Excellence in Education

The Ohio Department of Education requires that "schools and school districts must create safe and supportive learning environments.   All schools and districts must have plans in place for the physical safety of all students and adults."   Having a Resource Officer is a great addition to our safety plan.  I am excited that our District will benefit from Governor DeWine's initiatives that have the state investing $675 million in programs / services for schools to address the social and emotional challenges our students face.  Our teachers are trained to educate; we should not expect them to be counselors.  We need to give our staff trained resources to identify, evaluate, and provide treatment opportunities to students or adults as needed.  Governor DeWine has also directed the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services to begin working with communities to increase knowledge of risk factors and help parents identify when their child is showing warning signs.

As we evaluate resources and spending, I think it's essential to poll teachers to see what they need in their classrooms to be successful.  Do they need books, tables, technology, online resources, aides, planning time?  We should plan our budget and any future requests of tax monies based on what our teachers need to educate the children of our District.

East Muskingum operates on a budget of $8,224 per pupil.  The state average spending per pupil is $9,721.  That means we spend about $1,500 or 15% less per student than the Ohio average.  Another interesting fact - 40% of all Ohio School District Funds come from local taxes.  East Muskingum only collects 32.6% of our funds through local taxes.  Our administration, teachers and staff work hard to raise money through special programs and grants to supplement funds.  We also receive almost $1,000,000 annually through open enrollment.

Muskingum Valley Educational Services Center currently operates early childhood education classrooms in all three of our elementary schools.  The program targets at-risk children and families and children with disabilities.  The program offers a sliding-fee tuition scale for families of children who do not have disabilities, but there are limited spaces available.  The program focuses on approaches toward learning, cognitive development, language and literacy development, physical well-being and motor development, and social-emotional development.  There are limited private Pre-K options in our area currently as well.  In 2017, approximately 80% of the kindergartners entering Perry and Pike had attended preschool.  In contrast, only 25% of the kindergartners entering NCES had attended preschool.  This is an area that requires District / Community intervention so that more NCES students have access to Pre-K option.