Hello Dragons,
As this week is Teacher Appreciation Week, I have to start out by acknowledging the entire building full of educators and support staff that make Flagstaff Academy a special place like no other. Earlier this week, our amazing PTO organized over a dozen volunteers to deliver yard signs to every staff member in our organization as a surprise “sign” of our appreciation for everyone that works at Flagstaff Academy. The response has been overwhelmingly positive and a fantastic way for our community to connect during this time of isolation. Thank you to everyone who helped distribute signs and to every member of this organization for your contributions to our school, especially during this once-in-a-lifetime challenge of a pandemic. Make sure to check out the
photo album
of the staff appreciation signs.
Budget Update:
The economic impacts of the shutdown over COVID-19 indicate that there will be a significant budgetary impact to school funding for the state. Colorado funds education from sales and use tax collection which have been decimated with the shutdowns. Guidance we are receiving from the Colorado Department of Education is to expect a reduction in Per Pupil Revenue (PPR) of 1-12% for the 2020-21 school year. PPR accounts for around two-thirds of our total operating revenue for each school year. A five percent reduction in PPR will cost us nearly half a million dollars for our budget next year.
In our current budget year, we are seeing significant savings from this shutdown that will be used next year to help offset that loss. We are saving from things such as not paying for custodial services to clean the building nightly, cancellation of end of year field trips, and many general operating supplies that are not needed. This savings, however, will only get us so far if the funding cuts are deeper.
The Joint Budget Committee will present its budget to the state legislature by Friday, May 15th. After that, both the House and Senate will debate the budget before sending it to Governor Polis for approval in late May. Only then will we know the true depth of the budgetary impact of this pandemic. I will keep you updated as we receive information.
End of Year Wrap Up
: We have teams working on how to wrap up the school year for everything from returning library and textbooks, loaned Chromebooks, to our celebrations. More information will follow about schedules for returning school property so that we can account for the items, conduct any cleaning or reconditioning, and prepare them for next year.
SAVE the DATES
- Thursday, May 21st and Friday, May 22nd.
Celebrations
: Thank you to the parents who completed our survey on how to best handle our Kindergarten, 5th Grade, and 8th Grade celebrations. The overwhelming majority want to use a Drive-Thru model for these celebrations. We are currently planning those logistics and will communicate to our families as those details are finalized. For those families who may not feel comfortable with the Drive-Thru option, we will still work to ensure your child is included in some way while also maintaining the safety considerations you seek.
SAVE the DATES
- Wednesday, May 20th and Rain Date- Thursday, May 21st.
Thank you for your continued partnership and support of our amazing teachers and support staff during this week of appreciation.
Wayne Granger
Executive Director
