[MeriwetherMatters] December 11, 2007

[MLS Matters]

MLS Matters: December 11, 2007


In this Issue.....


- Calendar
- Food Drive
- Efficiency Study Results



Calendar:

12/12 (Wednesday) - PTO General Meeting and Musical Program by Second Grade
12/21 - Last Day of School before Winter Break



Food Drive:

The food bank is in critical need so the food drive continues through December.  Please bring in
your non-perishable food items to help those in need during this holiday season.

Thank you so much for your help!!




Efficiency Study Results Presented to School Board 

Results from a five-month study commissioned by Albemarle County Public Schools to suggest options
the division can explore to maximize use of resources was presented to the School Board at its
December 6, 2007 meeting. 

The 58-page Resource Utilization Study report from the Commonwealth Educational Policy Institute
(CEPI) at Virginia Commonwealth University was presented by Dr. William Bosher, a former Virginia
superintendent of schools who serves as the CEPI executive director. The primary purpose of the
report is to assist the division in identifying ways to better align and allocate its resources to
support achievement of strategic planning goals. The report included 176 findings and
observations, and 117 recommendations in eight focus areas. 

Bosher presented the School Board with a summary of the report focused on 19 key issues. He
described Albemarle County Public Schools as a division with ambitious goals and a results-focused
culture. 

"I have been in every school division in Virginia and this is an outstanding school district. The
real issue is not whether or not you have the right values, it’s about whether or not you can
afford the values at the rate at which you might want to implement them," Bosher told the School
Board. 

The School Board did not take action on any findings in the Resource Utilization Study Report
during its December 6, 2007 meeting. It established a plan for thorough review of the CEPI
findings. The review will begin at a School Board work session December 13 at 6 p.m. when Board
Members will have the opportunity to ask Bosher questions about the report and begin prioritizing
findings to be explored by division staff for short-term and long-term planning purposes. The
meeting will be held in Room 320 of the Albemarle County Office Building at 401 McIntire Road in
Charlottesville. The report is available to the public online at
http://schoolcenter.k12albemarle.org/Board/resourcestudy. 

"We know there will be some findings the School Board may want to consider in the 2008-09 school
year budget development process and others that will require more long-term consideration. The
goal for both the short-term and long-term is to use the information to create efficiencies in our
school system," said Superintendent Pamela Moran, Ed.D. 

The Resource Utilization Study was requested by the School Board in June 2007 as a strategy for
achieving the Albemarle County Public Schools’ strategic planning goal to establish efficient
systems for development, allocation and alignment of resources to support the division’s vision,
mission and goals. 



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