Corrections and Clarifications
Springfield Public Schools believes it is of the upmost importance to keep our stakeholders informed with accurate and up-to-date information about their schools. There is plenty of information out there, floating around on the grapevine or mentioned in the media, and it can sometimes be confusing or misleading.
Have you seen something in the paper, on television or somewhere else that you have a question about? If so, email your question or call the Community Relations Office at (417) 523-INFO.
5/6/11 - News-Leader article incorrectly claims SPS school police requested additional officers
An article in the May 6 News-Leader, written by Claudette Riley, states that SPS Director of School Police Tom Tucker made a request to the school board this week for five more school police officers. This statement is incorrect. At the end of his presentation of a routine program evaluation, a school board member asked Mr. Tucker if he believed his department was staffed appropriately. Mr. Tucker responded: "Ideally I would like to have five more officers that way I could put two officers at each high school." You may view his complete presentation on the board meeting video.
During the program evaluation, Mr. Tucker also explained that one reason the number of incidents has increased is due to the fact that school police officers are stationed at the high schools during dismissal and are more aware of those incidents when they happen and are better able to address them immediately. You can hear his explanation on the the board meeting video around the 68 minute and 24 second mark. Read the complete School Police Services Program Evaluation.
8/25/10 – News-Leader editorial references allegations of improprieties
An editorial in the Wednesday, August 25, edition of the News-Leader cited several allegations identified by a group originally calling for SPS to undergo a state audit.
One allegation concerns size of the district's administrative staff. In May the News-Leader asked the school district to provide information about administrative salaries, the number of administrative positions and other related data in order to determine whether these allegations were true. That story has yet to appear in the paper. The Aug. 25 editorial reported Springfield Public Schools' student to administrator ratio but did not provide any context to show how it compares with other districts. That information is readily available on the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education website and/or SPS’ website.
You can download Excel spreadsheets from DESE with student-staff ratiosand faculty salaries.
DESE uses a ratio of students to administrators to compare districts. In Missouri the the average student to administrator ratio is 187 to 1. SPS has more students per administrator with a ratio of 279 to 1. The ratio for similar sized school districts as of 2009 is 210 to 1 in Rockwood, 215 to 1 in Hazelwood, 175 to 1 in North Kansas City and 222 to 1 in Columbia. Looking at those numbers in the region, Nixa has a student to administrator ratio of 216 to 1; Republic, 224 to 1; Strafford, 154 to 1; and Logan-Rogersville, 211 to 1. Ozark and Willard both have higher student to administrator ratios than SPS.
According to this data, between 2004 and 2009, SPS reduced administrative staff by 3.6 full-time equivalent and increased teaching staff by 129 FTE. Of all the districts examined, only SPS and Pleasant Hope reduced administrative positions.
An assertion has also been made that the school district circumvented voters by building the new Hickory Hills school and funding it through lease participation financing. Lease participation financing is not an uncommon financing tool to be used by government entities. In fact, a similar use of a lease-participation and bond funding was used by Republic School District to pay for its new high school, completed last year. Springfield also used a combination of lease participation financing and voter-approved bond issues to pay for the construction of Hickory Hills.
In 2006, Springfield voters approved a $96.5-million bond issue for air conditioning, school construction and other facility improvements. Wise investment of those dollars and effective management of construction costs resulted in funds remaining. The school board applied part of this surplus toward air conditioning three additional schools and paid $10.8 million on Hickory Hills School, a decision that reduced the operating expense of the lease-purchase agreement by almost $1 million per year. In November 2009, voters approved a bond issue, authorizing $9 million be spent to retire the Hickory Hills lease-participation agreement.
Finally, not filling a vacant internal auditor position was a decision made during budget cuts for the 2008-2009 school year. The position is just one of several other staff and administrative positions that have been eliminated or left vacant as we have cut more than $15 million from our budget over the last three years. We expect that trend to continue for 2011-2012 as the economy continues to suffer and stimulus funding expires.
District budgets and financial documents are available for free online. If you have questions or concerns about district budget or financial information, feel free to contact SPS at 523-INFO or send us an email atcommunications@spsmail.org. SPS also maintains a financial news and information blog called The Bottom Line as part of our efforts to keep the community informed.
7/13/10 – Community Free Press reports allegations of malfeasance
The June 30 through July 13 edition of the Community Free Press cited several allegations by the Taxpayer Coalition to Audit Springfield Public Schools that allege wrongdoing on the part of the district.
The contention that SPS has hired more teachers despite stable enrollment trends is absolutely correct. The community identified smaller class sizes as part of our strategic planning process, and we have complied with that wish in the four years since beginning our strategic plan. Many of the new teachers added have been hired through class size reduction grants, part of the federal No Child Left Behind legislation. Though class sizes have grown slightly this year because of the latest round of budget cuts, SPS classes are much smaller than they were four years ago.
