Updates for the week 3/29/2013

The 2013-14 budget was approved at the school board meeting on Monday.  Thank you to the Finance Committee and the Board of Directors for their due diligence to the budget. Going over all the projections and asking the challenging but necessary questions can be tedious, and we greatly appreciate all your effort.  The most exciting development from the budget approval is yet another big technology upgrade at Assumption!  We have succeeded in budgeting 1:1 computers for our sophomore and freshmen students, meaning every student will now be given a laptop to use for the entire school year, an expansion of an already successful program which has laptops in the hands of all of our junior and senior students for the current year.  

Other highlights from next year’s budget include:

·        459 students (up from 450 from the current year – we are graduating 93 seniors and expect 125 freshmen)

·        Collection of computer fees from four grade levels, opposed to the current  two

·        Removal of concessions expense and revenue as Booster Club will now be responsible for concessions

·        Daycare revenue of $350,000

·        3% increase to teacher base salary, resulting in a $29,249 base

·        Increase of incremental base to match teaching base

·        Addition of a full-time math teacher

·        Increase in budget for computer consultant

·        Bus purchase

·        Higher FICA and benefit costs

·        Higher day care costs resulting from additional increase in children  and revenue

·        Decrease in interest expense due to early settlement of bond issue

 The Assumption Foundation continues on with the Embracing our Future 2.0 Campaign.  A special thanks to all those who have taken time out of their busy schedules to meet with me, and who have pledged to support our Scott County Catholic Schools. I will take some time to explain the Family Tuition Plan and the current state of the EOF campaign at the next Board meeting.

This week I presented a SCRA grant for Phase I of a seat replacement project for the auditorium.  When the auditorium was constructed in 1958, the seats selected were per industry standards for that era. Because our current seats conform to dated industry standards, they can sometimes make for an uncomfortable viewing experience, and we would like to alleviate that issue!  

I had the opportunity to participate in the teacher retreat with Fr. Tom Allendar on Friday morning. This was a great experience, and provided some perspective and refocus on where our efforts should be focused in Catholic Schools.  Fr. Tom will be giving a presentation to anyone who is interested on Monday @ 7:00 pm in the auditorium.  Please help us spread the word. 

Have a great weekend!