FMS @ a Glance
May 13-17, 2019
Proud to be!
Shout out to the Spring Celebration committee for putting together a fun evening!!!
To Kevin Steinkamp for all of your help with the logistics of Spring Celebration including many last minute requests!
Thanks to Pat Freeman for cleaning up FMS grounds while on her lunch walks.
Legislative Update
Over the weekend, a TV host commented that the 2019 legislative session was “winding down”. This caught my ear given that, in fact, the exact opposite is true. The legislative session is just getting fired up and will be proceeding in a high-pressure atmosphere for the next 13 days.
Last week the House and Senate completed their omnibus bills and appointed conferees. The Senate bill was completed on Wednesday. The floor debate included two dozen amendments. One amendment included multiple changes to the Pupil Fair Dismissal Act which we oppose.
The language of the amendment was identical to language in the House Education bill. This language fundamentally ties the hands of teachers and administrators to maintain discipline both in the classroom and in schools by limiting the discretion of teachers and principals to determine when students should be removed from class or dismissed from school. We think by the end of session this language can be modified to work effectively in schools but in its current form it would cause significant issues.
The Senate floor discussion focused on the disparities in the suspensions of minority and disabled students. Unquestionably, this is an issue that we must continue to address. But we need a comprehensive approach to students of color and disabled students in addition to our general discipline. The proposed language didn’t do that. It contained mandates without resources.
Senator Nelson was instrumental in advocating for schools on this topic. As usual, Senator Clausen’s counsel was key in defeating the amendment as well. Senator Pratt was helpful as well. The bill was then passed by the Republican majority along with three Democrats.
The Education Conference committee started work on Monday, doing the long walk through every line of funding in a $17 billion budget. This hearing takes place in a windowless hearing room in the State Office Building. The 5 Senators and 5 House members making up the committee follow along on huge stacks of paper. The process involves staff going over 315 budget lines on a spread sheet that can only be read with a magnifying glass! (I think they have a special tiny font used only for this purpose.)
The gavel passes back and forth between the House and Senate each day. At this stage of the process, this is not particularly significant. The committee does like to meet and the hearing room is always full of lobbyists, staff and advocates. In addition, the Department of Education has a significant staff presence at all of these meeting.
This is the informational stage of the conference committee process. The committee lacks any authority to spend any money at this point, effectively making this a “wax on, wax off” stage in the proceedings. And absent some minor exceptions, no policy decisions are made yet. (There is a discussion of “same and similar provisions” at some point, but we aren’t even there yet.)
The important work is taking place across the street.
Meetings are taking place with legislative leadership and the Governor in an attempt to set budget targets. In effect, these meetings will decide the outlines for all of the major budget decisions. These meetings take place in the Governor’s corner office in the Capitol. Six people are involved in these closed door discussions, including:
Governor Tim Walz
Lt. Governor Peggy Flanagan
Sen. Paul Gazelka, Majority Leader
Sen. Julie Rosen, Finance Committee Chair
Rep. Melissa Hortman, Speaker
Rep. Ryan Winkler, Majority Leader
The agreed upon deadline for targets was Monday, May 6th. No one realistically expected to have targets on that day. Notwithstanding this, the legislative leadership was working very hard to come to an agreement, having met all of the other self-imposed deadlines. To that end, discussions took place throughout the weekend and into the evening on Monday. These broke off today.
They take some breaks to talk to the press where little is generally revealed. Leaders discuss the difficulty of coming to agreement and usually assert they are making progress. Remember, Minnesota is the only state that has Republicans in control of one body and the Democrats in charge of the other, so these discussions are not easy.
Today the Senate told the press that the House refused to move off of significant tax increases. The House asserted that it had proposed significant compromise with no movement by the Senate. The Senate asserted that it had moved. In an atypical public response to a reporter’s question, Speaker Hortman replied: “I’m sorry, bulls&$t”. It was one of the most interesting comments of the day. We will know more tomorrow night about those discussions.
The Education Conference Committee met again, to walk through financial language provisions and ask questions of each other and staff. You can learn a lot in these hearings, but it’s pretty dry.
The process this year is very different from the last biennium. When Republicans controlled both the House and Senate, they passed bills, sent them to the Governor, received vetoes and then began to negotiate with the Governor. In this model, there won’t be bills passed until the Democrats and Republicans agree on a target. No vetoes.
No deal yet. May 20th is adjournment date. We’ll just keep painting the fence and waxing the car. I’ll send another report later this week.
Week @ a Glance
Monday, May 13
Roosevelt Elementary School tours FMS
PST to visit CPTs as needed
9:00 am Student Service (TBD)
3:00 pm Team Lead meeting
Tuesday, May 14
Choir Concert
World Cultures Field trip
8:30 am District Leadership meeting
8:30 am 8th-grade tour FHS
3:30 pm FMS Admin meeting
Wednesday, May 15
Wednesday Development Day meeting
Lincoln Elementary School tours FMS
Restorative practices with Katie A.
9:00 am PST
Thursday, May 16
Staff Breakfast provided by Community School
7:00 am Department Chair meeting
9:00 am Principal PLC with Ruan K.
Friday, May 17
8th-grade AVID trip
Jefferson Elementary School tours FMS
Staff gathering after school
5th grade Fun Night
8:00 am Outstanding Athlete Award
A look ahead:
Assemblies during Advisory period
5/20 Finance Committee
5/20 Student Services
5/20 NO Teacher Induction meeting
5/21 SITE Co.
5/21 FMS Admin meeting
5/22 Band Concert
5/22 PST
5/22 Restorative Practices
5/23 Community School meeting
5/23 EL Banquet
5/24 All-Star Breakfast
5/24 District Principal meeting
May 9, 2019 | Volume 14 | Issue 26
Mary Ann Ware and Jodi Rath
Steps to prepare for the Gmail migration (STEP THREE)
See attached document for:
- Renaming folders
- Do you want to skip the import of emails? -- Must be requested by June 3rd.
- New Apps to Install
Here is the Gmail Conversion Process Timeline (Tentative)
June 7th - Sometime between 11:00 am and 12:00pm the request will be made for mail exchange records to begin converting to Gmail.
June 10th - You will be able to receive/send email using Gmail
June 10th -14th - Migration of contacts, calendars and mail will occur(will will make every attempt to do this sooner if possible). This will take a few days to complete. Remember you will still have access to your current mailbox. Data conversion will be in this order for all.
- Contacts
- Calendar
- Emails
June 17th - 19th - Beginner and advanced Gmail and GSuite training with Tierney. Sign up sheet coming soon, watch for email.
June 17th - 19th - Techs will be available to troubleshoot any outstanding email issues.
We ask for your patience as we complete this migration process. As always contact your building technician or email me if you have any questions.
Thank you!
Maria Hanson, District Technology Coordinator
710 17th Street SW Faribault, MN 55021
507-333-6065
Reminders
Students staying after school need to be dismissed at 3:15 pm for 2nd route bussing. Passes are needed by the teachers if they are not regular 2nd route riders.