Kentwood Public Schools

Kentwood, Wyoming school districts agree to combine efforts on one program

KENTWOOD — Kentwood and Wyoming public schools will work together combining adult education programs this fall.

Kentwood Superintendent Scott Palczewski said it makes financial sense for the districts to share resources in adult education classes, including the growing demand for English as a Second Language.

The combined classes will be held in Wyoming near the Kentwood border, along a public bus route.

Oogie LaMar, director of adult education for Wyoming, said it’s a good collaboration for both districts and the people they serve. “The biggest thing is there is more opportunity for people to take courses. We’ll be able to have more times available and not just night classes,” said LaMar.

Both districts get state reimbursements for their adult education programs, but a cap is placed on the number of students. Wyoming’s cap is higher than Kentwood’s and, in recent years, Kentwood’s program has serviced more people than it’s been allowed reimbursement.

LaMar said Wyoming will still be able to get reimbursed and not increase the costs of its programs, but be able to offer more programs.

“Over the past few years we’ve all had independent programs, but they were all smaller programs. This way we can combine some of our resources and increase our offerings,” said LaMar.

In addition to English as a Second Language classes on a beginner and more advanced level, the adult education program also offers GED classes and high school completion courses.

“We’re also going to be able to offer better times, more classes to suit our populations. They’ll be able to choose from day or night classes,” said LaMar. “A lot of thought went into this. I believe this is exactly the kind of collaboration the state wants to see.”

Registration for fall classes will begin in mid-August. Information is available on the Wyoming Public Schools website at www.wyoming.k12.mi.us . More information is also available by calling the community education office at 530-7500.

E-mail the author of this story: localnews@grpress.com

Julie - it would be informative if the GR Press reported on the financial portion of adult education reimbursements. Are these programs 100% covered by the State of Michigan as a break even venture or do the school districts lose money? What are the measurable outcomes of such programs? Why do K-12 districts even offer these adult programs when their primary mission is educating adolescents? Is this not an area for the community colleges to undertake?

RightMichigan.com || Kentwood Public School Board - Entering The Arena

Around 430 BC, Pericles - a prominent Athenian statesman and general - said, "We do not say that a man who takes no interest in politics is a man who minds his own business; we say that he has no business here at all.  Just because you do not take an interest in politics doesn't mean politics won't take an interest in you."  I've said before that though I would probably have disagreed with him on many of his policy positions, I will readily concede that the man had a point.

Many people might be surprised to learn that between 55% and 60% of their property taxes go to directly support the local K-12 school district, and might likewise be unaware that the government authority levying those taxes is the local school board.  But the fact is that both of those things are true, and ought to be true if we want a high-quality public K-12 education system over which the local citizens have the maximum possible control.

The taxpayers who fund that school system, and the parents who entrust their children to it, have every expectation that the resources of the school district will be dedicated to a single-focus mission: to prepare our children to be self-sufficient adults in a globally competitive society.  In the case of the Kentwood Public Schools, these resources include at least 18 separate facilities , a teaching faculty and support staff of about 1,385 , and a current budget of $87,145,000.00 .  All of this is supporting a current enrollment of 8,780 students.

The school board's first and foremost responsibility is the management and oversight of those resources.  Anything that doesn't directly and efficiently support the school district's focus doesn't deserve so much as one penny of tax money.  Management and oversight is something that I know a bit about, because all but the first seven years of my professional career were spent in one management position or another.

Anyone who's been following the budget debates in Lansing and Washington is probably aware that local government units (including this school board) may be facing some tough fiscal choices in the coming months.  It's my belief that we best serve our community and our children by staying as far "ahead of the curve" as possible on potential budget issues, and adjusting our own fiscal planning accordingly.

I've long held to the axiom that if you want to make a difference, then you have to get involved.

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From there to here to a look ahead in Kentwood Public Schools