Letter to the editor:
(Support the Instructional Support (ISL) Levy with a positive vote on February 1st.)
Households, businesses, governments, churches and schools … are all faced with challenging economic times. The turbulence of today’s financial environment places some tough financial decisions before us. Nowhere is this more evident than in our local schools where the maintenance of quality curriculum and staff are of vital importance in the educational preparation of our future generations.
This includes your Odebolt- Arthur School District (which we always boast as being “the finest and the proudest”). Recently a few citizens of our community were soliciting signatures on a “petition” that focused on the instructional support levy (ISL)…a financial resource that has been a valuable source of funding for the O-A School for many years. This is not a new tax and no additional taxes are being requested.
There are nearly 360 school districts in Iowa and over 340 of them take advantage of the instructional support levy in their district. This is due in large part to the state’s “school funding formula” which has provided less and less financial assistance to each school district over the years. O-A lost $165,000 in funding due to the state’s 10 percent across-the-board cut last year (the largest cut Iowa schools have ever received).
Some individuals have indicated that they were encouraged to sign the aforementioned “petition” for ambiguous reasons including “the raising of their taxes” (totally untrue). Regardless of their reasons for signing, or the underlying purpose for the “petition” itself, there will be a public vote on Feb. 1, 2011, to determine the future of the instructional support levy.
A positive vote to support the instructional support levy in February will ensure that O-A will continue to benefit from $172,342 of funding that will allow the continuation of a quality curriculum and teaching staff with favorable class sizes. (It should be noted that without the ISL, O-A could be forced to eliminate five to six teachers and increase class sizes which would have a negative impact on our academic achievement.)
If you would like more information about the ISL or school funding in general, contact a member of the O-A Board of Education or an O-A administrator. There is no one in our community better qualified to provide the real insight into these matters.
Therefore, in the name of continued quality education for our students, please plan to vote on Feb. 1, 2011, and express your support for the continuation of the instructional support levy. It’s really important for the education of our children.
Thank you.
Signed by Citizens for the Continuation of Quality Education at O-A represented by…
Alex Murphy Paul Neumann Al and Kathy Wilke Pat and Becky Reis, Odebolt
Scholarship foundation plans pancake fund-raiser, January 16
The O-A/BC-IG Scholarship Foundation will host its annual pancake breakfast fund-raiser on Sunday, Jan. 16, at the Odebolt Community Center. The foundation and students will be serving pancakes, sausage, scrambled eggs, juice, and coffee for a freewill donation. All proceeds from the event will fund scholarships provided to O-A/BC-IG seniors who apply.
The scholarships have been made available to O-A students starting with the 2010 graduates who were awarded 25 percent of the scholarship as first year recipients. A total of 26 senior students from O-A were awarded scholarships of $700-$900 each depending on community service points they have accumulated over their school careers.
This year’s 2011 O-A senior students will be awarded 50 percent of the scholarship as second-year recipients which will range from $1,400 to $1,800 a student. The year 2012 O-A senior students will be awarded 75 percent of the scholarship as third year recipients which will range from $2,100 to $2,700 a student. The year 2013 O-A senior students and every year after that will be awarded 100 percent of the scholarship ranging from $2,800-$3,600 a student.
Sports Photos: Pictures of OA/BCIG seventh grade girls' and boys' basketball teams and eighth grade girls' and boys' basketball teams are in this week's Ida County Courier.
(From on-line edition of the Ida County Courier at www.idacountycourier.com)
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