Oak Ridge Today

Convertible laptops provided to two grades at ORHS as part of Access Oak Ridge

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Convertible laptops were provided to 9th-grade and 10th-grade students at Oak Ridge High School in October as part of Oak Ridge Schools’ digital initiative, which is known as Access Oak Ridge. (Submitted photo)

Convertible laptops were provided to 9th-grade and 10th-grade students at Oak Ridge High School in October as part of Oak Ridge Schools’ digital initiative, which is known as Access Oak Ridge. (Submitted photo)

 

Convertible laptops were provided to 9th-grade and 10th-grade students at Oak Ridge High School in October as part of Oak Ridge Schools’ digital initiative, which is known as Access Oak Ridge.

The roll-out to the two grades at ORHS was launched the week of October 17.

“Through our Access Oak Ridge digital one-to-one initiative, our vision is to empower all Oak Ridge students with equitable access to digital learning opportunities; to innovate, design, collaborate, and ultimately succeed in local and global communities of the future,” a press release said. “This initiative is geared toward increasing opportunities for creativity and out-of-the-box problem solving. In a 1:1 environment, teachers can serve as collaborative facilitators in an atmosphere of timely information gathering and authentic problem-based learning.”

The student laptops or portable devices are also in use or being rolled out in other nearby school districts, including in Anderson County and Clinton. They’ve previously been distributed to students in some other grade levels in Oak Ridge, starting with some students in the city’s two middle schools. [Read more…]

2014 Election: School board candidates talk taxes, budgets, bus routes, Preschool

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Oak Ridge Board of Education Candidates 2014

Oak Ridge Board of Education candidates are, from right, Mike Mahathy, Laura McLean, Bob Eby, Andy Howe, Paige Marshall, and Jean Hiser. Not pictured are Laurie Paine and Aaron Wells.

 

Note: This story was last updated at 10:10 a.m. Nov. 3.

School board candidates at two forums this campaign season expressed optimism that school officials will be able to continue to provide school bus transportation to most students in the next school year, and several said they would support a property tax rate increase if it were deemed necessary.

Bob Eby, Oak Ridge Board of Education vice chair, cited delayed staff raises and textbook purchases as well as capital project needs. Eby helped lead moves this summer to restore bus transportation to preschool students and then other students after the area where bus service is not provided was temporarily expanded to 1.5 miles as part of cost-cutting measures in June.

In August, Karen Gagliano, Oak Ridge Schools director of business and support services, said the $500,000 in fund balance money used to restore transportation and the delayed purchase of textbooks, among other things, means the school system could start the Fiscal Year 2015 budget discussions with a $1.8 million deficit, before anything new is added.

“I will ask for a tax increase next year,” Eby said. “We’ve put (off) all we can put off.” [Read more…]

Oak Ridge Schools has Technology Town Hall on Sept. 30

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Bruce Borchers

Bruce Borchers

Oak Ridge Schools Superintendent Bruce Borchers will host a Technology Town Hall on September 30.

The town hall will start at 7 p.m. Tuesday, September 30, in the Oak Ridge High School Performing Arts Center.

“Oak Ridge Schools would like to invite all community members, parents, and students to attend,” a press release said.

The town hall will include a presentation by Borchers, followed by a question-and-answer forum.

The release said Borchers’ short presentation will discuss the benefits of Oak Ridge Schools launching a Bring Your Own Device, or BYOD, platform starting the second nine weeks of school, on October 20, and the future of Oak Ridge Schools’ technology plan with a continued move towards integrating 1:1 (district-purchased devices for all students). [Read more…]

Oak Ridge Schools walk zone expanded to 1.5 miles, could affect 1,800

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Charlsey Cofer at Oak Ridge School Board Meeting

Oak Ridge Preschool Interim Principal Charlsey Cofer, left, says that cutting preschool transportation could result in fewer students, which would in turn result in less funding.

Note: This story was last updated at 3:15 a.m. June 25.

Starting this fall, bus service will no longer be offered to students who live within 1.5 miles of Oak Ridge schools. The move is expected to save $500,000. It’s part of a larger effort to reduce a $1.25 million deficit.

The expansion of the “parent responsibility zone” for school transportation was the largest change approved by the Oak Ridge Board of Education on Monday. The 1.5-mile walk zone could affect 1,800 students, said Karen Gagliano, Oak Ridge Schools director of business and support services.

Other budget changes approved Monday include a delay in the purchase of textbooks, a move expected to save about $330,000, and a $123,000 reduction in the number of planned hires of technicians. The school system now expects more than $200,000 in additional revenue from state Basic Education Program funding and sales and property tax revenues.

A technology initiative known as 1:1 is no longer being considered as originally envisioned, and 2 percent pay raises for school staff members are off the table.

