I want to give you an update on the status of NWCEO’s charter school funding equity bill, HB 3397.

It is still in the House Revenue Committee. Since our public hearing in mid-March, we have continued to talk with Legislators in both the House and Senate, and we continue to build bipartisan support for it. We have enough votes to successfully move it off of the House floor, and we have enough votes to successfully move it off the Senate floor. However, it is still “stuck” in the Revenue Committee.

You may hear about “do or die” deadlines for bills in the Legislature this session, but please know that these deadlines only apply to policy committees, and not to Rules, Revenue, Ways & Means, or Redistricting committees. Since our bill is in Revenue, it could “drag on” all the way until June 30th. We certainly hope it does not, but that is a possibility. Please know our bill is NOT “dead” at this point, but is very much alive.

The primary reason it has not yet been scheduled for a vote (i.e., “work session”) in Revenue yet is because Rep Phil Barnhart (from the Eugene area) has not yet agreed to do this. Five-six committee members have committed to voting yes, so we are continuing with a variety of efforts to persuade Rep Barnhart. If any of you have any connections with him, or with others who know him, please let me know. Additionally, we need to continue to communicate with Rep Jules Bailey and Rep Tobias Read, so any of you who live in one of their Legislative Districts, and/or otherwise have connections with them, please continue to urge them to support this bill, and to urge Rep Barnhart to schedule it for a vote.

In your messaging, please remember to acknowledge the current cuts to all K-12 schools and remind Legislators that the cuts hurt charter schools even more deeply because we have a “lower starting point” to begin with.

Other key messages to convey:

1. HB 3397 is not “more money charters.” It is decreasing the SUBSIDY that some districts currently have from charter school students.
2. HB 3397 would ensure that charters receive their equitable share of public funds allocated to districts based on “head-count.” This bill would not entitle charters to any facility funds, transportation funds, or local funds, so it would still leave charter kids with a disparity.
3. True, traditional public schools do not receive 95% of the SSF, but that is not an “apples to apples” comparison, as district schools receive extensive services from their districts, whereas each charter school is essentially an independent school system, and must provide all of its own financial, governance, personnel, facility, and other operational services.
4. If HB 3397 becomes law, it would “shift” about ¼ of 1% of the K-12 budget to “follow the students” (i.e., the sky would not fall). The impact to districts would be minor or nil, but the impact to charters would be significant, enabling them to have more stable staffing, programs, and facilities.
5. 5% is a typical “administrative rate” and more than adequate to support district charter school oversight responsibilities.

Thank you for continuing to share with us any responses you receive from Legislators.

Please let me know if you have any additional questions about this bill or other bills.

Best,

Kaaren

Kaaren Heikes, Executive Director
Northwest Center for Educational Options

We have been working hard this year to get an amazing lunch program that serves hot, healthy food and pays for itself.  Beth and Elizabeth have been dedicated and have work so hard.  The trick is with the amount of reporting and compliance involved with being a National School Lunch Program with federal guidelines there is an incredible amount of labor that is required for the program.  Try as hard as we have, we have not found a way to make it economically viable at this time.

We do believe in providing healthy lunch so after much number crunching and brainstorming we have come up with a option we feel will meet Trillium’s needs.  We will no longer be participating in the National School Lunch Program.  We will have a morning snack and lunch to those who need it.  It won’t be fancy, but it will be FREE!  It sounds crazy, but it actually will cost Trillium less money to offer a simple free lunch choice that requires minimal preparation and no administration.  The preparation will be done by volunteers (let us know if you are interested in helping!) with the free Dave’s Killer Bread we get on weekly basis.
If you are in need of a breakfast – think granola bar or a bagel and a piece of fruit in the morning. Or a PB&J, milk, and a piece of fruit for lunch there will be food available. Breakfast will be served Monday-Friday and Lunch will be served Monday-Thursday.  We won’t be charging for these options, however donations will be accepted to keep the food cost down.  These changes will start on Monday, April 25th.

Thank you for your understanding-
Genevieve

As soon as the current Trillium leadership was made aware of this
situation, we set about making full payment. However, our property
and liability insurance agent was unable to convince that carrier to
continue coverage. Despite making full and immediate payment, the
company informed the agent last week that they decided to cancel our
coverage.

We have worked throughout the weekend doing everything we can to
rectify the situation as quickly as humanly possible.

We are writing you now — and will communicate with frequency and full
transparency — in an attempt to make you aware of the facts as we
obtain them. We have communicated with Portland Public Schools over
the course of the weekend and they plan meetings early tomorrow to
identify any ways that they might support through this situation.
Please rest assured that we intend to share freely and fully any and
all updates we can provide.

