Rutland City Public Schools will be conducting Early Essential Education screenings on May 20, 2010, for children ages three (3) and four (4) who live within the boundaries of Rutland City (Northeast Primary School and Pierpoint Primary Learning Center/Northwest Primary School) who might have developmental delays or may be in need of special education.  The screenings will be held from 9:00 AM – 2:00 PM at the EEE Primary School on Pierpoint Avenue.  If you have a child or know of a child who you think has developmental delays or special needs, contact Northwest Primary School at 773-1946 x 267 to schedule an appointment.

Golden Anniversary festivities  include reception at Rutland High prior to the presentation of honorary diploma.

Members of the Class of 1960 will receive an invitation letter soon with more details.

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Questions: Contact Debbie Etzler in the Superintendent of Schools office, (802)786-1996.

FY2011 January 19, 2010 Cut List. This list contains the specific items cut from the FY2011 budget.  All items in Tiers #1 and #2 were cut.  No items in Tiers #3 or #4 were cut.  FY2012 and FY2013 are expected to be difficult budget years according to the State and future cuts will be addressed at that time.

FY2011 Budget. This is a copy of the detailed FY 2011 budget to be voted on March 2, 2010.

FY2011 Budget Account Key. This is a key to account codes that make the document more understandable.  The account number format is based on legal requirements by the US and Vermont Departments of Education.

FY 2011 Grants Budgets. This is a copy of the detailed individual grants and other forms of reimbursement budgets broken out to the maximum level of detail.  They are included in the above budget at a summary level.  These accounts are summarized together in the full budget above in account lines beginning with 99 and found at the end of the budget.

Three Years’ Prior Budget Summaries. These are summary sheets of the past three years’ budgets provided by the State.  They also contain a projected tax rate based on our budget.

Estimated Education Tax Amounts.   The State, as of this writing, has announced a preliminary 88.2 cent education tax rate for FY11.  It is not final and may be adjusted by the legislature.  Around mid February the State generally issues “town meeting grids”.  Town meeting grids contain a matrix of house values and household income levels such that a taxpayer can look at the chart and estimate her/his preliminary tax that reflects income sensitivity adjustments, formerly known as the rebates or prebates.

Comparative Data for Cost Effectiveness. This information is prepared by the State and designed to compare the cost-competitiveness of schools that are comparable in size.  It does not include technical centers, such as Stafford.  In general, our schools have costs about 8.1% lower than the average of comparable schools. This is mainly due to our higher student to teacher and student to administrator ratios.

Administrative Staffing Analysis. Rutland Public Schools has conducted surveys of comparably-sized schools to determine if the district’s administrative staffing is above or below average.  The results suggest a below-average number of administrators.  Although this helps to keep costs down, it can have a quality impact on schools.  Administrators evaluate and mentor teachers, monitor adherence to curriculum, assist in dealing with children who become disruptive, communicate with the public, and solve day-to-day problems that would bog down teachers and limit their productivity.  It is not necessarily wise to be a low cost district in school building administration costs.  We carefully monitor how well schools perform and the administrator staffing levels.

State Data about Administrative Costs. This sheet is a summary of the state’s computation of each supervisory union’s central administrative costs and school building administrative costs as a percentage of their total budgets.  Rutland City Schools have the lowest central office costs of all 62 supervisory unions.  The average is 2.44% and our cost is 1.26%.  Similarly, our school building administrative costs are second from the lowest, 61^st of 62^nd.  In this category, the average is 7.04% and ours is 4.87%.  You may also click here to link to the State site and a more readable version of this report.

 The following four Afterschool Tapestry Programs have received National Afterschool Accreditation and Vermont STARS (Step Ahead Recognition System):

 Rutland City                -           Rutland Intermediate School  

                                                        Northeast Primary School

                                                        Northwest Primary School

 Rutland Town              -           Rutland Town School

 National Afterschool Accreditation is awarded in recognition of quality afterschool programming, application of the 125 NAA Standards for Quality School-Age Care to daily practice, and a long-term commitment to the children and families in the Rutland County community.  These programs join more than 550 accredited programs nationally and serves as a role model for excellence.

 The Step Ahead Recognition System (STARS) is Vermont’s quality rating system for child care, preschool and afterschool programs.

 Any program that is part of STARS has gone above and beyond what the state requires of them.  STARS reward child care, preschool and afterschool programs when they make their programs better.

 STARS programs document their quality in one or more of five areas:

 Licensing standards

• Curriculum and activities
• Training and education
• Families and communities
• Business practices

 The four Tapestry Programs participating in STARS have received the highest rating of five stars indicating outstanding performance in all five areas.