School News

By Sandra French
The Highland Board of Education met Monday, September 15, and  relected incumbents, Ed Ossman and Bruce Temple, were sworn in. Mike Roberts and Cindy Michel were reelected President and Vice President, respectively.
Jane O’Leary presented the Annual Progress Report with “No Child Left Behind” proficiency goals for academic year 2007-2008. The goals for 2006-2007 were accomplished, except for 6th-8th grade and 9th-11th grade math.

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by Carol Riggan
Riverside has a foreign exchange student this school year at Highland who arrived Thursday, August 7, and is staying with host family Scott, Carol and Travis Riggan.
At the age of 15, the young lady traveled 5,700 miles from her home for 10 months, leaving family, friends and school behind. This is a big step for a young person.
From start to finish it was a two-day journey, starting in Kiev to Germany, London, Washington Dc, Chicago, Illinois, and finally Cedar Rapids. 

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Editor’s Note: Members of the Highland Community School District will vote September 9, to change its Revenue Purpose Statement which would allow the district to spend the new state penny tax on technology, school buses and infrastructure. The state discontinued the SILO funds which previously paid for these items.
The following are a list of frequently asked questions regarding the Revenue Purpose Statement:
Q. What is a Revenue Purpose Statement (RPS)?
A. A Revenue Purpose Statement defines what the district can use certain state tax funds for; in this case, the RPS states the use for the revenue generated from the state penny sales tax.
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Q. Was a RPS previously passed that defined the use of the School Infrastructure Local Option sales tax (SILO) revenue?
A. The Board previously passed a RPS on March 8, 2004, for Washington County and another RPS on December 11, 2006, for Johnson County for the SILO sales tax.
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Four Lone Tree softball players earned honorable mention for 2008 Class 1A All-State softball: Makenie Cover, Diana Rice, Hailey Pearson, and Jacki Finley.

Highland District elementary students will have some new books to read.  The Highland board August 7 approved purchase of the
MacMillan McGraw-Hill Treasurer reading series for the K-5 in Ainsworth elementary and grades 1-3 at Riverside Elementary.  Cost was $31,306 with some $48,000 worth of free materials.
New books for the math curriculum grades 6-12 will be considered for the 2008-09 academic year and new science curriculum materials for 2009-10.
The board agreed to prepare and distribute an informational flyer and a fact sheet for residents about the new Revenue Purpose Statement that will be on the September 9 school board election ballot.
The statement will replace two current statements for use of SILO funds from Washington and Johnson counties.
The state legislature replaced SILO with a new state-wide one cent tax to benefit school districts.
In other business, the board:

• approved a 28E agreement with the Lone Tree School District for the vocational agriculture program and the industrial technology program for the 2008-09 academic year
• approved the Title I application for 2008-09
• accepted the resignation of Shirley Kos as Riverside Special Education associate and hired Jeremy Greiner, junior high football, $1,768.90 and Keely Fox, school play sponsor, $2,527
• set the next regular board meeting for 6:30 p.m. September 15

by Chris Armstrong, Superintendent Highland CSD

I would like to take a moment to clarify what is being voted for on September 9, 2008. We are voting to approve a new Revenue Purpose Statement for the state penny sales tax. This summer the governor signed into law HF 2663. This bill replaced the School Infrastructure Local Option sales tax (SILO) with a statewide penny sales tax. Iowa’s statewide sales tax is now 6%, with the extra one cent going to fund school infrastructure.
Washington County and Johnson County have already passed a RPS for the SILO tax, but that does not apply to the new state penny sales tax. In order for the school to access the funds generated by the state penny sales tax, we need to pass a new RPS. The state penny sales tax funds could be used for the following: tax relief, build and furnish buildings, purchase or lease equipment such as school buses and technology, natural disaster emergency repairs, playground maintenance, and debt retirement.
The public will have four opportunities to meet with board members and administration. We will provide a “Frequently Asked Question” flyer and answer any questions that the patrons might have.
We will be available at the back to school night at Ainsworth Elementary School August 17 from 7 to 8 p.m., the ice cream social at Riverside Elementary School August 19 from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., the high school volleyball match September 2 from 6 to 7:30 p.m., and the varsity football game  September 5 from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

by Chris Armstrong, Superintendent Highland CSD

I would like to take a moment to clarify what is being voted for on September 9, 2008. We are voting to approve a new Revenue Purpose Statement for the state penny sales tax. This summer the governor signed into law HF 2663. This bill replaced the School Infrastructure Local Option sales tax (SILO) with a statewide penny sales tax. Iowa’s statewide sales tax is now 6%, with the extra one cent going to fund school infrastructure.
Washington County and Johnson County have already passed a RPS for the SILO tax, but that does not apply to the new state penny sales tax. In order for the school to access the funds generated by the state penny sales tax, we need to pass a new RPS. The state penny sales tax funds could be used for the following: tax relief, build and furnish buildings, purchase or lease equipment such as school buses and technology, natural disaster emergency repairs, playground maintenance, and debt retirement.
The public will have four opportunities to meet with board members and administration. We will provide a “Frequently Asked Question” flyer and answer any questions that the patrons might have.
We will be available at the back to school night at Ainsworth Elementary School August 17 from 7 to 8 p.m., the ice cream social at Riverside Elementary School August 19 from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., the high school volleyball match September 2 from 6 to 7:30 p.m., and the varsity football game  September 5 from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.