A member of the Taxpayer Coalition accuses the district of hiring undocumented workers, which the district does not. The quote in the article read:
“It’s believed there are about 12 employees with Romanian/Eastern European decent (sic). But the school didn’t want to show me their citizenship.”
SPS complies with all federal and state employment laws, including requiring employees to complete the federal I9 Employment Eligibility Verification form which documents that an individual is authorized to work in the United States. Please note that according to federal law, it is illegal to discriminate against any individual (other than an alien not authorized to work in the United States) in hiring because of the individual's national origin. SPS also complies with state law by enrolling in and using E-Verify, an online system which allows employers to electronically verify an individual's eligibility to work in the United States.
Another allegation in the article suggests that the district would dispose of all equipment and furniture from the old building. Fixtures and furniture from the old Hickory Hills school were redistributed to other SPS schools. Some of the furnishings will be included as part of the sale of the old building. Equipment that is not usable will be disposed as surplus equipment.
District budgets and financial documents are available for free online. If you have questions or concerns about district budget or financial information, feel free to contact SPS at 523-INFO or send us an email at communications@spsmail.org. SPS also maintains a financial news and information blog called The Bottom Line as part of our efforts to keep the community informed.
7/1/10 - KSPR report contains three factual errors concerning salary information in the 2010-2011 budget
A KSPR news report by Joanna Small concerning the district’s 2010-2011 budget that aired on Wednesday, June 30 contained three significant factual errors.
First, the report stated that the district would cut transportation rather than salaries for the 2011-2012 budget. The statement read:
“Next year the board hopes to look at transportation and make the cuts from there instead of teacher salaries.”
That is inaccurate. Should further budget reductions be necessary for the 2011-2012 budget, the district and the board of education will consider a wide range of reductions in all areas of the budget. However, the district will seek input from the community concerning their priorities for education and consider those factors before making reductions. Currently, the state’s fiscal situation portends significant reductions for the 2012 fiscal year, which begins July 1, 2011, due to the expiration of federal stimulus dollars that have been used to fill shortfalls in the state budget. Even with stimulus funds, the state was forced to make major reductions to the state budget this year. That picture could change based on additional stimulus funding or economic recovery.
A second error in the report stated that this was the third year in a row that the salary schedule was not funded. Here’s the exact language from the report:
“…the school board has decided not to give step raises for the third consecutive year.”
The 2010-2011 school year will be only the second consecutive year that the district did not operate the salary schedule. In 2008-2009 the board funded the salary schedule along with a 2.5 percent raise for all employees. Last year, the budget included a half percent salary adjustment for employees to offset an increase in retirement contribution mandated by the state’s retirement system.
A third error in the KSPR report stated:
“But the real problem is the half-percent increase every teacher will have to make to his or her own retirement fund.
For the first time in two decades thedistrict won't match it.”
The board matches the contributions of all employees to the state retirement system. For the second year in a row, the retirement system increased mandatory contribution rate for employees by .5 percent. The district matching contribution for employees also increased by .5 percent.
6/29/10 - KTTS report erroneously cites layoffs for 2010-2011 budget
KTTS news posted a short report in advance of the June board meeting erroneously claiming that layoffs could be included in the 2010-2011 budget. The KTTS report stated:
"Pink slips could be in the offing for dozens of folks who work for the Springfield public schools. The school board is expected to approve the new budget. With less money from both state and local sources there are fears over 50 employees, including some teachers will have to find work elsewhere. The meeting gets underway at 5:30 p.m."
That is incorrect. The proposed budget calls for a reduction of 57 FTE (full time equivalent) that will be accomplished through attrition, not filling vacant positions, rather than layoffs of current employees. Typically, SPS has between 150-250 resignations and retirements each year among a total of approximately 3,500 employees.
5/12/10 - KSPR report misstates SPS salary information
On Tuesday, May 11, KSPR 33 ran a report by Joanna Small focused on the district's proposed 2010-2011 budget that contained a factual error regarding employee salaries. The report stated:
"The Springfield Public School Board is deciding whether it has enough money to keep teachers' salaries at the current level by skipping raises for the third year in a row and offering district employees a half percent increase just to break even."
That is incorrect. The district funded the salary step as well as gave all employees a 2.5 percent salary increase for the 2008-2009 school year. In 2009-2010, SPS made a salary adjustment of 0.5 percent for all employees that offset an increase in the required contribution to the state retirement system. The proposed budget for the 2010-2011 school year currently being considered by the board includes another 0.5 percent adjustment to offset another increase in the required contribution to the retirement system. (The online version of the KSPR story has since been corrected).
