Oak Ridge Today

Council to consider $250,000 transfer to schools to avoid shutdown

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Oak Ridge City Council

The Oak Ridge City Council will meet in a special session Tuesday evening to consider a one-time $250,000 transfer to the city schools, which could avert a potential loss of millions of dollars in state funding and avoid an Oct. 1 school shutdown.

The Oak Ridge City Council will meet in a special session Tuesday evening to consider a one-time $250,000 transfer to the city schools, which could avert a potential loss of millions of dollars in state funding and avoid an Oct. 1 school shutdown.

The special meeting starts at 5 p.m. Tuesday in the Oak Ridge Municipal Building Courtroom.

Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson told Superintendent Bruce Borchers last week that Council had agreed to the special session to resolve the $250,000 shortfall but wanted documentation. Watson asked Borchers to respond by noon Monday. [Read more…]

See the local revenue numbers at center of school funding dispute

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Oak Ridge Schools Maintenance of Effort 2014

The maintenance of effort spreadsheet pictured above is used to determine whether local revenues for Oak Ridge Schools are the same from year to year. This spreadsheet, which includes some budget adjustments, shows a $250,000 shortfall. (Image courtesy Oak Ridge Schools/Karen Gagliano)

Note: This story was updated at 11:35 a.m.

It might be difficult to understand the concerns about Oak Ridge Schools’ funding and the state maintenance of effort test without seeing the local revenue numbers.

So, Oak Ridge Today has posted a copy of a maintenance of effort spreadsheet provided by Karen Gagliano, Oak Ridge Schools business and support services director. This spreadsheet includes budget adjustments that helped reduce the local revenue shortfall from the original $393,000 to a smaller $250,000.

Oak Ridge education officials have asked the city to cover that smaller shortfall to avoid a loss in state funding of $1.87 million per month and avert a school shutdown on Oct. 1. It’s the equivalent of a 2.5-cent property tax rate increase, although it’s too late for a tax increase this year. [Read more…]

Council agrees to special meeting on school shortfall but wants documentation

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Mark Watson

Mark Watson

The Oak Ridge City Council has agreed to meet in a special session next week to try to resolve a $250,000 school funding shortfall that education officials claim could lead to a loss of millions of dollars in state funding and a temporary school shutdown if it’s not resolved by Oct. 1.

But Council members want documentation to accompany the request, Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson told Superintendent Bruce Borchers in a Sept. 11 letter. It should include an explanation of why the money is needed, information on decisions made by the Oak Ridge Board of Education to close schools on Oct. 1 if the funding is not obtained, and copies of any formal notice from the Tennessee education commissioner that he has agreed to withhold all of the state funding for Oak Ridge Schools starting in October, the city manager said. [Read more…]

Nothing to report yet on Oak Ridge Schools funding, state official says

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Tennessee officials had little to say on Wednesday about the potential loss of state education funding that Oak Ridge school officials have said could cost the school system $1.87 million per month—and lead to a temporary school shutdown on Oct. 1.

“We are starting to have meetings with various people regarding this situation, but at this point, we don’t have anything to report,” said Kelli Gauthier, communications director for the Tennessee Department of Education. [Read more…]

School officials say millions in state funding at risk, could close schools Oct. 1

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Bruce Borchers and Mark Watson

Oak Ridge Schools Superintendent Bruce Borchers, left, and City Manager Mark Watson have had a series of meetings concerning the school system’s failure to pass a state maintenance of effort test, and a possible resolution of a $250,000 shortfall to avoid a potential loss in state funding of up to $1.87 million per month.

Schools want city to cover $250,000 shortfall, could require 2.5-cent tax increase

It’s a high-stakes battle between the city and the schools, with a potential loss of up to $1.87 million per month in state funding—and a possible shutdown of the school system on Oct. 1.

School officials said the Oak Ridge system has failed a state maintenance of effort test that requires local funding to remain at least the same from year to year. After some budget adjustments, there is a $250,000 shortfall, school officials said, and they want the city to cover it. It’s the equivalent of a 2.5-cent property tax rate increase.

“Unfortunately, we’re just in the position to ask the city to help us,” Oak Ridge Superintendent Bruce Borchers said Thursday. “They’re going to have to find that $250,000.” [Read more…]

ORHS a finalist for prize recognizing improvements in student achievement

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Oak Ridge High School

Oak Ridge High School is one of twelve finalists, and three high schools, competing for a prize that recognizes schools and schools districts in Tennessee that have most dramatically improved student achievement.

Oak Ridge High School is one of twelve finalists for a prize that recognizes schools in Tennessee that have most dramatically improved student achievement.

Two other high schools, Maryville and Covington, also made the list, which was announced Tuesday by State Collaborative on Reforming Education, or SCORE, a nonprofit organization founded by former U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist.

