Memphis Schools Community News
Engage Educate Empower
February 2018
Superintendent - Brad Gudme
Annual Summer Tax Levy
Memphis Community Schools has recently voted to change our school tax levy for 2018. Currently, the school tax is levied December 1st with a collection deadline of February 14th. In 2018 your local municipality will begin levying the school taxes in the summer. The tax will be levied on July 1st with a collection deadline of September 14th. This change will cause residents of Memphis Community School District to pay taxes twice within a 9 ½ month period, December 1st – September 14th. The Michigan Department of Treasury does allow certain individuals that qualify to apply for a summer tax deferment. More information can be obtained through your local city or township clerk.
This change has been made with several factors in mind that will allow us to continue to be a fiscally responsible school district. Like many public schools in Michigan, we are required to borrow money from the state in order to prevent cash flow issues and being able to make payroll payments each month. Making the switch to a summer tax collection aligns our revenues up better to the design of our school expenses reducing the amount of borrowing or eliminating it completely.
Last year, we were required to borrow over $1.6 million from the Michigan State Aid Note Program, costing the district over $18,000 in interest. This loan program allows us to borrow money at a competitive interest rate but it is capped for each district. Recent financial projections show that we may be in jeopardy of needing to borrow more than allowed through this program in years to come forcing us to borrow money at a higher interest rate.
It is a priority of Memphis Community Schools to consider all potential means of saving of general fund dollars in order for us to provide the best programs to our students based on the resources available. We will also continue to take the necessary measures to ensure that all savings are passed on to our community.
If you have any further questions about this please feel free to reach out to Brad Gudme, Superintendent, Memphis Community Schools. bgudme@memphisk12.org or 810-535-8225.
Jr/Sr HS Principal - Matt Karaffa
In order to prepare our 11th grade students for the SAT test this April, Memphis High School will begin Khan Academy PEAK Hour for the second semester. Our juniors will have the opportunity to work in their own individual Khan Academy accounts in areas such as test prep and strategies and each student may take up to five practice exams before the real deal on April 11, 2018. Each Khan classroom will run three days a week and will be guided by a certified teacher. The Khan PEAK classrooms will focus on the subject areas of Math and English Language Arts (ELA). Good luck Juniors!
Success For the Next Step!
Memphis Jr/Sr High School presents: Success For the Next Step! This program is designed to give our junior students and parents the opportunity to come to Memphis and learn about the following: college readiness, test prep, financial aid for college, trades and apprenticeship and much, much more! Oh...and did we mention there will be food? This event will be held on February 21st from 6:00-7:30 pm in the media center! All junior students and parents are welcome to attend!
Elementary Principal - Susan Hankins
Positive Behavioral Interventions & Supports (PBIS)
We are halfway through our first year of PBIS Implementation. Students and staff have spent a lot of time engaged in learning the expectations in various common areas of our school. Since implementing this program office referrals have declined significantly. When students are “caught” with positive behavior they are awarded with Bee Bucks and get to shop in The Hive! Students can choose to enter their Bee Bucks into a raffle or soon they can start saving them and shop for bigger prizes. Catch our weekly Bee Buck Winners on our Memphis Elementary Facebook page or on Twitter by following @TheSusanHankins or the #WeAreMemphis #MemphisPide.
Art Class Begins
Last week, marked the end of the first half of the school year and Mrs. Hulett finished up her music class. Beginning on Monday, January 29th, Memphis Elementary students made the transition from music to Art class. Students will be working with all different art mediums and will also be working on an Art to Remember project! Parents, remember to check their folders daily for some great art projects headed your way!
Kindergarten Kickoff
Students of the Month
High School - Riley Seres (11th Grade)
Junior High - Jack Yaek (8th Grade)
Elementary - Alishia Piche (4th Grade)
We are Memphis!
Memphis Alumni we want to hear from you. We are working hard to continue to promote our District and share with everyone how great Memphis Community Schools are. We are building a data base of all our amazing Alumni and we need your help. Please send us your picture with name, profession, where you live, accomplishments and graduation year. We plan to share this information using social media and also by posting it throughout our halls for all of our current students to see. Please share this with all your classmates to help gather as many responses as possible. Thanks for your continued support. #memphispride
Upcoming Events
- Snowcoming Dance - February 9th at 6:00
- Mid Winter Break - February 16th - 19th
- Junior Future Planning Night - February 21st at 6:00
- Mock Trial - February 24th at the St. Clair County Courthouse
Check out the February edition of What's Buzzing, link below, for more Elementary School events
Stay Connected
- Visit our website www.memphisk12.org
- Stay current with Athletics events and calendars www.memphisk12.org/athletics.html
- Check us out on Facebook @MemphisSchools
- Follow Us on Twitter: Brad Gudme, Superintendent, @bgudme; Matt Karaffa, Jr/Sr HS Principal, @MemJrSrHigh; Susan Hankins, Elementary Principal, @TheSusanHankins
Memphis Community Schools
Email: bgudme@memphisk12.org
Website: memphisk12.org
Location: 34110 Bordman Road, Memphis, MI, United States
Phone: 810-392-2151
Facebook: facebook.com/memphisschools