The wonderful teachers at Bellingrath Hills used the recent hurricane activity in Louisiana to teach our students about extreme weather, hurricane preparedness, and how to express their feelings about their individual experiences in writing. The students were also exposed to weather information found on the internet, television, and newspapers.
Although most classes will study weather indepth later in the year, our teachers used the last couple of weeks as an opportunity to link the everyday experiences of our students with their studies.
Tag Archive | "central schools"
Bellingrath Students Discuss Hurricanes
Posted on 15 September 2008.
Posted in SchoolComments (0)
Central Community Schools Early Dismissal
Posted on 12 September 2008.
The following Central Community Schools will dismiss early on Friday, September 12th due to deteriorating conditions from Hurricane Ike:
Central Private, Central High and Central Middle will dismiss at 1:00pm
Bellingrath Hills, Tanglewood and Central Intermediate will dismiss at 2:00pm
Posted in SchoolComments (0)
CCSS looking to put freeze on hiring and possible cuts
Posted on 26 August 2008.
The CCSS school board meeting last night started out with a discussion about the proposed budget and the $166,000 surplus which is less than 1% of the $28 million budget. Mr. Faulk stated he had already thought about a freeze on hiring and at the Finance Committee meeting they will look at what areas could be cut. The Finance Committee will meet on Sept. 2. The budget will be discussed at the next school board meeting on Sept. 8. Copies of the budget are available at the CCSS office located at 13421 Hooper Rd., Suite 6.
Mr. Faulk informed the board that there are 3661 students that are currently enrolled in CCSS in grades PreK thru 12th.
Mr. Faulk reported that there were of course issues that had to be addressed, but overall the start up of school went very smoothly. They are continuing to work on walkways to the temporary buildings at several schools, lunch lines are being added, and there are several bus routes that will be reevaluated and possibly consolidated so the ride times are less for the children.
Posted in SchoolComments (0)
Meet the Wildcats
Posted on 19 August 2008.
[flickr]set:72157606824752584[/flickr]
The gym was packed on Monday night at Central High with Wildcat fans. Coach Watts and Coach Edwards were impressed with the great spirit organizations that will cheer these teams on during their seasons. All team sports were well represented. Coach Edwards ended the night by letting the fans know that the 105 sitting in front of him were the survivors. Each of these men are more than just football players, they are special unique individuals. The evening ended after the crowd of fans and students sang the CHS Alma Mater.
Posted in SportsComments (0)
Central School Board Votes Down
Posted on 19 August 2008.
The Central Community School Board met tonight to consider whether to “roll forward” the existing property tax rates dedicated to school funding or to use new, lower tax rates available as a result of the re-assessment of property values by the Parish. At stake was $300,000 of additional school system funding each year for the next four years, plus state matching funds of over $150,000 for each of those years. Our School Board voted 5-2 against “rolling forward” the historic tax rates, passing up on the additional $1.8 million in school funding over the next four years, $600,000 of which would have come from the state of Louisiana.
Now for an attempted explanation of this somewhat confusing issue. Every four years the Parish re-values all real estate and sends out new assessed values. Most people in Central got such a letter from the Assessor’s office in the past week. The assessed value of property in central rose from $81.8 million four years ago to $89.4 million today. The Central School System is supported in large part by a 43.45 mil property tax on the assessed value of real estate. When assessments are changed every four years the law mandates that the property tax rate be adjusted to offset the increase in assessed value. In our case, the old rate of 43.45 mils applied to the new assessed value would have increased total property tax revenue for school funding by $300,000 per year plus state matching funds of over $150,000 per year. The new tax rate calculated so that school tax revenue would remain unchanged would be 39.79 mils.The law also provides that the local school board be given the option to vote to keep the old tax rate in place, known as “rolling forward” the tax rate. A two-thirds vote of the school board is required to pass a “roll forward” of property tax rates. The motion to “roll forward” the existing tax rate was defeated 5-2. Voting against the existing higher property tax rate were Morris Anderson, Sharon Browning, Will Easley, Ruby Foil and Jim Gardner. Voting for the “roll forward” and the additional school funding were Marty Guilbeau and Russell Starns.
A public meeting was held prior to the School Board meeting where citizens were give an opportunity to speak in favor or against the issue, and many did. There were impassioned pleas to provide as much funding as needed to meet current needs for operating Central schools. There were equally vocal calls not to increase school funding through property taxes at this time. The one common theme coming from all speakers was that everyone recognized that we need more funding for our school system. Those in favor cited the need to do whatever it takes to provide the best education possible for the children of Central and to do it immediately. Those opposed cited concerns that increasing school system revenues through property taxes now might jeopardize future efforts to fund new school buildings or they maintained that such tax decisions need to be put to a public vote.
One citizen asked what the impact would be on each homeowner if the tax rates were “rolled forward”. The estimates are that the owner of a $100,000 home would pay $9.15 per year, a $150,000 home $27.45, a $200,000 home $45.75, a $250,000 home $64.00 and a $300,000 home $82.00 per year.
Once the public meeting was closed and the official School Board meeting began, Superintendent Faulk advised that enrollment is up over 600 students this year with a current total of 3,681 students in the system. He emphasized the need for the “roll forward” and the resulting funding increase so that the Central School System could meet its goal of maintaining a 20 to 1 student/teacher ratio over the next few years of anticipated growth. After much discussion and additional questions from the public in attendance, the vote was taken, failing 5 to 2.
Posted in SchoolComments (1)
Central Schools Take a Strong Stance on Drug Use
Posted on 12 August 2008.
The Central Community School System is not kidding around when it comes to drug use. Every student who participates in ANY extra-curricular activity must first pass a drug screen. While it is not unusual to hear of drug testing of athletes, this policy applies to ALL extra-curricular activities. In addition, any student desiring to have a parking pass must also submit to drug screening. Proactive steps such as these can only contribute to the Central Community School System continuing down the path of academic excellence as well as producing model citizens.
Posted in SchoolComments (0)
CHS Football Team Car Wash!
Posted on 25 July 2008.
The football team will be at the Burger King on Saturday, July 26 at 8:30am ready to wash your cars. The proceeds for this will go towards football camp that is coming up shortly. You can contact Henry Goudeau at 202-6127 for more information. Come out and support those Wildcats!
Posted in SportsComments (0)
CMS Football Meeting
Posted on 25 July 2008.
Coach John Kennedy, who has been named the new middle school football coach, has scheduled an informative football meeting for all those students planning to play football at Central Middle. The meeting is on Tuesday, Aug. 5 at 6:00 pm in the middle school cafeteria. Orders can also be placed for “Spirit Packs”. Each pack includes two t-shirts, a pair of shorts, and a mouthpiece. These spirit packs will be $40.
Posted in SportsComments (0)
Central Middle School Offering Sports Physicals
Posted on 24 July 2008.
On Wednesday, Aug. 6 at 10 a.m., physicals will be given for any student interested in playing any sport at Central Middle. The cost of the physical is $15. In order to play a sport, the student must have a 1.5 grade point average with less than two F’s on the second semester report card from last year. If a player cannot make it to the physical, physical forms will be available at CMS, the school website, and our website on Monday.
Posted in SportsComments (0)
Find us on Facebook!
Find us on Twitter!Sponsors
© 2010 CentralSpeaks.com. Powered by Wordpress.
