School District News by Superintendent Guetter

Red Lake County Central Schools
School District News by Superintendent Guetter
February 2010

         The State of Minnesota is feeling the money crunch from the recession and does not have enough money to run for March, April and May. By law the State must with hold payments to school Districts to increase their funds. Both of the Oklee and Plummer School Districts will have the maximum amount of funds withheld because both of our districts have fund balances high enough to qualify for the withholding. The withheld funds (Oklee $247,433, Plummer $182,022) will be repaid on May 30^th by the State. Obviously this situation is not good, and one major problem I see with it is that our districts have fund balances because you the local tax supporters have approved operating referendums for our schools. The School Boards, administration and staff see these referendums as you putting your trust in us to be good stewards of your money. We do not see it as you putting your trust in the State to use your money. The other legislative issue that is a very concerning issue is the 17% of State education money for every school district that the Governor last year put into a delayed payment through the unallotment process. Now, after the fact, the Governor and Legislature are trying to figure out if they really have to pay schools this amount or not. If not, that would mean a 17% cut in education funding for this current year and no one is sure what it would mean for the future. Once again, this cut and how it would be enacted is not acceptable for the education of your children and school districts. I do understand that the financial picture at the State level is not good, and they have many hard decisions to make to get a balanced budget, but these two moves do not allow for any preplanning on our part, only after the fact financial cuts.   I have already contacted several of our local senators, representatives and the Governor about this and I highly encourage you to do the same.

            At the January School Board meetings, Matt Kolstoe and Tony Gerardy were elected as Chairmen, Vice-Chairs are Dave Person and Joe McMullen, Clerks, Donna Linder and Lonnie Longtin, and the Treasurers are Darby Trontvedt and Roger Walter of the Oklee and Plummer Boards, respectively. We all look forward to the continued leadership from the School Boards to take our schools into the future.

              A few things coming up this month are: there is no school on President’s Day, Monday the 15^th. Parent–Teacher conferences are scheduled for Monday, February 22^nd and Thursday the 25^th, (please note the change from previously scheduled Wednesday the 24^th) from 4-8 pm at each school site. I would like to highly encourage you to come in and visit with your children’s teachers about their educational progress and future.   Please also discuss the physical and emotional growth that your son/daughter is experiencing now and will in the future. FINANCIAL AID NIGHT: Seniors and parents are invited to the RLCC Financial Aid Night on Wednesday, February 3, from 6:30-7:30 pm in the Band/choir room. Our HS guidance counselor, Sindy Larson has distributed financial aid and scholarship information; if you haven’t received the information speak with your son or daughter. I know one of the priorities for financial aid is a completed income tax form, and because many colleges distribute some funds on a first come first serve basis, it pays to get it done early. 

            The High School students are busy with the One Act Play, Speech, Knowledge Bowl, Wrestling and Basketball. The One Act Play sub-section competition was just held at the Oklee site, with the Mustangs finishing third. This year’s play “Not so Grime Tales” was directed by Mike Swenson and had 8 cast members. The Girl’s Basketball team has put together an impressive run of wins so far this season going 13-2. They have been able to do this with a strong inside game balanced with steady improvement on the perimeter which presents a balanced attack each and every game. They are continuing to work on consistency, depth and overall improvement as they finish the second half of the season and prepare for the playoffs. The Wrestling team started the season with 16 members on the team.  The team has also won two dual meets this season against Warren-Alvarado-Oslo and East Grand Forks. Many of the individuals have improved on their personal records from last year and are working hard to prepare for the playoff run. The Boy’s Basketball team defiantly hustles and work on defense, thus providing a competitive game every night. The team currently has a 6-8 record with several close losses. They are continuing to work on cutting down turnovers which should make the close games end in their favor.   The Speech team has twenty-one members and just had their first meet with six ribbon winners. They will have seven more varsity meets and three junior varsity meets before sub-sections. The home speech meet will be on March 27^th at the RLCC High School in Oklee and is sponsored by the Plummer Lions. The coaches and team members have all varsity meets on Saturdays, with practices after school. So the commitment level must be very high to give up two months of Saturdays, with usually a long bus drive. Knowledge Bowl  has fifteen students involved in the Varsity and Junior Varsity teams and has six varsity meets and three junior varsity meets. There is a core of sophomores that are learning quickly about the varsity level competition and are progressing well.

            The Elementary students have been very busy with the National Elementary Honor Society, the Spelling Bee, Elementary Basketball and Wrestling, and the Accelerated Reader program.

            Income tax time is coming up fast, there are several education credits and other tax credits that many people qualify for but do not claim. Here is some more information;  

Claim It! is a state-wide partnership of more than a dozen government and nonprofit entities.  This partnership promotes various tax credits for eligible, working, low or moderate income families.

            The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is central to the effort and targeted primarily to families with children.  This federal tax credit averages $1,700 per family and may be as high as $4,500 for some depending on marital status and number of children.  Additionally, Minnesota’s Working Family Credit (WFC) can provide up to $1,500 per family. Because greater stability frequently improves educational outcomes, we hope that you will help us get this important information out to families.

Why this is important for families

• The IRS estimates 10% - 15% of eligible households do not file for these credits and the dollars go unclaimed.

• These credits can mean real money back in the pockets of low-income families and individuals, going a long way to meeting basic needs or providing an opportunity to save and develop financial assets.

• Usually, working families who are eligible for EITC can also receive free tax preparation and filing services, an additional financial benefit.

FREE TAX PREP. GET YOUR TAX CREDITS.

• Last year’s average credit was $2,200!

• You may qualify if your income is at or below $30,000 for an individual, or $43,000 for a family.

• For specific eligibility requirements, call United Way 2-1-1.™

For a list of free tax preparation sites:

• United Way 2-1-1, Dial 2-1-1, or 1-800-543-7709

• Minnesota Department of Revenue 1-800-657-3989

• Minnesota Relay for hearing impaired 711 (TTY)

• www.taxes.state.mn.us search for “free tax preparation sites”