Pay Increase Approved for Rockwood Teachers

The district has approved a re-negotiated contract with its teachers union that guarantees salary increase above 3 percent each year for the next three years.

Classroom educators at Rockwood are receiving a bump in pay after the district’s board of education and teachers union inked a new contract Thursday night. The new agreement re-defines an existing contract set to expire after the end of the 2014 school year and then extends it for a further two years. Teachers had previously been scheduled to receive a raise of 2.75 percent for 2013-14, but that has been increased to 3.76 percent (including salary steps). The following years will see similar levels with a 3.74 percent bump for 2014-15 and 3.03 percent for 2015-16. The raises are based on a salary schedule with several factors, including years of experience, education level and a cost-of-living adjustment. Rockwood National Education …

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Rockwood Re-Opens Negotiations on Teacher Salaries

The move came after a request by the teacher's union and concerns the salary schedule for the 2013-14 school year.

The Rockwood School District’s administrators may not be the only employees receiving a raise after the school board voted on April 25 to re-open negotiations with the district’s teachers union. The vote occurred in closed session and, according to Chief Communications Officer Kim Cranston, came at the request of the Rockwood National Education Association (RNEA). The request pertains to the salary schedule section of the current collective bargaining agreement, which is in place from July 1, 2012, through June 30, 2014. RNEA President Suzanne Dotta said they asked to re-open salary talks after the district said it would end the year with far more in its reserves than it had previously been estimated. According to the RNEA's website, it's …

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Rockwood Now Anticipating $11 Million Deficit for Next Fiscal Year

The board gave the informal go-ahead to a slate of capital projects that would cover what were described as the district's "most critical" needs.

After at least three years without any red ink, the Rockwood School District is moving ahead with a proposed budget plan that will produce an $11 million deficit. The plan included $4.6 million worth of items that would have been included in the $38.4 million Prop S bond issue, had it passed. District CFO Tim Rooney presented the recommendations to the board at a meeting Thursday night and said they represented the district’s most critical needs. “We had a tough task,” he said. “We were really looking at what, if it would fail, would cause the most disruption.” The move was not a formal adoption of the fiscal year 2013-14 budget, which will occur later this summer, but provides guidance to district staff so they can begin coordinating the …

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Rockwood Superintendent Bruce Borchers Receives Contract Offer in Tennessee

Rockwood School District Superintendent Bruce Borchers is extended a new job offer in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, starting this June.

Rockwood School District Superintendent Bruce Borchers was offered a contract to become the superintendent of the Oak Ridge School District in Tennessee Monday evening, just minutes ago. Oak Ridge school board's five members voted unanimously to offer Borchers the lead role of their district, Knoxville News Sentinel reporter Bob Fowler tells Patch.  For background, read previous breaking news alerts: Rockwood Superintendent Bruce Borchers Meets Oak Ridge, TN, Residents Rockwood's Superintendent Borchers Looks South for Potential New Job Oak Ridge school officials want Borchers to report to duty earlier than the original date of June 15, which is when the contract with interim superintendent Bob Smallridge expires. The Oak Ridge …

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More Rockwood Resignations Called for by Citizens’ Group

Following last week’s State Auditor report of what was called mismanagement within the Rockwood School District by some residents, a watchdog coalition group says more changes are needed in the district's leadership.

Public trust in the Rockwood School District superintendent and Board of Education continues to plummet—as do the chances of passage for the upcoming April bond issue “Proposition S”—indicates Rockwood Stakeholders for Real Solutions (RS for RS). The watchdog coalition is a non-partisan group of taxpaying Rockwood citizens. RS for RS issued a Monday morning press release, calling for most of the district's leaders to step down. However, Rockwood's Board Director Steve Smith already resigned Sunday, per the breaking news from Patch: Resignation Comes from Rockwood Board of Education Director Steve Smith Update to article at 8:51 a.m.:  RS for RS co-founder Eileen Tyrrell tells Patch they called all Rockwood board members and Superintendent …

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Rockwood Issues Letter to Parents on School Shooting

A letter was emailed from Rockwood's superintendent about the precautions the district takes to keep children safe.

Rockwood Superintendent Bruce Borchers, Ph.D. issued the following letter to parents to explain how the school handled Friday's school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut and what they do to prevent tragedy with in their own halls. Dear Rockwood Parents: As we learn more about the tragic incident in Newtown, Connecticut, our hearts go out to the Sandy Hook Elementary School community.  This is an emotional issue as it relates closely to our lives as parents and educators. We offer our sincerest condolences to the families for their tremendous loss. In light of this tragic news, we know that many Rockwood parents may have heightened concerns regarding emergency procedures.  We want you to be assured that the Rockwood School District has made …

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Rockwood Families Gather Tips at (Dis)Abilities Resources Fair

PHOTO GALLERY: First-ever (Dis)Abilities Resources Fair was helpful to many Rockwood School District families. Read about Disability Etiquette 101.

United Nation's International Day of Persons with Disabilities was just observed Dec. 3, however Rockwood School District was ahead of that curve by hosting a first-ever (Dis)Abilities Resources Fair this fall at the Annex building in Eureka. Attendees came from across the district to connect with resources for various types of needs and interests. Ever think about how many famous and historic individuals there have been who also had disabilities? A tribute to those people was accentuated at Rockwood's Disabilities Fair. The list includes:  Abraham Lincoln, Harriet Tubman, Magic Johnson, Helen Keller, George Washington, Ludwig Van Beethoven, Sir Isaac Newton, Emily Dickinson, Henry Ford, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Stephen Hawking, Christopher …

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Rockwood Director Promoted in National Guard

A Rockwood School District curriculum leader has been honored for his 20 years of National Guard experience.

Matthew Frederickson, who is the Rockwood School District director of curriculum, recently received a promotion to Sergeant First Class in the Illinois National Guard. He served in the Missouri National Guard for 20 years and transferred to the Illinois National Guard last year, according to a district news release. As a military bandsman, Frederickson served the United States on five continents. He most recently entertained troops in Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar and Djibouti, Africa. Frederickson's federal military honors include: Frederickson is a graduate of the Airman Leadership School, the Air Force NCO Academy, the Army Warrior Leader Course, the Army Basic Non-Commissioned Officer Course, and a Distinguished Honor Graduate of the Army …

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The Patchlist

7,000 Ways that Kids Get Artsy

Rockwood school kids showed off their artistic side at the district art show.

About 7000 kids from across the Rockwood School District displayed their art  at the annual district wide art show, held last weekend at Selvidge Middle School. Kids from Vandover Early Childhood, Bowles Elementary, Kellison Elementary, Uthoff Valley Elementary, Rockwood South Middle School and Rockwood Summit High School participated in the show. Stanton Elementary did not participate in the show this year. The show contained everything from vivid finger paintings to political sculpture with a wild variety of fantastic art in between. Enjoy the slide show depicting the works of the Rockwood District students  

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