Unofficial 2012 State Report Card scores indicate that the Bluffton school district performance index rating should be the highest ever received by the school.

That report is part of the summer district newsletter released to The Icon.

According to Greg Denecker, Bluffton superintendent, Bluffton's performance index rating should be 107.4. This rating should place Bluffton in the top 3 to 5 percent of all districts in Ohio.

The newsletter is available as an attachment at the bottom of this story. The lead story in the newsletter provides more information about the state report card. That story follows:

By Greg Denecker, superintendent

We welcomed over 1,150 students to our school system this past
Monday and had an excellent first day of school. With the new year
also brings new staff members to our district: teachers- Kelly Yarnell,
Kindergarten; Linda Sycks, 2" Grade; Janelle Bogart, 3" grade;
Brigette Hoff, HS Latin; Ashley Stevely, HS Intervention Specialist; and Kevin King, HS Spanish. We also have a new bus driver, DeAnn Scott.

We welcome each of these new staff members and look forward to
working with them for many years to come.

The 2012 State Report Card has not been officially released by the
Ohio Department of Education for any district in the state due to
attendance reporting issues with some school districts.

However, we have received our unofficial scores, which indicate that our district performance index rating should be 107.4-the highest we have ever achieved. This rating should put our district in the top 3-5% of all districts in the state.

In addition, when the State Report Card is officially released (sometime this fall), we anticipate our district will have achieved 100% of the state indicators for the seventh consecutive year.

With these scores, our district should once again receive an "Excellent"
rating and maybe even "Excellent with Distinction" if we hit the value added growth measure. It is also important to note that in the future,
schools will be ranked by a letter system rather than by terms, such as
"Excellent."

Looking back, if we apply that new ranking system to our
2011 State Report Card, we would be 1 of only 3 districts in the state to
achieve an "A, " This ranking could not be achieved without the
combined effort of parents, students, staff, and the community, so
please know that your support is appreciated.

When the State Report Card is released, we will send the report out in our next District Newsletter. In the meantime, we, the staff at Bluffton Exempted Village Schools, will continue to give our students the best education possible and prepare our graduates for the next stages of their lives.

The financial report on this page shows our general fund carry-over
balance of over $2.2 million for the 2012 fiscal year. We finished our
general fund in the red on June 30 by $71,307. This was the first year
in four years that we ended in the red. Please note that cutbacks in
state funding to our school have impacted our finances in a negative
way.

Last year we lost over $400,000 in revenue from the state and
federal funds. We have absorbed many positions through retirements
in the last 4 years, and we have some staff members in new roles to
help us financially. We will continue to look for ways to be fiscally
responsible to you, our community, while still providing our students
with an excellent education.

In fiscal year 2010, which is the most recent date that statewide
comparison expenditure statistics are available, we spent $8,641.63 per
student to educate each child. This is $2.000+ less than the state
average of $10,696.94 per student statewide. As noted above, our
district performs within the highest level in the state for much less
money on average.

Our professional development this year with our staff will focus on
Formative Instructional Practices or FIP for short. This professional
development will be important as we move toward new state
assessments for our students starting in 2014-2015.

FIP will be used to aid teachers in challenging students to think more critically about subject matter as well as gain deeper knowledge of course concepts.

On the back of this newsletter is a list of the Senior Citizen Breakfast
performances each month. We look forward to seeing those of you
who have patronized these performances in the past as well as any
newcomers who may join us in this monthly entertainment and
fellowship.

On a different note, it is amazing to see the number and types of
activities that our students are involved in at all different age groups.
From sporting activities, quiz bowl, and math club to music activities,
plays, musical, etc. - the list goes on and on. These activities are
indicative of a vibrant and active school community.

Finally, we look forward to educating the students in our district this
year. This is a wonderful privilege and opportunity. Thank you for your continued support of Bluffton Exempted Village Schools and the
students we serve. If you ever have any questions or concerns, please
do not hesitate to stop in or call me at 419-358-5901 .