Looking forward, we want you to know that the Trillium school board is
in the process of a complete review of the financial records and
status of Trillium. We have now reorganized our accounting process
and accounting personnel at the school. We want to assure you that
Trillium is now current in our payments for liability and property
coverage, and believe our insurer acted harshly and in error. While
we strenuously dispute the insurers’ decisions and are continuing in
our efforts to work out the disagreement with the company, we are also
working around the clock to procure replacement coverage so we can
re-open the school as quickly as possible.

As Trillium parents and board members, we know how stressful this
uncertainty must be, and we want you to know that we are working as
hard and as smart as we know how to address the situation, get to the
bottom of any lingering fiscal issues, and to place Trillium back on
sound footing so we can preserve the mission and great works of the
school that has made such a difference in the lives of our kids and in
the quality of our community. We will be able — and required — to
make up missed days later in the school year, and once we know how
long it will take us to re-open the school, we will let you know the
make-up dates.

To our students, we want you to know that you are, by far, our top
priority. We are deeply sorry about the disruption to your studies,
and we intend to get you back into the Trillium learning community
quickly. Further, we are determined to take the steps that will
ensure that you receive the educational experience you deserve. You
should know that your teachers miss you, and are standing by, anxious
to return to classes with you.

We are currently looking for adequate public space to host a Trillium
meeting on Tuesday night – please stay tuned for details and save the
date. Until then, please continue to look for email updates, and
check our website at www.trilliumcharterschool.org. We intend to
update you on a daily basis with our best estimate for when the school
will re-open. Again, we will err on the side of over-communication,
if such a thing is possible, because candor and honesty is the only
viable path forward for our school.

We ask for your understanding and patience as we work to restore the
school’s fiscal standing. We have new leadership, new controls and
new oversight coming into place — and we ask you to stand with us as
we confront and address these fiscal challenges and put Trillium back
on track for its next decade of collaborative and community-inspired
learning.

Thanks,
The Trillium Board of Directors

The Trillium Family would like to invite anyone and everyone to help make our outside space a little more clean and tidy before the torrential rains of winter are steadily upon us. We’ve picked Sunday, November 7 from 9-1 to be that day. We will have lunch and celebrate our days hard work at 12:30.

Here’s our list of items to accomplish:

1. Remove all debris left over from the past Village Building Convergence.
2. Move the extra dirt (in the humungo white bags) to the East side of the school, as they’ll be used for planter boxes in the Spring.
3. Remove the green strips from the green fence (the whole darn thing will be taken down eventually…this is just to tide us over.)
4. Install the bike racks/parking on the Maryland side of the school.
5. Finishing plastering The Wall.

Ideally, we’d like to have our lunch donated. If you can’t spare time to help at the work party, we’d gladly and graciously accept your donation of food. Please email Meg with what you may provide. (ie. drinks, sandwich bread, cheese, lunch meat and veggie toppings, chips, cookies, fruit, etc.)

As for the bike racks, we’ll need cement. Cement donations will also gladly be accepted.

Thanks and enjoy the weekend.

Fondly,

From One Trillium Family to Another.
]]> http://trillwill.wordpress.com/2010/10/28/front-space-work-party-nov-7/feed/ 0 Will http://trillwill.wordpress.com/2010/10/28/ideas-for-intensives/ http://trillwill.wordpress.com/2010/10/28/ideas-for-intensives/#comments Thu, 28 Oct 2010 17:56:40 +0000 Will http://trillwill.wordpress.com/?p=241 ]]> Dear Friends,

This is a public spread sheet so we can all see all of our current ideas for Intensives. Fill out as much of the info as you know and just give your best guess to the rest.   Also, if you happen to know if someone else besides a staff member (student, parent, community member, etc.) is planning an Intensive then please put any of that info in as well. Also feel free to submit info for more than one Intensive idea!

Please starting working your parents now for volunteers to teach Intensives as well as to drive and chaperone!

Thanks!

Kurt (kurt@trilliumcharterschool.org)

1. Costumes should be appropriate for a mixed age setting.
2. Masks are allowed only during the Halloween parade.
3. Weapons of any sort are not allowed at school.
4. Accessories that are disruptive or a violation of the rights and responsibilities are not allowed or should be turned off.

The staff present thought that the parade would be best at the end of the day, so at 11:45 we’ll do a parade. It will be outdoors around the park if the weather is nice or inside if not so nice. Have fun!

It is with a heavy heart that I am writing to the Trillium community to let you know that Stephanie Hinkle has resigned her post at the school.

