Agenda - 09-26-2005-1 - Laserfiche WebLink

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To minimize the effect on the fund balance, administrators scoured the Continuation Budget, line item by line item, to trim expenditures that had been previously allotted, resulting in a savings of $152,000. Other cost - saving measures, including the privatization of,janitorial services at Orange High School and the implementation of the Energy Education conservation program, demonstrate how committed the district is to managing its resources efficiently and effectively. In addition, the two enterprise programs, Child Nutrition and School Community Relations, contributed a total of $400,000 toward meeting the 2005 -2006 budget requirements. On September 6, having implemented these cost - saving and cost - cutting measures, the Board of Education adopted a budget that included the following new items: • 2 High School Counselors These positions, one for each high school, support the Freshman Academy, a program put into place to help reduce the dropout rate and support students as they make the transition into high school. This addition also means that we will now have one counselor for each grade level. • 3 Reading Remediation Teachers Our testing data show that reading proficiency begins to decrease as students enter middle school, where texts become increasingly challenging. These Reading Remediation positions will support our students at the two middle schools and at Orange High School. (Cedar Ridge already has a Reading Remediation teacher.) • 1 Math/Science Specialist Our elementary schools do an excellent job of helping students reach grade -level proficiency. Those students who are minimally proficient, however, often have a difficult time maintaining proficiency when they reach middle school because of inadequate support at this level. A math /science curriculum specialist will provide support for classroom teachers through demonstration lessons, current research on best practices, and curriculum alignment between grade levels and schools. • 1/3 Literacy Specialist As texts become increasingly difficult through the grades, students who are not confident readers struggle to keep up, Having a literacy specialist allows us to provide continued literacy support, especially in helping classroom teachers promote literacy in their content areas. The rest of this position was funded through federal programs. • 1.5 Social Workers This addition will allow us to address the growing needs of our student population. In an arrangement with the Department of Social Services, the district may be able to "match" this 1.5 positions to give us 3 positions, which would provide for one social worker per school. • 1 Carpenter/Painter This position in included because the district has added additional facilities without increasing the staff to maintain them. • Middle College Program This program, which allows students to complete coursework for high school graduation while taking community college courses, is a collaboration with Durham Public Schools, Chapel Hill- Carrboro Schools, and Durham Technical Community College. It provides another option for our high school students and helps to address the dropout rate. • High Five High Five is a collaborative effort among five school districts and five Triangle businesses to improve our high schools, with the businesses funding the program at $500,000 per year for