Newsletter Fall of 2010.indd - Mariemont City Schools

mA Message from the Board of Education
Another great year for Mariemont Schools is underway. Recently,
we received notifi cation that our district is one of a select few in Ohio
to be rated “Excellent with Distinction”. This honor is a tribute to the
dedication of the students, teachers and staff, volunteers, parents,
administration and leadership which make our district successful.
Thank you all for a job well done!
We are extremely grateful for the tremendous support from many
organizations including the School Foundation, PTOs, Kiwanis, Arts
Association, Alumni Association, Athletic Boosters and other groups
too numerous to list . Thanks to the tireless effort of scores of
volunteers and the support of our communities at the polls in May –
there are big plans for the future. Over the next several years, we
will witness signifi cant changes in Academics, Facilities and Financial
considerations.
Academics: Mariemont Schools will continue to push ahead with
rigorous, relevant programming and support to prepare students
with the “21st Century skills” they will need to succeed in a dynamic,
competitive global marketplace.
Facilities: You will continue to be updated on the facilities planning
and building process in the months and years ahead. We encourage
you to check the website frequently for the most current information.
We also encourage community members to continue to stay
involved in the process. These buildings will support the changing
and more technically focused educational programs of the future.
For the fi rst time in the history of our District, our junior high
students will be in a building specifi cally designed from the ground
up to support these critically formative, transitional years.
Financial: The coming years will be challenging because of the uncertainties
of the federal and state budgets and the decreasing support
for local education. Your District is on sound fi nancial footing.
We will continue our work of providing the very best opportunities
for our students while remaining vigilant and fi scally responsible to
our communities.
Be assured that our planning will continue to be the result of engaging
the communities to explore, discuss and gain consensus for
how the District can best develop the Scholars of Today and the
Leaders of Tomorrow. This is the “Mariemont Way” and is aptly
refl ected in a quote by Peter Drucker, global business expert,
“Effi ciency is doing things right, Effectiveness is doing the right
things.”
Thank you all for making this possible for our children.
Your Mariemont City Schools Board of Education
Ken White, President Dee Walter, Vice President
Peggy Braun Bill Flynn Marie Huenefeld
mFinances and Facilities
Financial News from District Treasurer/CFO
Natalie Lucas:
Thanks to the generous support of our residents last May, I am
pleased to report the successful sale of the district’s School
Improvement Bonds which were issued to facilitate the Facilities
Master Plan adopted last year. In preparation for the sale
of the bonds the district made a rating presentation to Moody’s
and Standard & Poor’s. We received an “Aa2” Rating from
Moody’s and an “AA” Rating from Standard and Poor’s. These
ratings, along with the ability to take advantage of two Stimulus
programs available to school districts, resulted in very favorable
interest rates.
The district went to market on August 18, 2010 with $11,135,000
of Qualifi ed School Construction Bonds and $28,665,000 of
Build America Bonds. The average interest rate received on the
bonds was 3.17%. Original debt service calculations had been
based on an average interest rate of 3.75%. This difference will
result in over $5 million in savings over the life of the issue to the
taxpayers of the district.
On another note, the Board of Education adopted the Fiscal
Year 2010-2011 Five Year Forecast at the September board
meeting. The major unknown in this forecast is what the state
will do with education funding in future state budgets. We
expect to see substantial decreases in future state funding.
The forecast can be found on the district website at
www.mariemontschools.org under Finance. Please feel free
to contact me with any questions you may have regarding this
forecast or any other items relating to the district’s fi nancing.
Welcome Facilities Project
Program Manager Kathy Ryan
As the Program Manager for the Mariemont
Facilities Project, I am very pleased to be working
with a school district that values the education of
their students, supports their staffs and is forwardthinking
in what our future facilities will provide. I am
Kathy Ryan, a recently retired educator for over 30
years in the Wyoming School District. I am the liaison for the Mariemont School District
working with SFA Architects and Turner Construction to ensure a successful completion
to the building projects.
There has been so much happening since I started in May. We have completed the
Schematic Development of the plans and are moving into the Design Development
phase. There are many weekly meetings with our architects and builders to discuss
more details as we look at the inside and outside our buildings. Asbestos Abatement has
taken place in some buildings to prepare for demolition and geothermal drilling has taken
place to look at the soil and ground under and around our buildings. Fairfax Elementary
provided a place for our fi re and police departments to practice training skills. Fairfax is
now in the process of being torn down to get ready for the new junior high; this process
has been tough for the people who have had much history in the building. It is always
hard to see some of our past change to make way for the future. The new junior high will
contribute a great deal to the Fairfax community and will certainly be a beautiful place for
our students to grow.
We have moved up our modular unit move-in date from the end of school in June to April
4, the day we return from Spring Break. This earlier move in will save us money, allow us
to have extra construction time and will ensure a smoother start in August of 2012.
Please check out the Mariemont Schools website (mariemontschools.org) for construction
information and for my Weekly Facilities Updates. And, I would like to say how much
I am looking forward to working with you to make the new facilities the top notch schools
that our children and the children of the future require.