The finalists include elementary, middle, and high schools, and school districts in Tennessee. They are competing for the third annual SCORE Prize. School winners will be announced in October and receive $10,000, and the district winner will collect $25,000. [Read more…]

ORAU awards $39,000 in education grants to East Tennessee schools

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ORAU Education Grants

Oak Ridge Associated Universities awards 27 teachers from 17 East Tennessee schools more than $39,000 during a recent grants ceremony. (Submitted photo)

Oak Ridge Associated Universities awarded more than $39,000 to more than two dozen teachers in 17 schools in Oak Ridge, Clinton, Norris, and Anderson County in a recent grants ceremony.

It was the 12th annual ORAU Education Grants ceremony, and 27 teachers received awards, a press release said.

The grant money can be used to buy educational materials and equipment such as microscopes, iPads, robotics kits, and computers that will help teachers “continue to meet rigorous, state-wide curriculum standards and enhance the learning experience of their students,” the release said. [Read more…]

Local graduate receives B&W four-year scholarship

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Sheri Cunningham and B&W Scholarship

Deputy General Manager of Operations Dave Richardson, left, meets Bearden High School graduate Sheri Cunningham, center, at Y-12’s New Hope Center to congratulate her on her receipt of a Babcock and Wilcox scholarship. Cunningham is the daughter of B&W Y-12 engineer Penny Cunningham, right. (Photo courtesy B&W Y-12)

Babcock and Wilcox recently announced the winners of the 2013 B&W Scholarship, and one recipient is the daughter of an engineer at the Y-12 National Security Complex.

Sheri Cunningham is a Bearden High School graduate and the daughter of B&W Y-12 engineer Penny Cunningham. She will receive $1,500 per year for up to four years of college-level study. [Read more…]

Paranormal investigator to share career experiences at Roane State

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Lorraine Warren

Lorraine Warren at the premiere of “The Conjuring” on July 15 at the Cinerama Dome in Los Angeles. (Photo Credit: Sue Schneier/MGP)

Paranormal investigator Lorraine Warren will give a lecture at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 1, in the O’Brien Theatre at Roane State Community College in Harriman.

Warren will speak about the many hauntings that she and her late husband, Ed, investigated. The Warren’s most celebrated case involved their role as chief investigators of the haunting on Long Island, N.Y., that became the subject of a number one best-selling book and movie, “The Amityville Horror.”

Their most harrowing encounter in Harrisville, Pa., was recently depicted in the feature film “The Conjuring,” starring Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson as the Warrens. [Read more…]

Y-12 collects school supplies for ADFAC

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Y-12 Donates School Supplies to ADFAC

Y-12 National Security Complex employees Stacy DeMonbrun, Judy Allen, Stacy Cotton, Dana Davis, Becky Hook (ADFAC), Janie Hoard, Susan Beckham, Telesa Kaye Weaver, and John Fellers deliver school supplies to ADFAC. (Photo courtesy B&W Y-12/Scott Fraker)

Kids around the country are heading back to school, and with help from employees at the Y-12 National Security Complex, many in East Tennessee will head back with all the supplies they’ll need for a successful school year, a press release said.

The release said Y-12 recently collected thousands of individual items for Aid to Distressed Families of Appalachian Counties’ annual school supply drive as part of the United Way Days of Caring drive. That total included more than 230 boxes of crayons and markers, 320 notebooks, 300 glue sticks, and 220 packs of pens and pencils. Employees also donated more than $2,500. [Read more…]

State grant to be used for sidewalks, crosswalks at Andersonville Elementary

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A $242,256 state grant announced Thursday will be used for sidewalks, crosswalks, signs, and pavement markings in the school zone near Andersonville Elementary School, Tennessee officials announced Thursday. It will also fund educational programs and activities that encourage walking and biking as a practical and healthy initiative.

The Anderson County grant was part of $2.1 million in grants awarded to 15 municipalities across Tennessee and announced Thursday under the Safe Routes to School program. That nationwide initiative is designed to make bicycling and walking to school safer, more appealing, and healthier for students in kindergarten through eighth grade. [Read more…]

First Wildcat Day for all sports draws players, fans, Coach Gaddis

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Oak Ridge High School Wildband at Wildcat Day

Members of the Oak Ridge High School Band play at the opening of a Wildcat Day pep rally at the Ben Martin field on Saturday.

Enthusiastic fans and players flocked to Oak Ridge High School on Saturday for a first-of-its-kind pep rally that incorporated all sports and featured a football coach that helped the Wildcats win their last state championship and is leading the team once more.

The pep rally was part of what had officially been proclaimed Wildcat Day by the Oak Ridge City Council. The rally featured short cheerleader routines, music by members of the Oak Ridge High School Band, short speeches from city and school officials, an introduction to the ORHS Wildcats football team and coaches, and fireworks. [Read more…]