David Ctiy's merger proposal for RCPS

Here is the proposal made by David City Public Schools for a merger with Rising City Public Schools.

Intent of Proposal: It is the intent of the David City Public Schools' Board of Education to work cooperatively with the Rising City Board of Education to create a Butler County enlarged district that would meet the educational needs of the district and work to discover options to improve the total system. The proposal is based on the following principles and beliefs:

1. The David City Public Schools system is fully accredited by the Nebraska Department of Education and North Central AdvancED. We have recently obtained District Accreditation which identifies the PK-12 grade system as qualified as a District highly motivated to follow a system of continuous improvement. We believe that merging of the Rising City and David City districts would promote this accreditation.

2. It is the belief of the David City Public Schools that a merger arrangement should be a win-win arrangement for all parties. Both districts should bring positive qualities and add value to the enlarged district.

3. We believe that a school is an integral part of a community. Therefore, the need to maintain some form of educational opportunity in the Rising City facility is important.

4. Maintaining fiscal responsibility to taxpayers has, and will continue to be, an important factor in a merger relationship.

5. We believe there are ancillary benefits from a merger of school districts in the same (Butler) county.

6. A merger agreement has specific legal requirement which must be stated in writing in an agreement. Our proposal is our intent based on the integrity of the current board, however we cannot commit, nor can any Board, commit a future Board to the proposed arrangements.

7. We believe that planning to create a long term positive effect on both school districts must be the ultimate goal.

Description of Current David City District:

David City Public School is a PK-12th grade school system that could easily be described as a "traditional" educational setting for students. Preschool through sixth grade students attend in one of two buildings with one being located in David City and one being located in Bellwood. The seventh through twelfth grade students attend classes in the Middle School/High School building. Core subjects including math, science, language arts, and social studies are supported by career classes, fine arts, and elective courses. While having a traditional perspective, the district stays up-to-date on current trends, emphasizing 21st century learning and advanced technology opportunities to provide students with challenging, engaging skills.

The student body is made up of what could best be described as "small town" kids. Diversity, which is seen as a strength, comes from a public school enrollment of a variety of socio-economic classes, a few English as Second Language students, and special needs students. This diversity leads to a school climate that reflects the greater society, thus adding to the overall educational opportunity for students.

In addition to a sound educational program, students have a wide variety of options for participation. Included are athletic options including football, volleyball, and cross country in the fall, basketball and wrestling in the winter, and track and golf in the spring. For students favoring the Fine Arts a variety of music, theatre, speech, and art classes and competitions are available. Mock Trial, Speech, and One-Act are all successful activities available to students. Organizations that provide leadership and engagement opportunities for students include FFA, FCCLA, National Honor Society, and Stay-U.

The proposal we are submitting would provide inclusion opportunities for students from Rising City to participate in the educational options and involvement possibilities that are stated above.

RESPONSE TO YOUR STATED GOALS

Goal #1-Keep an attendance center in Rising City for as long as possible.

Options considered include:

* Middle School

A middle school concept with Rising City as the host facility was considered. However, we do not believe this option is fiscally feasible. To operate a middle school in a separate facility would require a fully endorsed teaching staff. This would include core subject teachers as well as career education teachers, PE, and music. In addition to remain fully accredited a guidance counselor and media specialist would be required. When we "penciled out" the cost of this staff, we discovered that this would increase the budget in excess of a combined revenue based on our current tax levy. There may be options to utilize instructional staff that are not fully endorsed in their subject areas, however this would diminish the educational offerings that we currently have. Referring to the statements above, #1, #2, and #4 could not be accomplished.

* Elementary School

We would recommend that in the initial years of the merged school districts that an elementary attendance site be continued in Rising City. It is likely that due to numbers, classes would have to be combined. The exact configuration of an elementary attendance center would have to be determined based on student numbers. Options include a PK-4 grade or PK-6 grade arrangement. Numbers of teachers also depend on student numbers and the resulting class sizes. The longevity of this arrangement depends on the same factors, i. e. number of students, number of teachers, and other use of the facility. We have a history of using this model in Bellwood. However, we also realize the need to understand it may not be a long term solution. A history of the schools in Bruno and Abie reflect this concern. The principles above would be realized through keeping an elementary site in Rising City for as long as feasible.

* Magnet School Center

We would recommend that the merged school district set a goal to create an enlarged education opportunity for high school students. Schools and students in the 21st century are experiencing the need to provide options to meet needs. School districts in larger cities have had success providing a "magnet" school option to students. Rural school districts can benefit by having a similar option. There are many possibilities including, but not limited to:

* a career academy setting

* an agri-science or agri-business setting

* a technology setting

* an entrepreneur center

* a culinary arts center

* a hands-on building center

* an automotive skills training center

* a "Green" systems training center

These examples are provided as options to investigate. A survey of students, community, and other stakeholders to determine needs would be required. It would be unrealistic, and very likely to fail, if we were to state a definite program of study with this proposal. A planning team would need to be developed to "create" the program of study that would be offered. This planning team would be selected from current staff members, community members, stakeholders, and field experts. After careful study and planning, a program would be instituted using the Rising City facility. A cautiously designed program would have the most likelihood of having long term success thus achieving #7 above.

