December 8, 2015

School District News

From Superintendent

Robert Vian

Orofino High School Football

The Orofino High School Football team was awarded the Idaho State 2A Academic Championship Trophy prior to the state title game held in the Kibbie Dome.  The award is based on cumulative grade point average.  The Maniacs had a GPA of 3.48.  There are thirty-two 2A schools.  All sophomores, juniors and seniors who played in a varsity contest prior to October 1^st were counted.  Congratulations to the boys and the coaches for this prestigious achievement. 

The last academic award winners were in 2008 when both the baseball team and the girls’ golf team were recipients.  Both the 2008 Baseball Team and the 2008 Girls’ Golf Team were state champions on the field/course as well as winning the academic award. Jeff Wright, Activities Director Orofino High School

District

I will ask the District Board of Trustees to approve placing a Maintenance and Operations Levy on the March Ballot at the December 14^th Board Meeting at Orofino High School.  The meeting is open to the public and the public will have an opportunity to have input prior to the board voting on a levy amount

I will request that the M & O Levy be increased from the amount levied the past three years by $400,000 per year and that the levy be for two years.  The extra $400,000 will allow the district to place a new roof on Orofino High School the first year and on Timberline School the second year.

The Operational portion of the levy will remain at the same level it has been the past three years, $2,285,000 which was a tax rate of $4.46 per thousand dollars of value of taxable value.  My Levy request will be for $2,685,000 and the approximate tax rate will be $4.59* per thousand of taxable value.

The rate increase will be fairly small because the value of property has increased in the county. The home owner’s exemption has gone up from$81,000 to $89,580 which will help hold the cost down form many taxpayers. A “Homeowner’s Exemption” means that a homeowner only pays taxes on half the value of the home until the assessed value reaches $179,160.  If you own a home valued at $100,000 you pay property tax on $50,000.  To figure your taxes you would multiply 50 times the rate of $4.59 per thousand for a tax of $229.5 per year.

A home owner with an assessed value of $150,000 will see an increase in taxes of about $9.82* per year.  A $300,000 home value would see a tax increase of about $27.50 per year*. 

Without this increase we would have a very difficult if not impossible task of replacing the roofs on our two largest investments.  Roofs that are way past replace timelines and beyond repair.

If you want your opinion heard before the amount of the levy is sent to the voters, your chance will be Monday night, Dec. 14th. 

*tax rates and increases are the product of my calculator and the simple math of (property value times rate equals levy).  Please contact the assessor’s office to check your particular situation.

Calendar Committee

Anyone interested in sharing ideas for the school calendar for the 2016-17 school year should contact me at 476-5593.  The committee will probably not meet until February.  The three basic starting points are:

1)      Continue to do about what we are currently doing with school lasting from a week before                Labor Day to two weeks after Memorial Day;

2)      Move some days so that school could adjourn before Memorial Day.

3)      Consider a form of “year round” school

The state calculates reimbursement for students based on attendance, therefore maximum attendance the first 80 days of the school year are very important as that rating is used to fund 90% of the districts state reimbursement. 

When we talk year round school, the idea is not to add 60 days to the school calendar and go to school all year long.  Year round school calendars are based on a basic format of 9 weeks of school with three week mini breaks.  Since this is the districts calendar it could be more traditional, or it could be 9 weeks of classes followed by two weeks off and a six week summer break or any other format.

Orofino Junior High

Junior high students will be participating in the international Hour of Code again this year technology leaders from around the world have designed free tutorials and activities to provide students of all ages the opportunity to try their hand at computer coding. After that writing students will be designing on-line cartoons to illustrate their understanding of narrative causal chains. Learning is fun! Michelle George Jr. High Advisor