Dearborn school officials say they are canceling the flu shot clinic scheduled for Friday, October 16 and Tuesday, October 20, because of vaccine shortages.

Due to the increased number of people getting the seasonal flu vaccine, the City of Dearborn Health Department will not have enough doses available to supply the flu shot clinic scheduled for those two dates, Dearborn schools said in a release Thursday.

School officials say when the City’s Health Department has a new supply of seasonal flu shots the District will work with them to reschedule a seasonal flu shot clinic.

In a letter to parents on the district’s website, Dearborn School Supt. Brian J. Whiston said Monday afternoon that a student at Edsel Ford High School has a confirmed case of the H1N1 flu. It is the first known case in the district.

Below is the letter from Supt. Whiston:

The H1N1 flu has received a lot of attention and therefore the district felt it was important to tell the community about the first confirmed case in the district. However, because health officials are less worried about the severity of this flu and are unable to predict how widespread it will become, the district will not be sending home a letter each time they receive notice of a confirmed case. If further reports indicate that the H1N1 flu would impact the operation of school, then the district will provide relevant information to the community.

 The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) is not recommending school closure in the event of a single case or even mild outbreaks of the H1N1 flu. School closures will only be considered if a large number of students or staff members are absent. District administration will inform parents in the event of a school closure.

If a school or schools need to be closed for any reason, the district reminds parents to please plan ahead and have a family discussion to decide who would care for their child if his/her school were closed. Remember if school is closed, students should not gather at another location, but rather stay home to avoid continued spread of flu outside of school.

Earlier in the year the district sent home a “Frequently Asked Questions” document to help answer questions and provide accurate information about the H1N1 flu. Parents and community members can access that information on the district’s website, www.dearbornschools.org. There are many actions everyone can do to keep schools open and functioning in a normal manner this school year and the District is asking for parents help.

 — Teach your children how to reduce the risk of getting and spreading flu viruses by:

● Washing hands often. Wash with soap and hot water for at least 20 seconds.

● Using hand sanitizer. Gels and rubs with at least 60% alcohol are effective.

● Coughing or sneezing into their sleeve or elbow – not their hands!

 — If you suspect your child is getting or has the flu, it is important s/he does not attend school or go anywhere else. If your child is sick, keep him/her home for at least 24 hours after being free of fever, without fever reducing medication.

 — Please remember that you must notify the school when your child will be absent. If you are keeping your child home due to flu or flu-like symptoms, please share that information with the school when reporting the absence.

Please know that the district will make decisions based on the recommendations of city, county, and state public health organizations as well as the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). The Dearborn Public Schools will provide parents and the community with new information as it becomes available.

Less than five months after the Dearborn School Board of Education approved a budget that included $10.2 million in cuts, the district now could be forced to slash an additional $6 million this school year as a result of actions by our elected officials in Lansing.

And if that isn’t bad enough, for the 2010-2011 school year the state of Michigan could be eliminating as much as $500 per student.

In a recent letter to his staff, Dearborn School Supt. Brian J. Whiston outlined what the school district could face in the coming days. Below is a copy of the letter:

Greetings,

The State of Michigan has only a few days until the October 1 deadline to finalize the state budget and I’m sure that information coming out of Lansing has changed since this letter was drafted. However, despite the ever changing news, I would like to take a brief moment to try and recap where we are as a district regarding our budget and what the news from Lansing will mean to all of us here in the Dearborn Public Schools.

Where the District stood as of September 3 in regard to the 2009-10 Budget

Budget assumptions made to create the 2009-10 budget:

                       Original (6/30/2009)       Revised (9/3/2009)

Compensation      $5,000,000                               $5,000,000

State Aid Reduction($100/pp)  1,800,000                —-

State Aid Reduction($265/pp)      —-                     (4,800,000)

Stimulus Restoration($265/pp)    —-                      4,800,000

31-a At-Risk Reduction(25%)         —-                    1,500,000

Pension Increase(16.54% to 16.94% )1,000,000        400,000

Inflation(benefits, utilities, etc)  1,000,000               1,000,000             

Special Education (Act 18 deficit) 1,000,000            1,000,000

2009 Fund Balance      750,000                            750,000

 TOTAL Deficit     $10,550,000                           $9,650,000

Here is brief explanation of each item:

• $5 million in compensation – The district will spend $5 million more in 2009-10 than in 2008-09 to pay for the salaries of all employees.

