, which results in smaller kindergarten classes.
Our custodial staff had the buildings looking great and our bus drivers did an exceptional job on day one. Our teaching staff is committed to making this the best year ever, especially after a year of transitioning to trimesters at the middle and high schools.
We've dedicated ourselves this year to reaching EVERY student. Failure is not an option and we've put new programs in place to get students immediate help when they are struggling. We debuted new software this summer that helped more than 20 students regain lost credits. This same software can be used during the year to aide students who fall behind.
Here's to a terrific school year ahead!!
Sincerely,
Kevin D. Miller, Ph.D.
Cros-Lex Schools Superintendent
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