HCS Families,

As I have spent time in all of our schools and many different classrooms, I have seen firsthand how our learners are being encouraged to think and work creatively, collaboratively, and critically. Like you, we know that each of your children comes to us with different talents, skills, and interests. Our job, as we dive into the Michigan academic standards, is to elevate those talents and skills, and engage your children in learning by tapping into their interests and natural curiosity.

To illustrate that, I am sharing this short (4:42) video with you: Above & Beyond. It tells the story of Charlie and Maia, who take different approaches to a school project that when handed out seems to only have one "right" answer. As the story progresses, we see "what is possible when communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and creativity take center stage in schools and transform learning opportunities for all kids."

This aligns with our ongoing efforts that I shared back in August, to continue to grow our instructional practices as we prepare students for their futures. I have not yet experienced or heard of a job whose day-to-day performance functions like a multiple- choice test, beyond making sure employees possess the basic knowledge needed to be successful. Whether today's student is tomorrow's nurse, welder, architect, mechanic, or entrepreneur, they need to be able to communicate, collaborate, and problem-solve in a critical and creative way.

What is so inspiring about our educators here in Harrison is their ability to create those types of learning environments as they teach the Michigan academic standards. It is not a choice of teaching the standards or being collaborative, creative, etc. It is teaching the standards and infusing collaboration, creativity, communication, and critical thinking. That is what makes teaching both an art and a science, and why teachers also need time to meaningfully collaborate and learn with each other.

Thank you for your continued partnership and trust. As always, please reach out with any questions or concerns.

Hornet Pride,

Judy

juwalton@harrisonschools.com

989.539.7871

At certain points in your child's K-12 education, the state requires that we check to make sure immunizations are up to date or that families have obtained a waiver from the public health department. For those who have already supplied us with updated information, thank you! Our school nurse continues to reach out to families if we are still in need of documentation, and we thank you in advance for working with her.

As a reminder:

• Tuesday, November 15: No school
• Wednesday, November 23: Half day
• Thursday, November 24 & Friday, November 25: No school

On November 8, two items pertaining to Harrison Community Schools will be on the ballot:

• School Board Seats: Voters will be asked to choose not more than two candidates for six-year terms, and not more than one candidate for the remaining two years of a term.
• Non-Homestead Millage Renewal (information below) .

Funding for schools in our state fundamentally changed with the adoption of the 1978 Headlee Amendment and Proposal A in 1994. School districts became limited in what and how they could seek money from their local community.

Currently, the state taxes all real estate at a uniform rate of 6 mills (1 mill = $1.00 for every $1,000 in value) and collects those funds for a more equal distribution per pupil across the state. Michigan law also requires local communities to ask voters for 18 mills ($18.00 on every $1,000 in value) on non-homestead property (basically, all real estate that is not your primary home, such as vacation homes, commercial real estate, etc.). The money collected goes toward the total dollar amount per pupil that the state pledges to us.

As an example, this year the state is pledging $9,150 per pupil across the state. However, a portion of that dollar amount comes from our local 18 mills. If voters choose not to approve the renewal, we will get less money per pupil from the state and our budget is impacted.

The Headlee Amendment also requires us to reduce our 18 mills by fractional amounts when annual growth on property is greater than the rate of inflation. This is called a “roll back.” A “Headlee override” is a vote by the electors to return the millage to the amount originally authorized to counteract the roll back. On the ballot this November, voters in the Harrison Community Schools district will be asked to renew the non-homestead millage at the rate of 17.6524, and through the override, to restore 0.3476 for a total of 18 mills.

What might this mean for property owners of real estate that is not their primary residence? Let's say there is a vacation home in Harrison valued at $200,000, and the owners have their primary residence somewhere else in Michigan. In addition to the 6 mills the state collects from all real estate for schools ($1,200 on this property), the impact of the renewal of 17.6524 mills ($3,530.48 on this property) and an override for 0.3476 mills ($69.52 on this property) amounts to a total of $3,600.00 from the vacation home owners in this example.

If you would like to learn more about the Headlee Amendment, Proposal A, or the Headlee Override, please click on the links provided.

We are at the point in the pandemic where public health officials are viewing COVID-19 much in the same way as other communicable diseases. Therefore, we will be starting our school year with the following protocol for positive cases, staff or student:

• With a positive case, the person must isolate for 5 days and not attend or be in school. In counting those days, the first date of symptoms (or the test, if no symptoms) is day 0.
• The COVID-positive person may return to school on Day 6, assuming symptoms are subsiding. We recommend, but do not require, masking for days 6-10 in school.

We are also attaching a handy resource from public health officials that provides guidance on when to keep a child home from school in a variety of illness-related situations.