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Wayne-Westland leader details need to reinvent district; By Julie Brown • OBSERVER STAFF WRITER •
Topic Started: Sep 6 2009, 10:14 AM (1,135 Views)
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Bad economic news has hit the Wayne-Westland Community Schools, and Superintendent Greg Baracy knows it all too well.

“We can't any longer maintain the status quo,” he said of the lack of legislative action on school funding during the largest deficit since the Great Depression. “There is absolutely no relief in sight.”

Speaking at Westland Rotary, Baracy cited the “ongoing structural problem” of the last decade. There's been no inflationary increase in school funds in eight years, he said, and money taken back by the state three of those years.

Michigan's lost some 107,000 students in the last five years, and the per-pupil funds that accompany them. “They're moving out of the state with their families,” said Baracy, adding new graduates are also leaving for jobs.

He detailed the district's 21st Century Schools Initiative, which began in June. District officials and the school board have already cut over $18 million from the operating budget. The district also includes students from Canton.

The 21st Century effort aims toward district reform, including cuts, and reimagining and doing differently the work of educating students. Baracy said 17 percent of payroll goes to the state's retirement fund for educators, and health insurance costs $15,000 average per staffer.
“We're at a point where we're trying to be proactive,” he said.

In Wayne-Westland, a citizen committee and the school board are working on what the superintendent called “right-sizing,” which could include closing buildings. The plans could include reconfiguration of grade levels.

Baracy pointed out the need to be transparent, to avoid the difficulties experienced by the Livonia school district with its recent Legacy effort.
“We're going to have to look at our schools and possibly some school closings,” Baracy said. Some buildings are now at 50 percent capacity, which is too low.

“It's very emotional for adults,” he said of school closings, adding students tend to have few problems when buildings close. Baracy was involved in closing several Wayne-Westland schools in 1994, and said that went well although some parents were emotional.

New opportunities, like instrumental music and foreign language in elementaries, will be possible, if savings come through.


He described the Big Three automakers' fate: “You know what happened to them. We're no different.” School districts need to avoid state takeover or bankruptcy, Baracy said.
The Wayne-Westland district now has about a $9 million annual deficit.

One Rotarian was concerned about young teens in the same school as 18-year-olds. The plans aren't complete, Baracy said, but probable configurations would be K-4, 5-6, 7-8 and the current 9-12 for high school.

He said research shows children and teens so grouped do well educationally and developmentally.

He agreed the William D. Ford Career-Technical Center has a great reputation and serves students well. Baracy's concerned about new state requirements for graduation that limit electives students can take.

“I'll bet there aren't many people in this room that use Algebra II,” which is required, he said. Baracy favors courses like electronics and computer-aided design that teach similar concepts to students who have trouble with Algebra II.

The district hopes to present the plan to the school board this coming January and begin implementation in fall 2010.


http://www.hometownlife.com/article/20090903/NEWS24/909030546/1041/NEWS24/W-W+s+Baracy+details+need+to+reinvent+district





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Wayne-Westland Community Schools
21st Century Schools Committee
Minutes: July 21, 2009 – 6:00 p.m.

http://wwcsd.net/assets/pdfs/century-committee/072109.pdf

http://wwcsd.net/assets/pdfs/century-committee/062909.pdf
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Deleted User
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If you want to share your thoughts with our Wayne-Westland neighbors, be sure to read and post on the Westland Observer page.

http://www.hometownlife.com/section/NEWS24

Not much point in re-hashing it on the Livonia Observer page, where it will fall on deaf ears. Posts on the Livonia story (even though it is the same story) will not show up on the Westland story.
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August 13, 2009 School initiative has tight timetable
Scott Spielman
Editor

The Wayne-Westland Community School District has set an aggressive timetable for its 21st Century Schools Initiative.

The group of about 80 residents, teachers, and union representatives met for the second time last month and were directed to complete their work during the first part of 2010.

“We want to get it done in an expeditious manner, but we want to do it right,” said School Superintendent Greg Baracy. “The urgency is there.”

The district came up with the 21st Century Schools Initiative in order to plan for the future of the district and tackle the issues faced by Wayne-Westland. Those challenges are the same state-wide, said Baracy. The district is facing a revenue stream that is stagnant at best and most likely declining, while costs are going up. Wayne-Westland is also facing a decline in the student population due to the economy-more and more families are moving out of the state to seek greener pastures.

The 21st Century Schools Initiative will divide the interested stakeholders into several smaller committees that will look at a number of issues as the district attempts to ‘right-size’ facilities and staff in order to best serve the needs of students, said Baracy.

They’ll take a comprehensive look at: facilities, demographics, attendance boundaries, educational opportunities, financial resources and more.

At the last meeting, the groups deciding on their guiding principals and broke up into teams that will look into each one of those areas.

This month, teams will do some fact-finding, looking at things like enrollment levels, building details, class size and classroom capacity, building operating costs and financial projections.
Beginning next month, they’ll start to brainstorm alternatives.

“If we operate under our guidelines and focus on keeping the children first, I think we’ll be able to make it work,” said Baracy.

He said he hopes the groups will come up with recommendations as soon as October or November and begin to present them to the board in December so that they can act on them beginning in January.

School officials may have a better idea of the types of financial issues they’re facing by then. In the ongoing budgetary debate in Lansing, legislators have proposed out different cuts in per-pupil foundation allowance in order to cut a state budget deficit that seems to change every day.

Baracy said the economic uncertainty is one of the reasons to take on this district-wide initiative.

“We have to start planning now,” he said. “There probably will not be any help coming from Lansing. We have to save ourselves.”

http://www.journalgroup.com/Wayne/9985/school-initiative-has-tight-timetable
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Administrator
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21st Century Schools Initiative

http://wwcsd.net/assets/pdfs/century-committee/teams.pdf

http://wwcsd.net/assets/pdfs/century-committee/work-plan.pdf
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IlikeLIvonia
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Pull yer pants down, bend over, and walk in the door backwards.

It's easier if yer prepared for it folks!
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Here is the link to the old Livonia Neighbors forum. It has all the info, and pretty much sums up the whole Legacy Initiative.

http://s14.zetaboards.com/Hull_Neighbors_Net/forum/7361/
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Mrs.M
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As usual you're quite forthright and commendable to try to give WW a heads up to potential D-i-s-a-s-t-e-r.
I'd agree with you, but then we'd both be WRONG.
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:).
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[ *  *  * ]
I just remembered all the great ideas and research from so many parents for so many hours- all on deaf ears (well except two). How many years now?
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