Author Archives: DenairPulse Editor

State Funding Boost to Buoy Proposed 2015-16 Denair Budget

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Submitted by Denair Unified School District

Continued growth in elementary enrollment and a $1 million infusion of extra state money are the key reasons behind the ongoing financial improvement in the Denair Unified School District.

Trustees listened to a presentation and heard public comment about the proposed $11.9 million budget for 2015-16 at their meeting Thursday night, a decrease of $270,000 from the previous year attributed to staffing reductions. Board members will take a final vote at their June 25 meeting.

The best news concerned the number of elementary students. Projections show 481 youngsters in kindergarten through fifth grade at the new Denair Elementary Charter Academy and traditional Denair Elementary School. That’s an increase from 468 in 2014-15.

The growth at the elementary level partially offsets further decline at Denair High School, where enrollment is projected to be 300 in 2015-16 – 36 students less than the year before.

Across the entire district, enrollment is projected to be 1,220, 35 students less than 2014-15.

“Our goal is to grow enrollment (at the lower grades) and push it to the middle school and high school,” Superintendent Aaron Rosander explained.

Denair Unified has six campuses – a high school, middle school, elementary school, two charter schools and a state-sponsored preschool. Projections for the next three budget cycles anticipate a 4% annual enrollment decline, but Rosander said the district will work hard to retain students within its boundaries and attract others to its charter programs.

The improving California economy is the reason behind the additional state funding, Chief Business Officer Linda Covello told trustees. In his May budget revision, Gov. Jerry Brown proposed pumping $6 billion more into K-12 schools than the plan he announced in January. Continue reading “State Funding Boost to Buoy Proposed 2015-16 Denair Budget” »

DUSD Administrative Offices Relocating

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DUSD Administrative Offices

Submitted by Denair Unified School District

A state law that restricts the use of portable school buildings will require the Denair Unified School District to move its administrative offices into three spare classrooms.

The offices of the superintendent and his staff and the chief business officer and her staff currently are in two relocatable buildings on Lester Road adjacent to the elementary campus and across the street from Denair Middle School. The oldest building was installed in 1980 and the other in 2001.

But a state law that went into effect in September 2006 says that any portable buildings in which teachers or students spend even a short amount of time cannot be used as school facilities after Sept. 30, 2015.

District officials intend to modify three adjoining elementary classrooms. Partitions dividing the rooms will be removed and new offices created for Superintendent Aaron Rosander, Chief Business Officer Linda Covello, Senior Director of Student Support Services Michelle Bush and their administrative staffs.

Covello expects the project to cost about $35,000 and be completed by the time school resumes in early August. The money will come from a restricted maintenance fund that has $60,000 in it carried over from last year.

“This is isn’t our choice. Our space is working for us. We could stay where we are, but the state says we have to move,” she said.

Covello said the superintendent’s office could be repurposed into a space for the district information and technology staff because students have no need to go there. The other building is likely to be locked and fenced off.

The IT staff currently is housed in what used to be the Denair Elementary School Office, in the mid 1990’s.

DHS Valedictorians Reflect On High School Experiences

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Andrew Knapp, Brian Dudley, Anna Dirkse

Submitted by Denair Unified School District

The Denair High School Class of 2015 will be honored May 29 at a graduation celebration. The event begins at 7:30 p.m. at Jack Lytton Stadium. Gates open at 6 p.m. Tickets are not required.

Anna Dirkse, Brian Dudley and Andrew Knapp will be the valedictorians. All three accumulated a 4.3 grade-point average in their four years at Denair – the highest in their class. Anna, Brian and Andrew recently took time to answer 10 questions about their high school experiences.

Question: What are the key things other students should know about your academic success and how you achieved it?

Anna: Some of the keys to my success have been my parents and my teachers. Both have pushed me to do my best and helped me to succeed.

Brian: My parents really pushed me to get A’s in my classes. Another thing that helped me go for the better grades was to get higher grades than my brother did throughout high school.

Andrew:  All I did was do what was asked of me. From there, I gained an interest in what I did through my teachers.  Everything else simply fell into place.

Q: How much time outside of class did you spend studying or doing homework?

Brian: It really depended on the time of year, but I would estimate at least two to three hours per night studying.

Andrew:  Depending on the time of year, I would study from less than one hour to around four.

Anna: I have never had to spend much time on homework. On a normal day, two hours at most. Continue reading “DHS Valedictorians Reflect On High School Experiences” »