• $1.8 million state aid reduction ($100/per pupil) – At the time the 2009-10 budget was being put together (January – June of 09) the district was told by sources in Lansing to expect anywhere from a $75 to $125 cut in per pupil funding (called the Foundation Grant). We chose to use a $100 figure in building the budget. The actual reduction in per pupil funding is $265 per student. The state of Michigan will use federal stimulus money to “plug” that hole and make up the $265 cut to keep per pupil funding at the 2008-09 level. Please read the information below to understand how this has changed in the last few weeks.

• 31-a At-Risk reduction – Originally these funds were not going to be touched but, over the summer, 31-a funds became a target for reductions. The district was told that 25% of 31-a funding could be cut.

• Pension increase (16.54% to 16.94%) – This is the amount the district pays to the state that goes into the pension fund. Again, back in the spring of 2009, we were being told to expect a 1% increase. There is actually good news here as the increase is only going to be .4 %.

• Inflation (benefits, utilities, etc.) – This is a projected increase in expenses due to inflation.

• Special Education (Act 18 deficit) – The county provides Special Education services to students in all districts through a series of “Center Programs.” A few years ago voters in Wayne County approved a millage that covered the cost of these Center Programs. However, expenses will once again outpace revenue and the county will be asking each school district to “pay them back” for the use of the Center Program. The district projects that we will need to pay the county $2 million from the general budget in 2010-11. The plan is to take $1 million from the general budget this year and $1 million next year to cover the $2 million.

• 2009 fund balance – The district used $750,000 from the fund balance for the 2008-09 budget. If we don’t reduce the 2009-10 budget by $750,000, we will once again be short.

The original projected deficit for 2009-10 was $10.5 million. After revisions to the revenue and pension assumptions, the total deficit was reduced to $9.6 million. Since the number is based on estimates we chose to reduce $10.2 million and use that figure as the projected deficit amount.

What has happened since June?

Over the summer the House of Representatives passed a state budget for 2009-10 and then State Senators went to work on their version. A committee made up of both Senators and Representatives are working to finalize a budget to present to the Governor for her approval. The following shows how the current budget discussion in Lansing will impact Dearborn Public Schools. The budget discussions in Lansing are changing by the day and by the hour. The information below could look the same or very different before the October 1 budget deadline in Lansing. We will continue to keep you updated as information becomes available.

Where we are at on September 23 with the 2009-10 Budget

Current discussions in Lansing regarding reductions and their impact on our district:

             Possible Reduction, Option C

 31-a At-Risk      $1,500,000

$218 per pupil     $4,000,000

GSRP                $1,623,000

                       $7,123,000

Already budgeted  ($1,500,000)

                         $5,623,000

Carry over            $2,000,000

TOTAL Reduction  $7,623,000

Here is brief explanation of each item:

• 31-a At-Risk – The discussion in Lansing has once again turned to cutting part or all of the 31-a funding our district receives. This money is used to provide support and instruction to at-risk students across the district.

• $218 per pupil – In the first set of numbers the federal stimulus money was used to keep districts from losing per-pupil funding. However, even with federal stimulus dollars the state doesn’t have enough money to provide the current level of funding and therefore needs to reduce the Foundation Grant by $218.

• GSRP (Great Start Readiness Program) – The GSRP program is for children who are not yet in kindergarten but have been identified as being academically at-risk. This program is structured instruction taught by certified teachers that make sure children enter kindergarten at the same academic level as their peers. The proposed cut would eliminate the program.

• Already budgeted – In June, and again in September, the district made assumptions on state revenues. The September revision assumed a $1.5 million reduction in state funding. This amount was part of the $9.6 million deficit and expenses were already reduced to address the $1.5 million projected loss.

• Carry over – This amount is being carried over from the 2008-09 budget due to several reasons including a reduction in revenue late in the year, planned cuts that were not fully implemented, and unanticipated costs.

• Total Reduction- Depending on what budget proposal lawmakers in Lansing finally agree to, the district could face $7.6 million in reductions. This is above and beyond the $10.2 million that was already cut from the 2009-10 budget when it was approved back in June. It’s important to remember that state law sets our budget year starting July 1 while the state’s budget year begins October 1. The state provides us with the money to operate but has not determined how much they are going to give us until we are one quarter into our fiscal year.

What are we doing now?