But the school board worked to save preschool transportation, a program that costs roughly $74,000 per year. Interim Preschool Principal Charlsey Cofer warned that cutting transportation for preschoolers could result in a drop in the number of students, which would in turn affect funding. She said about 170 students used the transportation last year out of more than 200 who were enrolled. [Read more…]

Guest column: Oak Ridge—a city teetering—which way will it go?

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Bob Eby

Bob Eby

By Bob Eby

Friday, June 20

This week, I experienced great joy and significant sadness. The joy was being with my daughter and son-in-law as she birthed our first grandchild and we brought her home from the hospital in California. It was because I was with them during this joyous time that I missed last Monday night’s City Council meeting, but I did watch it live through Internet streaming (technology is great!). It was during that time that I felt sadness and disappointment. I realized that this wonderful community I have known for 50 years now balances on a tipping point, to fall on a downward spiral or gradually move forward with a great and dedicated effort toward prosperity. Why do I say this?

Last year, the Board of Education hired a new superintendent who brought with him much energy and a vision to re-establish the Oak Ridge Schools to its premier status as not only the number one school district in the State of Tennessee but also the premier district in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) in the country. The Board fully supported the vision, though we were recommending a three-year roll-out, which we felt was more realistic and would allow opportunity to adjust the implementation as we and the staff worked together to achieve our goals.

With their recent action, the City Council not only chose not to support this vision, but they very likely have failed to provide our teachers and associated staff the recognition they so deserve with any funding for their first raise (2 percent) in four years. City Council does plan to provide city-employeed staff with a raise. I think it is only right that all employees of our community receive a raise. All school staff and city employees are equally deserving of this recognition of their value to Oak Ridge. [Read more…]

School board to consider revised budget proposal on Monday

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Oak Ridge Board of Education

The Oak Ridge Board of Education and school administrators are pictured above during a meeting earlier this year. (File photo)

The Oak Ridge City Council did not want to raise the property tax rate, so the Oak Ridge Board of Education could consider cuts to next year’s school budget during a Monday evening meeting

The school board passed a budget in May that requested a 37-cent property tax rate increase to start rolling out a technology initiative known as 1:1, hire technology personnel and other staff, comply with the reporting requirements of the federal Affordable Care Act, and give employees a 2 percent pay raise, among other things.

But in two meetings this month, the Oak Ridge City Council rejected any change to the tax rate, and it will remain unchanged for the seventh year in a row. [Read more…]

In final vote, City Council again rejects tax increase for schools

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Oak Ridge City Council Budget Meeting

The Oak Ridge City Council on Monday again said “no” to a property tax rate increase to give more money to Oak Ridge Schools. Council is pictured above during a June 9 budget meeting.

 

Note: This story was last updated at 11:15 a.m. June 17.

Two last-minute attempts to pass smaller-than-requested tax increases for the Oak Ridge Schools failed on Monday, and the City Council voted 4-2 to approve a budget that does not raise taxes in the fiscal year that starts July 1.

The decision to not raise taxes for the seventh year in a row came after a parade of residents in two meetings this month asked Council to fully fund the schools. Many said they moved here because of the schools, and they said the educational system is Oak Ridge’s primary asset. School teachers, administrators, and school board members also said they support a greater investment in the schools.

“Flatline budgets will eventually produce flatline results,” said Steve Reddick, an eighth-grade social studies teacher at Jefferson Middle School and co-president of the Oak Ridge Education Association.

The schools had requested $17.9 million from the city, but the no-tax-increase budget lowered that amount to $14.6 million. School officials had previously said they will have to “go back to the drawing board” and make cuts if Council did not approve the tax rate increase. It’s not clear yet what cuts might be made. The Oak Ridge Board of Education could discuss changes to the school system’s budget, which was approved in May, during a Monday evening meeting.

[Read more…]

In first vote this month, Council rejects schools request for tax increase

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Oak Ridge City Council Budget Meeting

The Oak Ridge City Council rejected the school system’s request for a 37-cent tax rate increase on Monday, instead voting in the first of two votes this month to keep the tax rate steady for the seventh year in a row.

Note: This story was last updated at 9:55 a.m. June 10.

In the first of two votes this month, the Oak Ridge City Council on Monday rejected a request from school officials for a 37-cent tax rate increase that would, among other things, help fund a technology initiative meant to eventually provide an electronic learning device or tablet to all students.

Council member Charlie Hensley said the tax increase would be the largest in the city’s history, and it came in late in the budget process.

The property tax rate is now $2.39 per $100 of assessed value. The increase would push it to $2.76, and it could cost the owner of a $200,000 home another $15 per month.

“I was looking to support a tax increase, but the one that we got asked for is really, really high,” Hensley said.

