2012 Superintendent Mail

MDE WEEKLY SUPERINTENDENT MAIL

TO: Superintendents

FROM: Dr. Brenda Cassellius, Commissioner

DATE: June 21, 2012


MDE NEWS AND INFORMATION

• Commissioner’s Monthly Dialogue with Superintendents – Wednesday, June 20

Thanks to each of you who participated in yesterday’s conference call. Discussion focused on a number of matters, namely:

Two recently announced competitive grants from the U.S. Department of Education: Teacher Incentive Fund (TIF) and Race to the Top District (RTT-D). As mentioned at the conference call, see Sam Kramer’s attached notes summarizing the grant application requirements, and see the attached letter from U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan for more details regarding the application process.

Connecting Educators, Building Communities Across Rural America – See the new online community of practice for rural school leaders and teachers.

Steve Dibb presented an update regarding SIG and School Improvement. As mentioned at the conference call, provided here are directions for finding the spreadsheet that indicates Primary and Focus Schools. From the MDE website, the spreadsheet is found within the Data Center by selecting Data Reports and Analytics, then under Accountability and Measurement, select Multiple Measurement Files, then select List Files. The spreadsheet lists all schools, and if a school is denoted as Priority or Focus, it will be noted in the far right column.

Jonathan Lord, Information Technology Division, presented regarding the Annual Verification of District and School Site Information (see May 3 memo), noting deadlines for submitting information. Also, the Information Technology Division is working on a new organization data application called Organizational Reference Glossary, or MDE-ORG for short, which will provide a number of ways to find organization information more easily. You’ll receive more information through the Superintendents mailing.

Please note that there will be no Monthly Dialogues during July and August. The next Monthly Dialogue is scheduled for Wednesday, September 19, 9:30-10:30 (3rd Wednesday of the month).

ACTION ITEMS

• 2012 Payable 2013 Levy Forms and Information

Please see the memorandum from Tom Melcher, director of School Finance, regarding the above-mentioned matter. The memo describes the information needed for the 2012 Payable 2013 Levy Limitation and Certification Reports. The requested data is required for the calculation of school district levy limitations under Minnesota Statutes, Chapters 122A, 123A, 123B, 124D, 125B, and 126C. In addition, this memo contains information for many miscellaneous levy authorities for which your district may wish to apply. To view the memo, use the link provided above. For assistance with questions, refer to the memo for contact information.
• FY 2013 Simulated Payment Projections

A cash flow simulation report for FY 2013 is now available on the Minnesota Department of Education’s website to assist districts and charter schools in their cash flow estimates for FY 2013.  They can be found at http://education.state.mn.us.  Select “Data Center” > Data Reports and Analytics, then, under School Finance Reports, choose “Minnesota Funding Reports (MFR).” Make drop-down selections for your district, IDEAS Cash Flow Simulation as the category, and 12-13 as the year option.

The report is revised for this year and looks very much like the standard IDEAS State Aid Combined Payment Report. It includes a memo page which provides information regarding the basis on which the simulation is based, the FY 2013 estimated state aid entitlements that are the basis for the project cash flow, and finally, cash projected to be paid in each period.

This data should only be used until the first IDEAS payment report comes out with the July 15, 2012 IDEAS payment.  At that time, districts and charter schools should look at the “IDEAS State Aids Combined Payment” report. 

• Summary of Audit Requirements FY 2012 Audits

Please see the memorandum from David Day, education finance specialist, regarding the above-mentioned matter. Minnesota Statutes, section 123B.77, subdivision 3, requires reporting entities to submit audited financial data to the commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Education and to the Office of the State Auditor. To view the memo, use the link provided above.

MISCELLANEOUS

• Minnesota Board of Teaching Licensure Actions

The Minnesota Board of Teaching has taken the following licensure actions:

o Cheadle, Aaron (FF350899) On June 15, 2012, the Board of Teaching adopted a Stipulation Agreement imposing conditions on Mr. Cheadle’s teaching license.
o Johnson, Wayne (FF339225) On June 15, 2012, the Board of Teaching adopted a Stipulation Agreement suspending the teaching license of Mr. Johnson for one year.
o Wetmore, Brian (FF466938) On June 15, 2012, the Board of Teaching denied the licensure application of Mr. Wetmore.

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