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Wrestlers Make Trip to State

Jackson — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 16:08:28 +0000

Holton qualified five wrestlers for the state tournament. Two out of the five placed. Kane and Drake Lovvorn finished 5th and 4th respectively. The Lovvorn cousins each entered with a hefty resume and high finishes at regionals. Senior Kane finished 1st in regionals, while Junior Drake took 2nd. Other wrestlers that qualified for state included Micah Harmon, Justin Briner, and Adam Luthi. These three all had 4th place finishes in regionals, qualifying them for state. Only Kane, four time qualifier, and Micah, two time qualifier, had experience at reaching Salina. Kane placed the highest he has in four years, surpassing his 6th place finish in 2007. Drake Lovvorn also reached the medal stand with a 4th place finish in his first trip to the state tournament.

Financial Meeting Completed

Jackson — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 15:38:40 +0000

Several community members, the school board, and those employed in the district gathered Monday night to talk about USD 336′s current budget situation. A paper with potential budget cuts was handed out and then those present were able to ask questions and voice their opinion. A few letters that were sent in were also read. The video shows a few highlights of the meeting.

Washburn Tech Scholarship and Information

Jackson — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 15:48:21 +0000

Consortium Scholarship

Students may be eligible for up to $1000 in tuition savings! To qualify, students must graduate from a high school that is a member of the Washburn Tech consortium during the year in which they request the tuition discount. Eligible individuals may continue a program started while enrolled in high school, or enroll in a program at Washburn Tech within 18 months of high school graduation. All students who meet the eligibility guidelines will receive this tuition discount; there is no limit to the number of individuals who will be approved.

For details, contact Student Services at Washburn Tech at 228-6325.

Connection to Washburn University to Earn the Associate Degree

Students who complete a Career Program approved by Kansas Board of Regents are eligible to receive a reduced tuition rate at Washburn University while working toward the associate degree. Students who enroll at Washburn University after taking coursework in an approved program at Washburn Tech will pay $75 per credit hour rather than the typical undergraduate rate of $201 per credit hour.

For details, contact Student Services at Washburn Tech at 228-6325.

Technical training is in High Demand

Approximately 50% of jobs in the workforce require from 1-2 years of specialized training beyond high school. The most recent follow up of Washburn Tech graduates was conducted in January 2010.

Do you know the average starting salary for Industrial Technology graduates? ($23.42)

Do you know the average starting salary for Practical Nursing graduates? ($17.49)

Both of these skill sets are in high demand, in Kansas and throughout the United States.

For admission details, contact Student Services at Washburn Tech at 228-6325.

Open House

The public is invited to Washburn Tech’s Open House on Saturday, March 27, 2010 from noon to 4 p.m. Career training programs will be open throughout campus. Visitors will be able to meet our staff, ask instructors about career opportunities, and see some of the activities students actually do in various career training programs. A financial aid seminar will share information about applying for federal financial aid including grants and low-cost student loans. Details of the enrollment process will be provided at another seminar. In addition, Washburn University advisors will be available to talk about the connection between Washburn Tech certificate programs and the possibility to earn an associate degree at Washburn University. For Open House details, contact Student Services at Washburn Tech at 228-6325.

Consortium Newsletter Topics, Apprd by Jonathan, January 2010

Potential Budget Cuts Announced

Jackson — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 16:01:05 +0000

Potential budget cuts for next year have been released. These are not final decisions, just potential cuts. View the cuts here.

A meeting will be held February 8th at 7:00 P.M. at the Holton High School. Community members are welcome to come and discuss the financial situation and the potential cuts that USD 336 might be facing.

New Budget Information

Jackson — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 16:50:43 +0000

No doubt many of you are aware that Governor Parkinson gave his State of the State address on Monday night. In it he asked the legislature to consider passing a one cent sales tax increase for three years and raise the tobacco tax significantly. These increases would help the state get out of a budget deficit it is currently experiencing. Yesterday Dale Dennis, Deputy Commissioner of Education sent out information on how this would impact districts. He provided two numbers. The first number is what the impact of accepting the recommendation of the one cent sals tax, and the tobacco tax would be, the second number is what the impact would be if the recommendation would not be accepted. For USD 336 accepting the recommendations would mean that we would have to cut $130,000 for the next school year budget. If the legislature did not accept the recommendations and keep revenue coming into the state the same, and the projections that were made actually are received we would have to cut $647,400.

Since the start of the 2008-2009 school year we have had 5 budget cuts. As most of you will recall during the school year last year we had to freeze budgets, stop nearly all staff development, nearly all staff travel, and field trips. As we started the current school year we had cut over $500,000 from the previous years budget. During this school year we have dropped school days, cut classified work days, froze budgets again, little if any staff development, same with travel, and field trips due to the most recent cut that came in November. Attached to this email is a spreadsheet indicating one half million in cuts from last spring and summer.

Whether the legislature adopts the Governor’s recommendation or not school districts across the state are faced with further budget cuts. As you can see from the information above one is much more serious that the other. If the legislature does not accept the Governor’s recommendation we would be receiving state funding comparable to what was received in 1992. At the school board meeting on Monday night the board discussed potential cuts and how these potential cuts would be dealt with. In the next couple of days a list of potential cuts will be circulated for all to view. Please keep in mind these are potential cuts, there has been no decisions made. It is the wish of the board to hear from the patrons (this includes staff) on their wishes and concerns regarding further budget cuts. There will be an open meeting on Monday, February 8, 2010 at Holton High School Library at 7:00 to hear from patrons. If an individual is unable to attend the meeting their point of view will be accepted in written form. I cannot stress enough that the list which will be circulated is a list of potential cuts. No decision has been made, additional items could be added to the list.

The intent of providing the list of potential cuts is so the board can hear from interested parties and make decisions from the information received. I know the morale of the staff will be impacted by the information on the list. If you would like to do something I would encourage you to contact your legislators, have friends and family do the same if they are so inclined. Now is the time to act, the session started Monday and will last approximately 90 days. Below is contact information of area legislators.

Senator: Dennis Pyle

E-mail addresses are: firstname.lastname@senate.ks.gov

Senate leadership: Stephen Morris, Derrick Schmidt

Representative: Rocky Fund

House leadership: Mike O’Neal, Ray Merrick

E-mail addresses are firstname.last name@house.ks.gov

Kiosk Keeps Memories

Jackson — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 16:38:33 +0000

If you have lost your yearbook, don’t worry, you can still go back and look at your classmates. The kiosk is a virtual way to remember your classmates. This system is a touch screen machine that allows people to scroll through and look at different years’ graduating classes. This has been an ongoing project, as different students have helped gather these photos dating back to Holton High School’s graduating class of 1908. The kiosk is just outside the northwest exit from the gymnasium, outside the office. The next time you are at the high school stop by and check it out!

Snow Days Add to Already Blacked Out Days

Jackson — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 16:26:05 +0000

Due to the budget cuts, days of school have been “blacked out” in order to save the district money. On these blackout dates everybody except for teachers and administrators will not be in school. These cuts are projected to save up to $200,000.

For students, these days allow them time off of school. While students now have more time scheduled off of school than ever, a winter filled with snow has also created even more time away from the classroom. The recent snow days occurred on January 7th and 8th. Those days had highs of 12 and 7 degrees respectively. These frigid temperatures that have kept the snow from melting, have combined with blackout days and kept students home more than usual. To lean more about the district cuts visit http://www.holton.k12.ks.us/financialcrisis.pdf .