4/21/10 - Students misidentified in WOLF story
A feature in the Southwest Springfield section of the Wednesday, April 21, edition of the News-Leader contained errors. In a photo cutline Jonathon Stevens and Mariah Harvey were misidentified. Toward the end of the article it refers to Angel Vanderhoef. Angel's last name is Karlstromer. Also, WOLF typically expects to receive between 200 and 250 applications, not 400. For 2010-2011, WOLF received 260 applications. The article also incorrectly states that Angel "attends Westport Elementary when she isn't in WOLF class." Students choose to leave their home school and attend the WOLF program full-time during their fifth-grade year. Read more about WOLF.
3/9/10 -- Travel and Fees for Student Activities
A report in the East Springfield section of the Tuesday, March 9 edition of the Springfield News-Leader contained a significant error concerning SPS’ policy of paying for transportation for school bands and other student musical groups.
The district does indeed pay for transportation and entry fees associated with all competitions sponsored by the Missouri State High School Activities Association (MSHSAA). All SPS students who receive 1 ratings at the District Solo & Small Ensemble competition are provided bus transportation at the district's expense to participate in the state competition. This is a one-day event so there is no need for lodging. Additionally, SPS provides transportation for students to attend the Region 9-South Central music competition auditions and performances.
The News-Leader article stated that “when musicians qualify for state competition as soloists, they have to pay their own way there.”
The article also quotes a student who says, “even when we have the all-city music competition, our boosters have to pay bus rides to where ever in the city the competition is.” This event is held on a Saturday in Springfield so students do provide their own transportation to the designated location in town.
If you have any further questions about this article or this subject, please contact us at 523-INFO.
2/26/10 -- Misleading information about SPS' budget in a News-Leader opinion piece
The Thursday, Feb. 25 edition of the News-Leader contained an opinion piece on the front page of that section that contained inaccurate and misleading information concerning the district's debt service and administrative budget. Read Dr. Ridder's statement on the article and his clarification on his blog.
Increases to SPS’ debt service levy must be approved by voters. The district’s debt service payment for 2009-2010 included $30 million from an escrow account that paid off the 2000 bond issue, which was refinanced in 2003 at a significantly lower interest rate, resulting in a significant savings of taxpayer money. That bond debt was retired during the 2009-2010 budget year because that was the earliest date we were legally allowed to pay off the 2000 bond. Those bonds were approved by voters.
The district’s administrative expenses have not increased from $425,000 in 2005 to $2.5 million in 2009-2010, as the article claims. When the district upgraded its accounting software in 2006, the finance department reviewed all general ledger accounts to ensure they were classified as recommended by the Missouri State Accounting Manual. A number of accounts were reclassified under "Executive Administration,” including administrative services DESE requires districts to have, thus the significant change in the amount listed under that category. SPS strives for an effective and efficient use of resources. As a result SPS’ ratio of 279 students per administrator is far below the state average of 187 students per administrator.
Visit our financial information blog The Bottom Line for the latest news and information about the district's budget, revenues, etc.
2/24/10 -- Columnist gets the facts wrong concerning board's evaluation of the superintendent
In his Feb. 18 column titled “Academic achievement not mentioned in job categories,” David Awbrey contends that the superintendent's performance evaluation does not measure academic achievement. This is untrue.
While Mr. Awbrey correctly noted that the school board uses seven performance criteria to evaluate the superintendent, he chose to list only five of them. He failed to include “performance results” and “measurement, analysis, and knowledge management.”
In education, “performance results” focuses on “academic achievement.”
When evaluating the superintendent on performance results, the school board is looking for two things:
1. Are district performance results improving compared to past performance results?
2. How does district performance compare to similar school districts and organizations?
By evaluating the superintendent on “measurement, analysis and knowledge management,” the school board is checking to make sure he is collecting data and using it to compare our performance to other school districts and to make decisions that result in improvement.
The superintendent makes quarterly reports to the school board during public meetings about Springfield Public Schools’ performance results. These reports, dating back to 2006-2007, are posted for anyone to view on the school district’s web page.
2/11/10 -- Columnist provides misleading information about Westport/Study project
In the Feb. 6 edition of the News-Leader column, David Awbrey stated that the architectural and educational designs for the Westport/Study project gave the impression that the architectural design for the new school was completed and that they were unsatisfactory, stating that plans should be sent "back to the drawing boards. They aren't good enough." However, there are no designs for the project yet, and they will not be completed for several months.
Before the architect puts pen to paper, there will be a number of opportunities for the Westport/Study community (students, parents, faculty and community members) to offer input on the building's design and function. One of the first steps in the design process will be to hold a formal charrette, a process conducted over a period of days where stakeholders offer input. Equipped with that input, the architect will then develop and present some initial concepts for the building design.
The remodel/expansion of Weaver Elementary School is a perfect example of how a community helped guide the architectural process. The Weaver community influenced that building's design when it identified among key priorities: preserving the character of the old building, facilitating community use of the school, and fostering the school-park partnership.