“The Imagine MASTer Academy school board approved a $6.9 million budget Wednesday that school officials are calling conservative.
The board also discussed student achievement.
Principal Jim Huth said the budget accounts for a possible 4 percent funding cut from the state. As the budget stands now, revenue will exceed expenditures by about $19,000. By the end of the year, Huth predicts the school will have a cash balance of $447,000.
The 2011 budget is larger than this year’s because the school has more students. There were 811 students enrolled this fall, up from 750 last year. Huth estimates the school will receive $5,775 per student from the state.
Huth gave the board an overview of the academy’s goals, which included increasing student achievement, reaching out to families and communities and improving student interactions with one another, among others.
The school, 2000 N. Wells St., needs to do a better job of getting students to understand why they are in school, he said. He said the school also needs to put a greater emphasis on community service.
Huth noted that the charter school is evaluated not only by the state and the federal government, but by the Imagine headquarters. He said he hopes the school will get a higher rating from Imagine National next year.
Virginia-based Imagine Inc. has overseen the creation of 72 public charter schools in 12 states and the District of Columbia, according to its website.
Huth said he will give more details about student achievement and how the school is addressing its goals during the next board meeting.
In an effort to improve ISTEP+ scores, Huth said students were spending two hours every other Friday taking tests similar to ISTEP+. Last year, ISTEP+ results at the school were flat, he said.
‘We don’t think the kids were seeing how to take the test,’ he said.
At the beginning of the board meeting, board president Pat Sheean said Joe Daniel had resigned from the board because of personal reasons.”
Article published by the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette on October 21, 2010.