Current facilities at David City would not allow us to implement this type of program. The Rising City facility provides an opportunity for development. Numbers 2 and 3 above would be realized.

* Gym/Football Field

Currently we utilize the city owned auditorium for our middle school and junior varsity competitions with other school districts. Also, this facility is used for practices. We would utilize the gym and football field in Rising City for events. We have visited the facility and would have every intent of using these facilities as much as possible. We would achieve #2, #3, #4, #5, and #7.

Goal # 2-Educational Opportunities

David City Public Schools provide a well-rounded curriculum with educational opportunities that meet and exceed the Nebraska Department of Education (NDE) base requirements. Attached as an appendix to this proposal is the most recent curriculum summary provided by NDE, which encapsulates an overview of the curriculum offerings. Students from the Rising City district would have access to participate in educational options that they do not currently have available due to the curriculum David City has in place. This would achieve beliefs #1, #5, and #7.

Our proposal is motivated by the potential to increase educational opportunities for our students also, thus achieving the win-win as outlined in #2 above. The first objective is to make sure that educational opportunities do not diminish through inadequate planning. Therefore, it is our proposal to commit to an agreement to constantly and seriously establish educational opportunities as a primary goal when developing a plan of action for the enlarged district. We do not feel that a specific plan can be stated in this proposal. Such a plan would be premature and without thorough investigation. However, establishing a relationship built on trust will ensure that the primary goal for all of us will be to maintain and provide an environment of educational opportunities for our children.

It is our belief that there is a great deal of potential to provide an opportunity that does not currently exist in the form of a magnet (or academy if this is a preferred description) setting as described above. We do not believe that it is feasible to maintain a system that closely resembles the current K-12 system or even a large portion of that system. More of the same is not the answer. To truly have additional educational opportunities, we would need to cooperatively develop a program that would have appeal to a specific group of students. Again, thorough and comprehensive planning would be required.

Goal #3-Retain as many certified and non-certified staff as possible.

Our proposal is based on these two premises:

1. State law requires specific procedures to be used when districts merge in regard to teachers. We would follow the legal guidelines for retention of teachers. If a reduction in force (RIF) was required, we would follow the David City Board of Education RIF policy. This is required by law.

To maintain an instructional site, certain non-certified staff will be needed. We would need to review the needs, but office personnel and custodial staff would likely be needed. Depending on the final plan for educational programs, paras may be needed.

2. We would use #4 as the guide to maintain a budget that does not create an increase in tax revenue for taxpayers. David City Public School is a non-equalized district. Therefore, we do not receive direct state aid from the equalization formula. Our proposal is based on allowing tax revenue based on our tax levy for District #56 to determine the number of staff that could be hired to conduct the program in Rising City. One concern that we do have is the rate of pay for the non-certified staff. In a review of your current pay, the rate is higher than our current non-certified pay in many cases. This may require an adjustment.

Goal # 4-Option Students

As you stated in your request for a proposal, state law will affect the status of option students. Both districts, Rising City and David City, currently have option students from each others' district. The key to how this would impact the enlarged school district's budget depends on the impact the option enrollment allowance offered through state funding has on dollars received from the state. If you have a positive option balance, i. e. more option in than option out, you receive a state payment per student. Our option balance has generally been to the positive, but by only a few students. Approaching this from a financial basis, we would not anticipate any significant change.

In regard to busing, David City attendance boundaries are within 2-3 miles of the Pawnee Park pick-up site you referenced. In order to determine if it would be feasible for us to continue to run this route, we would need to study the number of students involved, the condition of buses, and project the budget implications involved with busing. We realize that this is a nebulous answer, however we don't want to propose a definite yes and find out that the costs prohibit this from happening. We will transport students that live within the boundaries of the district and will make every attempt to honor those arrangements you have established. The recent trend to recruit students that you have initiated would not continue which may lead to a decrease in the demand for transportation.

We do not run an activity van and would not plan to do so. If middle school or junior varsity games or practices are conducted in the Rising City gym, we would transport participants.

Goal #5-Board representation from the Rising City community.

Our proposal would be to set up a 9-member board in the legal merger agreement. This would allow 3 members of the Rising City Board to become members of the enlarged school district Board for the next election cycle. We have a history of cooperation when a merger occurs. This was the exact plan that was implemented when Bellwood merged with David City. A 9-member Board of Education would be created for two years. When an election cycle occurs, the terms of those board members would expire as established in the merger agreement. This is one component of our proposal that can be guaranteed. Once the Board returns to a 6-member board, the seats are at-large. The board members on the 9-member board whose terms expire, can file to run again if they wish, or anyone from the enlarged district can run. It would be possible to have 0 members or 6 members or any number in between from Rising City.

Referring back to our guiding principles, #5 and #7 steer us in the direction we envision this merger would create. We fully intend to promote community involvement. Our proposal is based on the belief that Butler County is a community and we are "in this together." An empty building in Rising City or a facility that is underused does not benefit an enlarged district. Keeping students and employees in that building will bring activity into the Rising City community. We realize that this is important to you and likewise it is important to us.