Stephanie has been thinking about her next steps for a while, and I know she has a bright future before her. Stephanie’s development of and contributions to Trillium over the years have been tremendous, truly without measure. I ask that all of us celebrate her accomplishments, support and respect her decision, and support her next steps in the larger community. Stephanie has spoken to many of us in the past about staying involved in the Charter community because of her rich experience in the field. I look forward to hearing more about her next steps and successes.

We delivered the above information, along with a few brief comments on succession plans, to all students in a special meeting this morning in accord with the school’s “stop-rule” protocol. After the meeting they returned to their advising groups so the advisors could field initial questions and return to the school day. If you see your child’s advisor today or this week, please take a moment to thank them.

Over the next few days, Genevieve Bouwes (our current preschool director and staff development coordinator) will act as our interim director and overall go-to person for the school. Please do all you can to support Genevieve.

Our goal, of course, is to make the next few weeks and months as smooth as possible as we transition to a successor. As many of you know, we started our search for a new Executive Director over the summer after Stephanie let us know that she was planning to leave at the end of the 2010-2011 school year. Because that search has taken longer than expected, the Board approved (at their October 20th meeting) engaging with outside services to place an interim Executive Director in the role. On Thursday, October 28th, at 6pm at the school, the Board will convene a special meeting to hear any public input on the placement of an interim Executive Director. The board will also deliberate and potentially decide on whether we should also look at people within Trillium to take on the interim position until a permanent Executive Director is hired. “Interim” in this case typically means a period of anywhere from 3-9 months.

As we proceed in the coming weeks, you will receive active and direct communications from the school frequently. If you find you still have questions, please let me know.

Thanks,

James Hindes, Trillium Board of Directors

jhindes@trilliumcharterschool.org

During the morning of Wednesday, October 13th, 10th and 11th grade students have the opportunity to take the PSAT (Preliminary SAT). If your student is a 9th or 12th grader or a 10th or 11th grader choosing not to test, they will have a late start with no morning classes on Wednesday. Normal classes resume after lunch. Eligible students should inform their advisor next Tuesday if they are planning on taking the test. You may also respond to this message with your student’s preference.

The cost of the test for all 10th graders will be covered with district and state funds. The cost for an 11th grader to take the PSAT is $13.00 which may be paid on the day of the test. Parents/students may apply for a fee waiver for an 11th grader to take the PSAT if there is financial hardship; fee waiver requests should be made in writing and be accompanied by evidence of eligibility for the Federal Free/Reduced Lunch Program or other explanation of the circumstances. Please contact me directly for more information about the fee waiver.

The testing day will begin at 8:30 a.m. Testing is limited to 30 students from grades 10 & 11. There is basic information for parents below; 11th grade PSAT participation is mandatory to enter the competition for scholarships from the National Merit Scholarship Corporation.

Thank You,

Nick Fenger

The annual Fall High School campout is coming up October 5-7. We will be leaving for Deschutes River State Recreation Area on Tuesday morning and returning Thursday afternoon. Students should arrive at school by 8:30 as usual. We expect to leave around 9:30, and will return Friday around 1. We still need parent drivers and chaperons for the trip, as well as people to help with cleaning and organizing when we get back. Please contact your student’s advisor if you think you might be able to help.

We are expecting around 75 students to come on the trip. Drivers must be over 18 and have a legal background check. If you are willing and able to drive, please email Ken at ken@trilliumcharterschool.org. We would greatly appreciate drivers, and this campout would not be possible without that assistance.

The cost of the trip is covered entirely by the student activity fee.

A list of suggested supplies for your student is below:

• Tent w/ground cloth and rain fly
• Sleeping bag or blanket/sheet bedroll
• Sleeping pad
• Flashlight/headlamp
• Toiletries
• Towel
• Swimsuit
• Change of clothes
• Sleepwear
• An extra pair of sneakers
• Warm clothing for potentially cool nights
• Light clothing for potentially warm days
• Sunscreen
• A rain jacket or poncho

It is pretty amusing living in the Pacific Northwest and trying to project the weather, but theoretically the location of the Deschutes River increases our chance of having a dry time. Of course, we cannot count on that, and should prepare for wet, dry, warm, and cold!

All students on the trip are expected to share in cooking and cleaning duties. Drugs and alcohol are, of course, strictly prohibited on the trip. Game systems and loud music are requested to stay at home, while we encourage students to bring cards, board games, and musical instruments.

We look forward to another great high school campout. Please let your student’s advisor know if you have any questions.

Warm Regards,

High School Advisors