Asked & Answered Mike Mertens, AAEA Assistant Executive Director
I recently received a call from a central office administrator regarding the average school millage rate in the state. A fairly easy question to answer (it's 38.85), because I knew where to look for the information on the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education website. That’s not always an easy task since the DESE website has a wealth of information on a wide variety of topics related to public education. It can be time-consuming and somewhat frustrating to search through all of the pages and links on the site to find exactly what you are looking for. One page I find myself going to a lot is Publications and Reports. This is where the millage report is located as well as State Aid Notices, Annual Statistical Reports, Assessment Reports, Salary information, Tier 1 presentations, and many other reports related to school finance. The A-Z Topics section under the Tools tab on the main DESE page is an easy way to navigate all of the information on the website. It's nice to be able to promptly help an AAEA member with their question, and the DESE website is a great tool to use in making this happen!
If you have questions for Mike, email him at m.mertens@theaaea.org.
March is “School Breakfast Month” Submitted by Reginald Ballard, Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance March is “School Breakfast Month,” as proclaimed by Governor Asa Hutchinson. The Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance would like to encourage all child nutrition directors to view the School Breakfast Month PowerPoint. This PowerPoint includes new meal delivery ideas, best practices, and suggestions on how to increase breakfast participation. March is a great month to work on increasing your breakfast participation! As part of our March celebration, the Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance will offer a GIFT CARD to all child nutrition departments of ALL school districts choosing to participate in our School Breakfast Month Challenge. The Challenge: send an email to vnicholson@arhungeralliance.org with a brief story about one of these three topics by March 18, 2022: 1. A story from a parent stating how universal free meals have benefitted their family during the pandemic. 2. A story about a child nutrition worker who has gone above and beyond to ensure that students receive school meals during the pandemic. 3. A story about the innovative ways the district delivered meals to students during the pandemic. We congratulate all child nutrition workers across the state for their amazing work as they continue to provide much-needed meals to students during the pandemic! Please plan to participate in the School Breakfast Month Challenge by sharing your stories so we can acknowledge and celebrate your success! 5
