Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Some websites to help you stay informed

Here are a few websites that have additional information about our current situation and school funding:

Michigan Department of Education: to find out more about the Race to the Top, K-12 Education Funding, the latest on the economy, and curriculum parameters.

Washtenaw County Education Association (WCEA): to find out more about the county-wide Education Association.

Michigan Education Association (MEA): to find out more about the state Education Association.

Washtenaw Intermediate School District (WISD): our regional educational service agency.

Office of State Aid and School Finance (MDE): part of the Michigan Department of Education's website that gives information on school funding.

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Latest News about Saline Area Schools

Happy New Year! The start of the new year has brought some encouraging and also some discouraging news for Saline Area Schools.

To start with some good news: Governor Granholm has announced that the additional $127 per pupil reduction that was proposed in November has been canceled. We are still seeing a reduction of $165 per pupil for this current school year of 2009/2010. There has been no mention of what will come of per pupil reductions for the 2010/2011 school year.

Unfortunately some bad news: There are more rumors and rumblings of some serious changes that may be in store for Saline Area Schools. These stories are coming from all types of sources, some reliable and some not so reliable. The latest rumor was addressed by Superintendent Scot Graden on the Saline Area Schools website. Please educate yourself on the various stories that are circulating and please do not blindly believe the rumors.

There is more Saline Area Schools budget information on the Budget Blog.

Please stay updated on various Saline Area Schools information, community conversations, or general updates on the direction of our District on the Superintendent's Blog.

Our plea to everyone in the Saline Area Schools community ... PLEASE attend our Board of Education meetings. You don't need to be vocal but you need to be informed! We, as parents, need to be there for the sake of our students and for our future of Saline education!

The next Board of Education meeting is Tuesday, January 12th at Liberty School Media Center at 6:30pm. It is important that our community rallies around our students. Our children NEED to be the focus of this ongoing situation.

If you have comments or suggestions or would like to get on the email loop for Saline Pride, please email salinepride@gmail.com

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

The trip to Lansing has been temporarily postponed. Michigan PTSA (Parent/Teacher/Student Association) is heading there on Wednesday with a powerful message for our decision makers. We will be pulling together other options to have our voices heard in Lansing. If you have any suggestions, please feel free to email me at salinepride@gmail.com. Together, as a community, we CAN and WILL make a difference!

Friday, November 27, 2009

We're heading to Lansing!

We are going to Lansing to have our voices heard for the sake of the students of Saline Area Schools! Parents, community members ... ANYONE concerned about education funding is invited to come along and help. If you are unable to travel with us to Lansing, we are encouraging you to write a letter that we can bring along! We want our representatives to KNOW that we are going to be vocal on the issue of continuously cutting K-12 funding!