Enterprise BOE will not have weather make-up day

Enterprise City Schools Superintendent Jim Reese said no weather make-up day was planned for the Tuesday, April 2 day students and faculty missed due to inclement weather.

"I think our staff and students need a break and we won't have any make-up days for Good Friday or during Spring Break. We'll carry on as planned."

Reese also presented preliminary estimates from the federal stimulus funds if the system receives nearly $5 million from the package.

Reese said most of the funds were a one-time grant award that must be used by Sept. 30, 2011. An estimate also included a one-per-year grant for two years.
In a break-down for the American Recovery and Re-investment Act of 2009, better known as the federal stimulus package, the Enterprise school system was anticipating receiving $704,385 for the Title I program.
Reese told board members Title I funds would be used for improving academic achievements for the disadvantaged.
Under the AARA Homeless allocation, students who are classified as “homeless would receive benefits from these funds,” Reese said. “This doesn’t mean that these students are on the street, but to be classified as homeless, the family is living with other people in a home situation. These funds are for the extended day program, medicine, clothing, emergency shelter if needed, eyeglasses or some things like this. According to the estimates, our system will receive $12,635.”
Currently, the system has 143 students who are classified as homeless.
Under other specific categories, special education, salary benefits, professional development and integrating technology will be targeted for the allocations from the stimulus schools package.
“Some of the funds will include improving instructional opportunities for all the students,” Reese said. “With these funding allocations, it will also help preserve teacher units and offset our being under proration.”
Reese explained that the loss of state funding for the next two years was significant,”but the federal stimulus funds will provide us with help, but we can’t be lulled into a false sense of security. We must remember that these funds will be available for the next two years only.”
The loss of funding by the state hampered teacher units. The system’s enrollment increase of 107 during the 2007-2008 year would “ordinarily see an increase of approximately seven teacher units for 2010.
“However,” Reese pointed out, “our system’s earned units were reduced by 3.37 units and as of now, the Classroom Instructional Support Funding for FY2010 provided no funding for technology, library enhancement, professional development and common purchases, so we had a loss from the state of nearly $500,000.”
Reese said he hoped to see improvement in the economy, but “we’ll have to deal with it the best we can. This board and the previous board have been wise in managing our system’s money. We’ve just got to be mindful when we prepare a good budget for next year how things really are.”