There was a two-part vote on the budget on Monday. The first reduced the amount transferred to the schools to roughly $14.6 million, which was about $3.3 million less than the school board had requested, and it kept the tax rate steady for the seventh year in a row. The vote on that amendment was 5-2, with Hensley and Council member Chuck Hope voting no. [Read more…]

City recommends budget with no tax increase, Council votes Monday

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Oak Ridge City Council

The Oak Ridge City Council is pictured above during an August 2013 meeting. (File photo)

Note: This story was updated at 7:40 p.m. June 4.

Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson on Monday recommended a budget that does not raise the property tax rate, setting up a potential conflict with school officials, who have requested a 37-cent tax increase to avoid cuts.

The Oak Ridge Board of Education already approved its budget in in two meetings last week. That budget, which was scaled back from an earlier proposal, could include an extra $3.3 million to start implementing a technology initiative known as 1:1 that would provide electronic learning devices to all students over three years, add five technology positions, and give 2 percent pay raises to staff.

But the budget is still subject to the amount appropriated to the schools by the city. Oak Ridge provides a little less than one-third of the school system’s funding.

While the schools have approved a budget for the fiscal year that starts July 1, the city has not. The Oak Ridge City Council will consider the municipal budget in two separate meetings this month, one on June 9 and the second on June 16. The city budget also includes a 2 percent pay raise for employees.

It’s not clear that Oak Ridge City Council members will agree to raise taxes to accommodate the school system’s request. In his budget presentation to Council on Monday, Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson said Council members have endorsed keeping the tax rate unchanged for the seventh year in a row.

[Read more…]

Schools scale back tech initiative, could ask for 37-cent tax increase

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Doug Cofer and Oak Ridge Board of Education

Doug Cofer, left, director of the Oak Ridge Schools Technology Department, shows the Board of Education a Powerpoint presentation on Wednesday that outlines changes in the budget proposal that were made at the request of the board. (Photo by Sara Wise)

 

School officials scaled back the rollout of a digital technology initiative that would provide every student with an electronic device before approving a budget that could require a 37-cent tax increase to avoid cuts in staff or programs.

It could be one of the largest requests for a property tax rate increase in recent years. But it’s not clear if city officials, who have been working toward a no-tax-increase budget, will agree to any rate hikes.

The Oak Ridge Board of Education passed the budget for Fiscal Year 2015, which starts July 1, in a 5-1 vote on first reading on Wednesday. The vote came after amendments were made based on discussions by the school board on Tuesday night.

Board member Dan DiGregorio cast the lone vote against the proposal on Wednesday. DiGregorio said he couldn’t support a reduction in staff or more programs to make up for the tax increase, should the city not approve it. The board will ask the city for a tax increase of $0.37, down from the original proposed increase of $0.42.

[Read more…]

Guest column: Why going 1:1 is important in Oak Ridge Schools

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Oak Ridge Schools Header

By Tracey Beckendorf-Edou

By now, most of us have heard of the 1:1 (one to one) initiative, meaning that every Oak Ridge student would have a device to use both at home and at school. The following are a few of the reasons why going 1:1 is important.

Mostly, it’s better for kids

We live in a world today in which children learn through technology and are often more engaged with what they are learning when technology is incorporated. Technology does not replace good teaching, but it enhances good teaching. Technology does not replace face-to-face communication, but it adds other modes of communication. Does that mean that technology would be included in every lesson? Of course not. Students still need to explore our world in other ways. Going 1:1 does not require teachers to give up their wonderful non-technology related lessons or for students to be glued to their devices 24/7.

But going 1:1 leads us to think: What’s possible? How can students interact with what is happening outside the walls of the classroom? How can students collaborate with people from across the world? How can students receive immediate feedback so that they can improve on their mistakes immediately? For some examples of what that looks like elsewhere, please see here. [Read more…]

In budget talks, school board considers smaller rollout of technology initiative

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Oak Ridge Board of Education

The Oak Ridge Board of Education asked for a smaller rollout of a technology initiative in budget talks that will resume Wednesday evening. (File photo)

The Oak Ridge school board devoted most of its Tuesday night meeting to reviewing the proposed budget for next year, but members haven’t voted on it yet. Instead, the board has asked school administrators to bring back a budget that has a smaller rollout of a technology initiative known as 1:1, and the discussions will resume Wednesday evening.

The board agreed that the 1:1 integration is necessary, but they had reservations about how exactly to roll out the electronic devices to students. Several board members said they support the addition of the new technology, but they are unable to completely stand behind the changes because of the costs.

Board members spent nearly two hours going through expenditures Tuesday and discussing the changes they thought were needed before they would feel comfortable sending the budget to the Oak Ridge City Council.

“It includes some things that I’m not sure I’m ready to support,” said board member Jenny Richter. She suggested implementing a rollout among a smaller number of students at first so that “we can learn from our own experience and meet the whole thing halfway.” She said she could support the budget with modifications to the technology initiative. [Read more…]