Atomic Learning

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Category: District

Published on Thursday, 22 December 2011 11:59

Written by Jay Mattlin

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The Bloom Carroll Local School District applied for and received a grant through eTech Ohio for a one year subscription to Atomic Learning. Atomic Learning is a training and professional development resource for not only our staff but also our students and their families.

Atomic Learning offers training on just about anything technology wise. Staff, students and families have unlimited access and just need a username and password to access the content. Atomic Learning is a key partner in our dedication to providing the highest quality technology training resources available. 

You can reach Atomic Learning at http://www.atomiclearning.com

Usernames are the same as their Study Island logins so firstname.lastname@BC and their passwords are their student IDs in grades 6-12. Students and parents of kindergarten through 5th grade should use the username bcuser and password bcuser. 

Our subscription to Atomic Learning includes nearly 50,000 step-by-step tutorials on common software, workshops and technology integration projects on emerging topics, such as blogging and Internet Safety.

We invite you to use it as a resource for your household, and ask that you encourage your child(ren) to use it from home.

Upon logging in, you will see the main screen. You will need to click "Browse Available Trainings & Projects and then check the box for Tutorials. From there you may use the dropdown menus to choose what you would like to receive training on.

Planning for School Delays, Early Dismissals, and Closures due to Inclement Weather

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Category: District

Published on Friday, 16 December 2011 11:18

Written by Jan Broughton

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With old man winter just around the corner, I would like to encourage our parents to have plans mapped out for school early dismissals, delays, and closures due to inclement weather.

Parents, now is the time to begin making appropriate child care arrangements and alternative plans should the district be forced to dismiss early, delay or close school due to inclement weather.  Also, make sure you have provided the schools with accurate telephone numbers and contact information in regards to emergencies.  This is especially critical if we must close school early.

 I would also urge you to speak to your teenage driver or your child who may be riding with a teenage driver about safety precautions.

We hope you understand closing school due to inclement weather is taken very seriously.  Safety is first and foremost, but it is our intent to make decisions as soon as possible and to announce our decision to the public immediately using a host of media platforms including our new automatic messaging system called School Messenger. Remember you can login to your School Messenger account to keep your contact information current and to set your contact preferences for a phone call, e-mail and TXT messages. If you didn't setup your School Messenger account at the beginning of the school year and would still like to do so e-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Financial Update

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Category: District

Published on Tuesday, 01 November 2011 13:35

Written by Travis Bigam

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Financial Update                                          

The District’s most recent five-year forecast revealed deficit spending during the current year and continuing throughout the forecast.  In an effort to fully investigate the cause of the current deficit spending, the Board and Administration, during the Board Planning Session on November 3^rd,  reviewed historical financial data and comparisons with our neighboring districts in the areas of per pupil rankings, salaries, tax rates and total revenues and expenditures.  The comparisons with neighboring school districts revealed the following:

1.       We have the lowest per pupil expenditures in Fairfield County (FY 2010)

2.      Our property and income tax rates together are 5^th among the nine schools in Fairfield County.

3.      Salaries for the majority of our positions are either close to the average or below average when compared to surrounding Districts.

Total revenues have grown by an average of 1.02% over the past 3 years, while total expenditures have grown by an average of 4.17%.  I believe the data presented above reveals the reason why Bloom-Carroll is currently in deficit spending and that reason is stagnant tax revenues.  It is no secret that all school districts in Ohio are experiencing significant reductions in State funding.  With that being said, the key to sustainable education funding becomes tax revenues.  Until the tax revenues return to pre-recession levels, all school districts, including Bloom-Carroll, will struggle to maintain a balanced budget. 

The second part of the discussion during the November 3^rd planning session centered on options going forward in an effort to build a foundation for financial stability.

These options include:  1.) reducing current expenditures 2.) capping future expenditure growth 3.) generating additional revenue through increased fees 4.) generating additional revenue with an operating levy.

The Administration will be looking at all current expenditures in an effort to reduce expenditures by $ 300,000 by fiscal year 2013.  We believe this can be achieved with reductions to supply budgets, capital improvements, contracted services and staff attrition.  We will always attempt to first make budget reductions which do not affect current programming.  The real question becomes what financial decisions will be made going into  fiscal year 2014.  If we do not pass an operating levy within the next 12  - 18 months, the District will not be able to sustain current programming beyond the 2012-2013 school year. An additional $ 700,000 - $ 900,000 would need to be reduced from the budget, which would entail staff reductions.

At this time, we are just entering the discussion phase relating to the reductions and potential operating levy request shown above.  The main decision will be whether to ask for an operating levy in order to maintain our excellent educational programming or make additional reductions, thus eliminating some of the current programs we are able to offer.

Please contact me at 614-834-6707 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. if you would like to discuss the District’s finances in greater detail. 

Travis Bigam, Treasurer

New Email Distribution System

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Category: District

Published on Wednesday, 12 October 2011 15:34

Written by Jay Mattlin

Hits: 324

In an effort to communicate with the district more effectively, we have moved to a new website and a new email distrubution system.

Please visit the new Bloom-Carroll Schools website at http://www.bloomcarroll.com and click "Subscribe" under "Email List Signup" under the navigation on the left.

Signing up with your email address to the lists will allow you to receive an automated newsletter from each building of the five most recent announcements. Urgent announcements will be sent out using School Messenger.