The district administration, including all principals, has been working since late August to identify additional areas to reduce the budget. Even if all funding is restored we still have a structural problem that will continue to impact our budget year after year until it is addressed. In addition, any federal money that was used to make up shortfalls in the 2008-09 budget and the 2009-10 budget will not be around for the 2010-11 budget. It is very likely that the 2010-11 school year will be hit with a big reduction in per student funding, possibly as much as $500 per student.

Although we face some difficult decisions, I am confident that the recommendations from our staff, principals and administrators will continue to focus on improving instruction and providing a quality education to the students in our district. How we run our district and how our students attend school may look different, but please know that the work of our district, educating children, will always drive our budget decisions.

Regards,

Brian J. Whiston

Superintendent

We’ve had a lot of discussion on these pages about the quality of education in our state and many of our communities. Now a new survey says that public assessment of schools has fallen to its lowest level in nearly three decades.

According to a recently released Education Next poll put out by the Hoover Institution, public assessment of schools has fallen to the lowest level recorded since Americans were first asked to grade schools in 1981. Just 18 percent of those surveyed gave schools a grade of an A or a B, down from 30 percent reported by a Gallup poll as recently as 2005.

No less than 25 percent of those polled by Education Next gave the schools either an F or a D. (In 2005, only 20 percent gave schools such low marks.)

For the full story, click HERE.

More Sleep Equals Better Grades, Healthier Students

What is the best time to start school for a high school student? Opinions vary but early school start times are a medically proven detriment to health and education.

Dearborn school leaders appear to have finally come to that realization and are now asking parents and students to take part in an online survey to determine the merits of changing the high school start time from the current 7:20 a.m. to something later. A time change could be implemented as soon as the 2010/2011 school year.

Now we all know changing school start times can be very challenging for school districts because of busing schedules, kids missing more classes because of early release for sports activities and to parents. Some students also are concerned that being in school later would cut into after-school jobs and extra-curricular activities.

Later start times might also impact teachers, who as adults do not need more sleep to function better. Will these longer days mean less efficient teachers at the end of the day simply because of fatigue?

While difficult to determine, there are many studies that have been done over the past decade that show pushing back start times to allow teenagers to get the sleep they need yields positive results. In no particular order, studies have shown these advantages to students who get more sleep:

• Better grades;

• Less likelihood of experiencing depressed moods;

• Reduced likelihood for tardiness;

• Reduced absenteeism;

• Reduced risk of fall asleep car crashes; and

• Reduced risk of metabolic and nutritional deficits associated with insufficient sleep, including obesity.

We don’t have the exact number of schools or districts that have pushed back there start times over the past five years but the figure is in the hundreds. Clearly, those school districts have deemed it a positive priority to add sleep to the school curriculum at all grade levels.

As there are advantages and some disadvantages to starting later, the online survey by the Dearborn school district is a good way to get input from the community to attempt to tailor a solution that can work for all.

To take part in the survey, which ends Sept. 30, click HERE.

Dearborn High School will hold a ribbon cutting ceremony this Friday at 6:30 p.m. for the school’s $2.9 million athletic complex renovation. The ceremony will take place on the school’s new synthetic turf football field prior to the start of the Sept. 18 football matchup with cross town rival Fordson High School.

Dearborn High School will celebrate its new football field and athletic complex this Friday, Sept. 18. This earlier photograph shows the synthetic turf being installed.

As a Dearborn High graduate, I’m still having a hard time adjusting to the relocation of the football field from the valley to alongside busy Outer Drive. Don’t get me wrong, the field looks great and so do the new stands. It’s just the wrong place for a football field and the home seats are actually constructed on the wrong side of the new stadium (the sun is supposed to shine in the faces of the visiting team, not the home team sideline). In addition, noise complaints from nearby residents have forced the school to turn down the volume of the loudspeakers at the new football field.

We can’t help but wonder what the field would have looked like if the School Board had taken up the City of Dearborn’s offer to pay for the costs of moving clay and dirt from the holes being dug for the combined sewer overflow basins and used it to raise the grass field in the valley.

A Dearborn Schools spokesman confirms the city did indeed make such an offer but it wasn’t as simple as filling the valley up with dirt to raise the field out of the flood plain. The quality of the soil that would have been trucked from holes along the Rouge River to the school was unknown and would have needed testing. In addition, the school district would have had to create a new flood plain in another location to match the exact size of whatever was changed in the valley of Dearborn High. While an interesting idea, those obstacles stopped the plan before it could ever get traction.

For those wondering, the $2.9 million price tag at Dearborn High covered the complete renovation of all athletic property at the school. The athletic complex renovation project began with the west complex in the spring of 2008. The complex includes a new synthetic turf football field, grandstands, press box, concession stand, new tennis courts, new softball field, renovated baseball field and renovated track.

