Maize School District
    Connections - Maize USD 266 Parent Newsletter - December 2017 - OneMa1ze
In This Issue
Important dates

  • Dec. 20: End of Term
  • Dec. 21-Jan. 3: No school, Teacher Work Day and Winter Break
  • Jan. 4: School resumes
  • Jan. 15: No school, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
  • Feb. 15-16: Parent-teacher conferences
  • Feb. 16: No school, Conferences
  • Feb. 26: No school, Professional Development Day

Thanks to the Maize Early Childhood Center for the student artwork pictured above.
District launches new, improved www.usd266.com

Maize USD 266 is proud to reveal this week its improved website, which is easier to navigate and mobile-friendly.

The district conducted a survey in June asking the OneMa1ze community for opinions and feedback. The survey revealed favorite features and most-wanted information, and the district listened. 

The district also confirmed many in our community access the site via smartphone and/or tablet, and the new website will allow for easier use on those devices.

You will find a more dynamic and responsive website with more photos and features, including an e-alert pop-up option for the district's most vital news and updates.

Please take a look around!

Maize USD 266 employees have devoted hundreds of hours to the vision, training, and implementation of this new site. That said, it will continue to be a work-in-progress as content is refreshed and added to the site.  Thank you in advance for your patience. Please note that links and/or bookmarks from the previous site may no longer work.

We welcome your feedback, which you can e-mail to webmaster@usd266.com.
Albin presents at state 
board of education meeting

Find events, opportunities on
Online Bulletin Board

Maize USD 266's Online Bulletin Board  is the place to go for information about upcoming events, fundraisers, and  other opportunities available through the district and partner agencies. Those interested also may sign up to receive e-mail updates when new information is added.

Join our team!
Interested in joining our Maize Schools team? Many openings are part-time jobs with full-time benefits, including:
* Group health insurance
* Summers off
* Fall,  Winter, and  Spring break off
* No evenings or weekends
* Bonuses

Click here to read three reasons to take the wheel and drive a school bus for Maize USD 266. Please call the Transportation Office at 316-722-0582 for more information.

Maize USD 266 also is looking for:
* food service workers.
* Sedgwick County Area Educational Services Paraprofessionals.


Come and work in our OneMa1ze community, supported by parents, graduates, and Maize and Northwest Wichita. This would be a great opportunity to participate in the Kansas Public Employees Retirement System.
Superintendent's Message
What you think about OneMa1ze is important to us
BY DR. CHAD HIGGINS 
       
Our OneMa1ze community is in the midst of a dynamic process in which we are inviting all who care about Maize USD 266 to share thoughts and rate the thoughts of others.

Part of our strategic plan, we want to know your answer to this question:  Thinking about and beyond our current educational practices and systems, what can we do to best prepare our students for their future?

Your participation will help shape the future of our district. How can we improve? How should we "reimagine" education in our district given the opportunity to reinvent the way we prepare our students for their futures?


We also encourage you to take a bit of time to star the comments others have shared.  This will help us get a sense of the shared values and priorities of our school district and our community. All thoughts and ratings shared are confidential. 

This process is open to anyone interested, and we have shared this link on our social media accounts and with our middle and high school students in recent weeks.

Already, more than 850 people have participated, but we invite others to help drive the process for the sake of our current students and our future students. 

Help us make the Maize School District you love even better and more relevant and supportive in 2018 and in the years to come.

Thank you for this and for an outstanding 2017. Enjoy the upcoming Winter Break with your student and those who matter most in your lives.

Sincerely,

Dr. Chad Higgins, Superintendent of Schools
Maize Board of Education update
 
Board approves bond refinancing to save estimated $6.1 million

During a special Maize Board of Education meeting on Nov. 27, members approved the refinancing of bonds, a decision spurred in part by the f ederal tax plan's elimination of advanced refund bonds.

Between October and mid-November, district administrators  monitored refinancing opportunities.
After the U.S. House approved the tax reform proposal including the elimination of the tax-exempt  advance refinancing and when it appeared the Senate would make a similar move, Maize USD 266 prepared a refinancing timeline. The cost savings analysis revealed  a conservative estimated total net savings of $5.1 million. Board members  adopted a resolution for issuance of bonds.

With a Dec. 5 
refinancing, the final future net tax estimated savings for Maize USD 266 businesses and patrons grew to $6.1 million During the regular Dec. 11 board meeting, members adopted the final bond resolution and $6.1 million net savings.

Dr. Chad Higgins, Maize Superintendent of Schools, said, "Unfortunately, it looks like we are going to lose the ability to reduce the tax burden at the local level as we have been able to do for many years. We were not planning to refinance these bonds just yet, as we had forecast an even better opportunity to reduce the tax levy during the next few years. The hurried nature of the federal tax legislation limits our long-term savings strategies."

District seeks Maize Education Foundation executive director 

Foundation Logo Board members approved the addition of, and job description for, an executive director for the Maize
Education Foundation. The district will fund the position initially with the Foundation Board of Directors contributing to the salary and ultimately fully funding the position within one and a half to three years. 

The plan is to hire the new director in February. He or she will be charged with soliciting donations, connecting with alumni, and working with the maize:connect program to garner further business support of the district.

To apply for the job, please click here. The deadline is Jan. 12.

Downs honored for his service 
to Maize Board of Education
Maize Board of Education President Matt Jensby and his fellow members honored Maize Board of Education Vice President Mike Downs during the regularly monthly meeting Dec. 11. 

The meeting was the final of Mr. Downs' term. He joined the board in 2013, and Maize USD 266 thanks him for his volunteer service.

Later in the meeting, Mr. Downs thanked the current and former board members with whom he served. He said being a volunteer board of education member is more work than many people may realize. He said he learned so much about the school district and appreciated the opportunity and said, "Our kids are in good hands, and I feel very confident in saying that."

The board next meets at 7 p.m. Jan. 8 at the Maize Educational Support Center, 905 W. Academy Ave. in Maize. Meetings are open to the public.

Elementary students demonstrate leadership skills through skits

Maize South Elementary School Theater Leaders, a 5th-grade leadership group, presented skits to the Maize Board of Education to demonstrate Stephen Covey's Seven Habits of Happy Kids.

Their skits were about Sharpening the Saw (balancing work and play) and Beginning with the End in Mind (planning ahead). Maize South Elementary School uses these traits and others for its school-wide leadership curriculum. 

Last year, the school was the first in Kansas to be named a  Lighthouse School  by the Leader in Me organization.

Maize USD 266 Mission Statement  The mission of the Maize School District is to inspire students to discover their potential through connecting, learning and leading.