Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Rockwood School District's financial and legislative affairs officer says district leaders are committed to continuous improvement. He is leading the way toward responding to a variety of matters identified by the Missouri State Auditor's staff.
Rockwood School District administrators busily are addressing the recommendations delivered by the Missouri State Auditor's staff on Feb. 27 regarding results of their performance audit of the district. Rockwood's financial and legislative affairs officer Tim Rooney told Board of Education directors and attendees at Thursday's meeting they are getting more effective in important areas, as identified by the audit, as they serve students, families, staff and community. A performance audit includes a review of cash control procedures, expenditures, payroll, capital assets, vehicles and fuel usage and compliance with state laws and district policies. The last time a state performance audit was done with Rockwood, prior to this year's audit, …
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
Bill Brown posed questions at Thursday's Rockwood School District Board of Education meeting: When do we put aside our differences and work for a greater good? When is the damage being done equal to the mistakes that brought on such anger and distrust?
Rockwood School District's chief financial and legislative affairs officer presented a "where we head now" update at Thursday's Board of Education meeting. Some of the district's HVAC units are older, high-risk units.
With the failure of the $38.4 million no-tax rate increase Proposition S on April 2, many Rockwood School District taxpayers and parents were wondering what to envision for the district's financial future. Rockwood's chief financial and legislative affairs officer Tim Rooney presented a financial overview to the Board of Education directors at Thursday evening's board meeting at Crestview Middle School in Ellisville. Rooney said the budget target, as originally presented Dec. 6, 2012, was $10.9 million. The projected deficit was to be $5.1 million. He said an additional $1 million was needed for maintenance, increasing the capital budget to $2 million. The budget for technology had been $2.5 million, particularly given the estimated needs …
Monday, April 8, 2013
Bill Brown posed questions at Thursday's Rockwood School District Board of Education meeting: When do we put aside our differences and work for a greater good? When is the damage being done equal to the mistakes that brought on such anger and distrust?
"After 12 months of attacks on the Internet by foxydrummer, mama bear and others—some who actually use names—after witnessing decent people being hurt day after day, after watching a community I love, and have always been proud of, splintered into a bickering distrustful mess: When does it stop??" Rockwood School District Board of Education director Bill Brown, who just was elected president of the group at Thursday's board meeting, took a few minutes to deliver a heart-felt plea to the community the same night. The rest of his words verbatim follow. When do we put aside our differences and work for a greater good? When do we say enough is enough, when is the damage being done equal to the mistakes that brought on such anger and distrust…
Beginning Monday, April 8, applications can be secured for those who wish to be considered as the seventh Rockwood School District Board of Education director. Before the month's end, someone is expected to replace a slot vacated due to a resignation.
Rockwood Board of Education directors are seeking applicants to fill the director’s position vacated by Steve Smith, who resigned from the board on March 4. Prior to that, he had resigned the presidency of the board in December. The new, appointed member will serve until the April 2014 election. Beginning April 8, applications for the replacement role may be obtained from Kathy Chitwood, Rockwood BOE secretary, at the Rockwood Administrative Center, 111 East North Street in Eureka, between the hours of 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. Candidates must be: Completed applications must be returned to Chitwood no later than 4 p.m., April 19. Applicants will be interviewed by existing board members in a public session on April 25, starting at 6 p.m. Current …
Sunday, April 7, 2013
VIDEO: A Ballwin resident and Rockwood School District parent says putting bond issue on ballot was right choice. She also told Board of Education directors and attendees Thursday night she feels community mistreated Superintendent Bruce Borchers.
Proposition S not passing on April 2 is "not a win for any group; this was a big loss for our district," said Rhonda Costa, Yes for Proposition S committee chair and Rockwood School District parent from Ballwin, when she addressed the district's Board of Education directors and attendees Thursday evening's board meeting at Crestview Middle School in Ellisville. She said she was speaking Thursday night to thank Rockwood directors for putting the bond issue on the ballot. "I believe it was the right choice for our children and our district." Costa said she was proud to be the leader of the Prop S committee, citing that the group's members were great volunteers with which to work. "Everyone knew how much we needed this to pass," said Costa…
Saturday, April 6, 2013
Following Thursday's meeting, Rockwood School District's Board of Education has a new mix of representatives and leaders.
Rockwood School District Board of Education newly elected directors from the April 2 polls—Loralee Mondl and Jeff Morrell—were sworn into office at Thursday's board meeting by Superintendent Bruce Borchers. Jeff Morrell tells Patch he found it satisfying to have put forth ideas and thoughts that obviously resonated with others. "I'm excited to get to work now," he said. Loralee Mondl said winning the board election was awesome. "I constantly thought about the kids, and they were supporting me." She said she knew what lies ahead is tons of work, but that she was ready because "it's a critical time for the district." "It's about the board being open and approachable," Mondl said. During Thursday's meeting, Mondl told attendees she planned to…
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
Rockwood School District Superintendent Bruce Borchers is extended a new job offer in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, starting this June.
Bonacker, Bergfeld re-elected in Northwest R-1; Gotsch and Lenz returned to Lindbergh Board. Rockwood incumbents ousted.
Incumbent school board members in the Northwest and Lindbergh school districts easily won re-election Tuesday, outpacing their challengers by wide margins. In the Northwest R-1 school board race, Gary Bonacker and Nancy Bergfeld cruised to victory with 1,560 and 1,387 votes, respectively. Challenger Scott E. Reed tallied 961 votes. In the Lindbergh School District Board of Education race, incumbent board member Vic Lenz garnered 4,065 votes and incumbent Kara Gotsch received 3,515 votes. The two challengers - Adam McBride and Cindy McDaniel - received 2,223 and 2,683 votes, respectively. It was a different story in the Rockwood School District, where two imcumbents were rejected by the voters who also voted down the district's $38.4 …
Tuesday, April 2, 2013
VIDEOS: Rockwood voters on Tuesday decided the fate of Proposition S, a $38.4 million no-tax rate increase bond issue, after several months of many public debates about its timing, focus and amount.
A four-sevenths, or 57.14 percent, majority was necessary for passage of Proposition S on April 2 among voters in the Rockwood School District. Prop S was offered as a $38.4 million no-tax rate increase bond initiative that focused on safety, technology and school improvements. The proposition was not passed by voters in Tuesday's election, by a 52.98 percent (9,256 votes) against or NO versus 47.02 percent (8,214 votes) for or YES. That's a difference of 1,042 votes. Rhonda Costa, chair of the "Yes on Prop S" committee, said committee members were most surprised at the degree of negativity that kept boomeranging back. "Every time we tried to move forward, the conversations and focus seemed to drag us back. How can we focus on what our …
Nancy Robinson
4:24 pm on Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Tim Rooney is a great asset to the district and Dr. Borchers hand-picked him. We need to acknowledge that he made a wise selection in hiring Mr. Rooney. I also appreciate how we can follow along with the progress of the action steps needed for the Auditor's return. That was a smart idea. more ›