Sept. 3, 2010 High achievement always takes place in the framework of high expectation. We’re well on our way to a great school year - There are many positive and good happenings in SFISD! Our PTO has kicked off their annual fundraiser for students. We are grateful for the tremendous amount of support they offer our teachers and students. You are invited to the fourth annual Indian Tailgate pre-game event this afternoon to kick off our first home Indian Varsity Football game at Joe Raitano Field at 7:00pm. Our Lady Indians are hosting the annual Labor Day classic at SFHS and will also play at home Friday and Saturday. Our Indians continue to experience success and welcome your support. Remember all employees are encouraged to take advantage of free entrance to all athletic events with district badges, in order to promote attendance and support of our students and their performances. On Sept. 10th from 11:00-6:00pm, the Santa Fe Texas Education Foundation is partnering with McRee Ford and Ford Motor Company in sponsoring a Ford Drive One 4UR School Event. The event will be held in the SFHS parking lot and drivers must show a valid driver’s license and complete a form stating they are fully insured. The Santa Fe Education Foundation would like you to join them and test drive a new Ford vehicle. SFTXEF receives $20 from Ford Motor Company for every test drive, and the goal is to have at least 300 test drives so the Foundation can earn $6,000 to be used in grant awards to help support SFISD teachers in enhancing education for the students of SFISD! A variety of prizes will also be awarded to participants, including a Netbook. Each campus will be tallied by percentage of participation and the campus with the highest percentage of participants will be granted an award as well. Please mark your calendars and encourage others to participate and support our Foundation and SFISD teachers. As you know, every year the State of Texas holds each school district accountable for academic success. Campuses are rated as Exemplary, Recognized, Acceptable or Unacceptable based on student academic performance on a variety of measures. Did you know school districts are also rated on financial management? Santa Fe ISD just received a Superior Achievement Rating for 2009. The rating is based on financial strength, operating cost management, personnel management, debt management, cash management, budget planning and tax collections. We are proud to announce that SFISD is just one of only 3 school districts in Galveston County to achieve this rating. Santa Fe ISD is committed to maintaining fiscal responsibility for district students, parents, and taxpayers. Many districts across the State of Texas are experiencing budgetary concerns similar to our district. These difficult economic times are heightened in the finances of the district as a result of the state funding system that places SFISD at the lowest funded district in the county. A ‘target revenue’ system was established in 2006 and remains today. SFISD is ‘frozen’ at a set revenue per student regardless of taxpayer contributions. When taxpayer contributions increase with property valuation, the state funding decreases to maintain this set target revenue. This is not an equitable system, as SFISD has less available funding than neighboring districts to provide a quality education to our students. An increase in value of property from the appraisal district does not mean more money for our schools. The Texas funding system that is currently in place equalizes funds so that the state simply contributes less to the district. While operating costs continue to increase with salaries, fuel, insurance, and energy costs, the funding level has not changed since 2006. The 2008 bond funds were a blessing to our district in regards to greatly improved facilities for our students; however, these funds can only be used for facility upgrades and technology. While we are extremely appreciative of the opportunity to upgrade our schools through bond funds, our general operating funds that are supported with state and taxpayer funds are not impacted as a result. Therefore, our assurance is that we continue to be committed to fiscal responsibility while maintaining an excellent school district for our students. We continue to examine all aspects of our operations, making adjustments in many areas in order to maintain quality education while maintaining fiscal responsibility. As we look toward a new Texas Legislative session, we will be watching closely and advocating strongly for education and our children. Everyone have a restful and enjoyable Labor Day Holiday Weekend! Leigh Wall, Ed.D. Superintendent of Schools Santa Fe Independent School District leigh.wall@sfisd.org 409-925-9093 Our mission is to Prepare ALL members of the Santa Fe Independent School District learning community to Achieve and Succeed through innovative strategies and collaborative relationships.
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