Superintendent’s Message

November 23, 2009

Romulus Community Schools: Continuing to Move Forward

The 2009-10 school year promises to be both challenging and rewarding.  I’m happy to report that our school year is off to an excellent beginning. Our Board of Education has been working on revising goals for the district. The new goals will include instruction, student achievement, making college part of our culture, increasing parent involvement and fiscal responsibility. The Board is committed to providing the resources to support these goals, thus the goals will shape the decision making process of our Board for years to come.  Here are a few examples:

1. The district has completed the second wave of our technology upgrades and we began the year with all new student and teacher computers at Romulus Senior High School.
2. By now, you have also received contacts from our new Teleparent automated calling system. This system will be used to keep parents informed about important school and district matters.
3. Students in grades kindergarten through six received new mathematics textbooks.

The district has been working with the University of Michigan, Eastern Michigan University and local community colleges to plan pre-college experiences for students in elementary, middle and high school. Many of our students have already visited a college campus this school year as a result of this planning.

Recently, newspapers across Michigan have carried stories about school finance and funding reductions from Lansing. I would like to take this opportunity to offer a brief update on the impact these reductions will have on the Romulus Community Schools. The district recently completed an annual financial audit and was awarded an “A+” rating by the accounting firm of Post, Smyth, Lutz & Zeil. Although we closed last year with a solid financial report, the recent events in Lansing have resulted in significant funding reductions to all public schools in Michigan, including our district. The district will be making both short and long term adjustments as we learn to operate on a reduced budget.

Shortly after the school year began, district administrators developed and presented a redesign process to our Board of Education. This process was developed as a way to get community and staff input that will assist the board in planning the district’s future. In November, Director of Business Sherri Papazoglou and Director of Human Resources Jim Baker created the Romulus Community Schools Redesign Committee. This committee is examining our K-12 configuration including the usage of our physical facilities and will be developing recommendations for ways to add value to the programs that we offer to students. These recommendations will be submitted to the board in January.

I hope that all of you have a safe and enjoyable holiday season and are able to find time to relax and enjoy friends and family. Thank you for continuing to support the Romulus Community Schools.

Sincerely,

Carl J Weiss

Superintendent