The Dearborn High project is the final piece of a three year district-wide program to renovate the athletic facilities at all three high schools. A great deal of work was accomplished at Dearborn High over the summer. The school held their first gridiron match-up on their new synthetic turf field on Sept. 4, 2009.

Costs associated with general maintenance, wear from regular use and complaints about noise from some nearby residents has forced Dearborn schools to limit the number of tennis courts it now keeps open to the public.

Costs have forced Dearborn Schools to lock some of the tennis courts at Edsel, Fordson and Dearborn High's new courts, pictured here. Residents behind these courts have complained recently about noise.

 The move has upset some residents who contend that as taxpayers they should have unfettered use of a school’s tennis facilities. We have received several emails from upset tennis players in recent weeks saying as much.

One such reader had this to say in an email to us:

“Either courts have been demolished, a la at Henry Ford and UM Dearborn, or they are all locked up at Dearborn High or at Ford Field. We pay our school taxes and are funding the new football stadium, which the jury is still out if it is completely necessary.

“They have built some lovely new courts at the high school, but no one can use them. What is going on here? Who do you have to know to get keys?”

With shrinking school budgets, school officials tell us they had to lock some tennis courts at Dearborn, Edsel and Fordson for simple cost reasons. They also wanted to be sure students had good surfaces to play on when the school year began.

If people are simply “hanging out” late into the night at the new courts behind Dearborn High, as some residents are complaining about, closing off some courts was the right move.

Now we know some will disagree but as a tennis player myself, the question I have is why some of our city parks don’t have more tennis courts. Our guess is that there simply isn’t the tennis traffic needed to warrant such a move. Another, no doubt, is the cost to maintain and keep the courts lighted at night.

This of course begs this question: if the hard-surface tennis courts are being closed for maintenance concerns and wear does that mean the new football fields with their fancy artificial field will also be closed to those hoping to play on when the football or soccer team isn’t using them?

Here are the new tennis court operations at Dearborn High School: 

The (2) courts near Outer Drive to be open all of the time

The (3) courts in the back of the building to be opened as follows:

· From 7:30am – 3:30pm every day that the school building is open.

· For DHS tennis team use (practice and matches) – must be coach/staff supervised

· For all permit use (limited)

Dearborn School Supt. Superintendent Brian J. Whiston is making some personnel changes at Dearborn’s middle and elementary schools.

Whiston appointed three new principals at the middle school level last week. His selections must now be approved by the School Board, whose next meeting is in July. The moves at the middle school come as a result of recent retirements.

The changes at the middle schools look like this:

1. Shannon Peterson is named Bryant Middle School principal. She previously was assistant principal at the school.
2. Scott Casebolt is named O.L. Smith Middle School principal. He was an assistant principal at Fordson High School and a former O.L. Smith assistant principal.
3. Majed Fadlallah is named Salina Intermediate School principal. He was assistant principal at Salina and a former assistant principal at Fordson.

The changes at the elementary school level look like this:

1. Radewin Awada, previously DuVall Elementary principal, is named Oakman Elementary principal.
2. Veronica Jakubus, previously Long Elementary principal, is named DuVall Elementary principal.
3. Kathleen Klee, previously Snow Elementary principal, is named Long Elementary principal.
4. Glenn Maleyko, previously Salina Intermediate principal, is named Snow Elementary principal.

Talk about a student going above and beyond.

Edsel Ford High School senior Danielle Boettger designed and built a kayak in her high school woodshop class.

Boettger spent 100 hours on her kayak, working toward her special launch day, which took place last Friday in Edsel’s pool, where friends, family, school administrators watched and cheered as she demonstrated her “rolling” techniques.

Boettger’s headed to Michigan Tech University on a full ride scholarship. We say well done and good luck at university. Below is the video story:

Turf for the new football field is scheduled to be installed by month's end.

The artificial turf for Dearborn High School’s new million dollar football field is expected to be installed by month’s end.

Below are some images of the current state of the new field that is being installed along Outer Drive. For those wondering, the home team’s bleachers will be on the east side of the field. The visiting team bleachers will back up to Outer Drive.

We aren’t thrilled with the location of the new field, which we have said before HERE.  But we are told this is progress and the field will be ready for Pioneer football this fall.

Looking toward Dearborn High School from behind the yet-to-be installed scoreboard.