Monday, February 28, 2011

High School SPEECH Team

Congratulations to the YHS Speech Team for their 2nd place finish in the 2011 Central Conference Speech Meet. Our speech team, under the leadership of Sally Baldridge and Katie Burger, is having an excellent season.

Speech is an outstanding activity that helps prepare our students for their bright futures. Conducting research, preparing speeches, modifying thoughts, working with partners, meeting stringent deadlines, keeping crazy hours, etc. all play a major role in the day-to-operations of a speech participant.

GOOD LUCK to the Dukes as they continue on with the season. We're rooting for you!

Monday, February 21, 2011

School Calendar

York Public Schools has a 2011-12 school calendar ready for board of education consideration. Next year's calendar looks a lot like this year's. Here are some highlights for 2011-12:

* New Teacher Orientation on August 10th
* All Staff reports on August 11th
* 1st day of school on August 16th
* 1st Semester ends at 2:00 on December 21st
* Christmas Break from December 22nd - January 3rd
* 2nd Semester begins on January 4th
* Spring Break is March 8th-9th
* Easter Break is April 6th and 9th
* Last Day of School is May 18th
* Graduation is May 20th

Thursday, February 10, 2011

What defines you?

Thanks to York General Hospital for putting on a "coaches' clinic" last night at Chances "R." The information on services that are provided for high school student-athletes was outstanding.

Obviously, the highlight of the night was when Coach Carl Pelini took the microphone and talked for 45 minutes. It was great to listen to his stories about the changes that the NU football program is going through.

Just like Husker football, York Public Schools has to stay focused on who we are and what defines us. In times of budget cuts and revenue shortfalls, we can't lose sight of the fact that we're in "business" to do great things for kids; to provide opportunities for kids, and to help ALL kids achieve success.

Change is going to remain a constant. We'll be dealing with new curriculum expectations, more unfunded mandates, improving technology, etc. for the rest of our careers. What we can't afford to change is our commitment to our core values.

* Hard Work
* Creativity
* Commitment to ALL students

Thursday, February 3, 2011

Facility Committee studying potential needs at York High School

We're inviting anyone interested to join our YHS Facility Committee. The purpose of this group is to tour our building, listen to information from school administration, analyze potential proposals from architects, and then decide whether or not this group recommends that the Board should look into addressing facility needs.

We had our first meeting on February 2nd and 24 community members attended. We're hoping for more attendees at our next meeting on February 21st.

Schedule of Meetings:
Meeting #2 Monday, February 21st @ 7:00 PM
Meeting #3 Tuesday, March 29th @ 7:00 PM
Meeting #4 Wednesday, April 13th @ 7:00 PM
Findings/Recommendations Presented to Board on April 25th @ 7:00 PM

Meeting #2:
- Overview of preliminary findings from DLR Architecture Firm
- Presentation of potential solutions/options from DLR
- Committee to provide feedback on things they’d like to see DLR pursue
- More time to tour the facility and conduct a question/answer session

Meeting #3:
- DLR to present POTENTIAL ideas on scope of project and potential costs
- DLR to present POTENTIAL ideas on potential timeline of renovation work
- More time tour the facility and conduct a question/answer session
- Committee discussion on what action (if any) they want to take
to Prepare for meeting #4 by providing DLR with direction and input

Meeting #4:
- Iron out details of POTENTIAL scope and costs to recommend to board (if any)
- If necessary, organize a committee from within this group that will present
at the April 25th Board of Education meeting


District Financial Overview
o 2010-11 district valuation = $701,347,622
This means each penny on our levy = $70,134
Over the past 15 years our valuation has averaged a 4.7% annual increase

o 2010-11 Tax Levy and Bonded Indebtedness Update
Overall Tax Levy of $1.264150
General Fund @ $1.06+ (statutory limit of $1.05 + exclusions)

 Bond Fund @ $0.15+
YES will be paid off on May 15th
YMS bonds of $9,600,000 began in May 2006 and expire in December 2026
This past fall the Board of Education took advantage of low interest rates and re-financed these bonds to save $1,197,607 of real dollars that won’t have to be levied for

 Qualified Capital Purpose Fund @ $0.04
Indoor air quality/HVAC improvements
$1,630,000 paid off between December 2004-December 2014
$715,000 paid off between October 2007-October 2017

 Building Fund @ $0.007 (70% of one penny = $49,093)
Need to get this up to $.03 but with impending cuts in state aid over the next two years, it’s not going to happen anytime soon


• York High School Information
 Turning 36 years old this spring (dedicated in 1975)
 Currently has 440 students
 Changes in programming between 1975-2011
• Increased emphasis on technology integration
• Increased emphasis on school safety
* SPED programming and accessibility
• More extracurricular programs and offerings
o Especially with female programs and sports

 No major renovations have ever been done
• In 1978, the “pottery area” was added to the art room
• In February 1988, the “Senior Hallway” added the guidance offices and three classrooms
• In 2005, HVAC replacements and repairs took place as well as the addition of a sprinkler system for fire safety
• In June 2010, energy efficient lighting was installed in the gym through an incentive program with NPPD
• Over the years a few exterior doors have been replaced and windows have been worked on as needed but not in the recent past

• Involvement of DLR
 Architecture firm out of Omaha that handled our new YMS building and the renovations we made to YES this past summer
 Were selected by our building and grounds committee after interviews and visits this past December