ISM Community Update

Dear ISM community,

I want to thank all of you who work so hard to make ISM the wonderful school that it is.

ISM financial update:

Over the past few months we have been hearing some dire news about the State’s financial situation and how it is affecting local school systems. At this time it is important to let our school community know that ISM is not immune to the financial crisis.

As a public charter school, most of our funding comes from the State. To manage its budget, the State of California has cut educational funding significantly. This has directly affected ISM to the tune of about $150,000. The good news is that, due to our proactive freeze on spending and aggressive fundraising efforts in anticipation of State cuts, we still project a positive balance on our books at the end of this extremely challenging budget year.

In addition to the cuts though, the State has informed schools that they will defer some scheduled payments. The State provides schools with their funding by making payments on specific dates during the school year. At ISM we design our budget (i.e. determine how we will meet payroll and pay bills) knowing the dates that we will be able to deposit the State money into our accounts. The State has informed all schools that they will defer the payment we were to receive in April. They will not give us those funds until July. This means that we may fall short of our cash needs by as much as $150,000 at the end of June.

So, though we project a positive budget balance, we foresee a cash flow problem. You would experience this same dichotomy if your projected family spending was below your earned income, but your employer decided to hold your paychecks for a few months.

Just like your family, ISM will still be responsible for paying our bills in June even though the State has deferred our allocations. The administration and the ISM Board of Trustees are working hard to find a solution to this immediate problem in June. Because the State has indicated that it plans to defer some of the payments scheduled for the next school year as well, along with seeking a solution to the June financial we are seeking solutions to ensure positive cash balances throughout 2009-2010.

While the Foundation reports that we are on a solid trajectory to achieve our fundraising targets for the year thanks to the incredible generosity that you all showed during the holiday fund drive and have maintained since, they will continue to work to increase Family Share contributions as one mechanism for addressing the projected cash shortage. Your ongoing support is greatly appreciated.

Status of the ISM move:

Each day we get questions about the possible move of ISM to the Hayes campus. We have been told by MPUSD that we may move, but no definitive decision has been made. We are in negotiation with the school district as to the details of our space allocation for next year under our lease and the Proposition 39 Implementing Regulations adopted by the State Board of Education. Under those regulations, MPUSD has until April 1 to make a firm offer of space for the 2009-2010 year. As soon as we have more information to share, we will let you know. Meanwhile, we've formed an ISM committee to begin planning for the possible move to the Hayes campus.

These are very difficult times and it is important for our entire ISM community to understand the challenges that we face. Thank you for your continued support, and please be assured that we will do everything possible to maintain the quality of the educational program that your child receives at ISM.


Eric Pearlstein
Interim Executive Director
(831) 583-2165
epearlstein@ismonterey.org

Thanks for Participating (Life at the Edge)

Thank you all for coming to the Life at the Edge - Coastal Ecosystems event last night at ISM. We had a wonderful turnout. It was great to see all the families there learning about some aspects of the ocean and coast. I enjoyed watching the students show their parents their boards and pick through the kelp holdfast. Seeing the faces as some brave souls tasting the dried anchovies was also amusing.

Thank you all for making the effort to come and take part in your child's education.

Sincerely,
Mary Welsh

News of Note - 3/11/2009

Hello all,

In preparation for our last day before the two week spring break, there are a number of items of note for the school community.

• Tomorrow, Thursday, March 12th is an 11:30am early dismissal day as well as a free dress day, yahooooo!!!!
• Lost and found Dig tomorrow as well, beginning about 11:15 am in the front of the school. This is your last chance to retrieve lost and found items before they either go to donation or to ISM uniform sales. We had some wonderful parent volunteers go through all of the lost and found locations and return to the students any items that were labeled clearly. Anything else will be in the uniform dig tomorrow.
• Gala RSVPs – Carrie Miles asks that everyone please send in their Gala RSVPs as soon as possible. They can be mailed or dropped in the ISM Foundation mailbox in the front office. Any questions about the gala, please email Carrie at clmiles33@aol.com.
• The "Flypaper" (the ISM Student Newspaper) will be on sale tomorrow for 25 cents. All profits made will go to Family Fair Share. They will be sold at early morning drop off and at the end of the half day during pick up.

Please take the opportunity during the two week spring break to continue to diligently check your children for lice and to treat if necessary. We've still been having a couple of stubborn cases so the two weeks away will be a perfect opportunity to eradicate it completely. If your child still has lice or nits after being treated, you might want to check with your pediatrician for further assistance.

Everyone have a wonderful two weeks off and we'll see all of the students back and ready to jump into the 3rd trimester at ISM on Monday, March 30th.

Sincerely,
ISM Staff

Reminder: "Life on the Edge" Coastal Ecosystems event

Just a reminder:
Our "Life on the Edge" Coastal Ecosystems event will be tonight starting at 6:30 pm until 8:00 pm, ISM Multiuse room. The students have finished their Food Web boards and are anxious to share them with you among the many other options available.
We hope you can come by!

Wine Cellar Drop-Off - Thurs, 3/12 is Free Dress + Early Dismissal

Hello all,
• Just a reminder that before and after school tomorrow, Tuesday, March 10th, there will be volunteers in the lower parking lot to pick up your Gala wine cellar donations. DO NOT SEND WINE WITH THE KIDS!

• Free Dress day is this Thursday, March 12th as we are not in school on Friday, March 13th. Also remember that Thursday, March 12th is an early dismissal day at 11:30am due to student conferences

Thank you!

Parent Letter - 3/9/2009

Dear Parents,

I hope your weekend was enjoyable.
This week is a short week with an early dismissal on Thursday at 11:30am followed by conferences. If you have not yet signed up for conferences, there are still many openings on Friday. Please see the times below for open slots and let me know what works for you. Please remember these are not Parent-Teacher conferences. Although we will meet at the end of the conference time, the intention is for your child to show what they have been learning. If you need to talk about a particular issue with your child, we can schedule another time to meet. The conferences will be just 15 minutes so, please be prompt.

Tuesday night is our Life on the Edge - Ocean night at ISM in the Multiuse Room, 6:30 - 8:00pm. The students from both classes will be showing their food web boards they have been working on. There will also be many hands-on activities such as thinning dune plants, fish printing, interacting with a storm drain model, listening to our conversation with the Alvin submarine, tasting ocean treats, and observing a very old shell collection brought in by a friend of one of the fourth grade families. Please join in on the fun!

Spring break begins this Saturday, March 14th and goes through March 29th.
We will see you all back at school on March 30th.

We will have a field trip on Wednesday, April 8th to Colton Hall in Monterey to see where the California Constitution was signed. We will then walk over to the Monterey Library for a short program on library resources.
We plan to take the city bus to Monterey but we will need a couple of chaperones to accompany us. Please let me know if you are available. Field trip forms will go out when we return to school after the break. Thanks!

There will be a lighter load of homework this week. We will start the next math unit after spring break. Reading 20 minutes and completing handwriting pages will continue. I will let the students know in class about any other assignments.