blue&gold Friday, December 17, 2010
FOOD
CHARITY
Volume 88, Issue 3 Findlay High School 1200 Broad Ave., Findlay High School
Homeless seek help from local agencies page 5
SPORTS
Cooking up some fun
WEATHER
Swimmers struggle to balance busy schedules
Culinary Arts students pursue their passion for cooking while earning college credit and running The Café, a self-sustaining restaurant.
TODAY Partly cloudy High: 27 Low: 11
SUNDAY Snow showers High: 19 Low: 13
TOMORROW Partly cloudy High: 20 Low: 10
page 8
NEWS Music Technology class hosts Reverb concert tonight page 4
page 7
page 6 senior Matt Beck
INDEX
Editorial...............2 Entertainment....3 News/Feature.....4
Charity.................5 Holidays...............6 Food.....................7 Sports..................8
senior Kortney Mullen
Making the cut . .
k rboo Yea 0-2011 1 0 2
Funding puts electives at risk n By Leah Cramer
State budget cuts and declining enrollment are coming together to form a funding fiasco in school districts across Ohio. Among the things that could be affected are electives, which are also driven by student demand.
Budget
Jan. 10: chorus auditions Jan. 11: principle auditions Jan. 12: dancer auditions Jan. 14: callbacks Jan. 15: cast list posted
Scheduling Numbers taken from student registration, which runs Feb.1-25, will affect decisions as to whether or not to have certain classes. According to Swartz, there is a minimum requirement of 15 students registered for a class in order to have it. “It’s so important that each student schedules accurately,” Swartz said. “If kids don’t sign up for classes they want, we might not create enough sections for them to be able to get into that class later. “Last year I based staffing on incorrect numbers because sudents made mistakes with thier schedules. We were able to correct those, but it took a lot of time.” Until the state budget is revealed, everything is speculative, but electives are more at risk than most because they aren’t required. “We’re going to carefully look at everything because that’s required in order to be fiscally responsible,” Barnhart said. “Our goal is always to minimize the effects on students and parents first, but given the degree of these cuts we’re expecting, I don’t think we can leave those areas untouched.”
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skills as they can possibly absorb in the four years that we have them there at the high school,” Hoffman said. “What limits us, most notably, is the budget. “What we are facing right now is one of the greatest budget problems we’ve seen in several generations.”
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An estimated $8 billion hole in the state budget for the biennium will be putting a strain on Ohio school districts. Findlay City Schools (FCS) has a general fund budget of $55 million and, according to FCS Treasurer Michael Barnhart, cuts of $4 to 5 million from the state are expected. “We’ve got a new governor and a new General Assembly coming in and they are faced with a huge budget gap at the state level, so that’s going to have to be passed down to us, the cities and the local school districts,” Barnhart said. “Everything is on the table: electives, class offerings, extra-curriculars, administration personnel, there’s really nothing that is going to be exempt.” Additionally, declining enrollment, which FCS has been experiencing for the last several years, will result in less funding for the district. “The school district receives about $5500 per student and if we lose 100 students next year, which is the projected number, then we’re looking at $550,000 less to work with,” school board president Rick Hoffman said. Among things that are under consideration in the face of reduced funding are electives.
Swartz believes combining classes is a possibility that could come into play next year. “It’s possible next year, depending upon enrollment, that Journalism I-IV will all be offered at the same time,” Swartz said. “Then that would be up to the teacher if they feel they can teach all of those together and if they can’t, those with the lowest enrollment have to be eliminated. “Every year we look at those things. The same is true in regards to some of the art classes too.” However, consolidating classes while retaining a strong program is not always feasible. “Combining the journalism classes would not work,” Blue & Gold editor-in-chief John Sisser said. “One of the reasons we have one of the most successful programs in the country is because students get the building blocks they need in Journalism I before moving on to work on the paper in Journalism II-IV.” Additionally, a reduction of the current requirement of two units of communications is a possibility for the 2012/13 school year. “It’s almost a definite that the requirement would be cut to half a credit,” Department chairperson Debbie Benson said. “We aren’t naïve enough to think that with the coming state funding cuts we’d be able to keep both. “You certainly can’t combine them (Communications I and II) without losing some things, but my hope would be that, as a department, we would be able to consolidate the curriculum and take the best from each.” When it comes to cutbacks, electives are a lower priority than core requirements, such as English or mathematics. “We would like to offer as many electives as we can to supplement and build upon the core (requirements) so that we can send our students out into the world with as many
illustration by John Sisser
Spring musical offers students many opportunities for lead roles n By Leah Cramer
An informational meeting about this year’s musical, Godspell, will be Tuesday, Jan. 4 at 3 p.m. in the auditorium, with auditions the week of Jan. 10. Based on the gospel of Matthew in the Bible, Godspell follows Jesus and his disciples in a retelling of the parables. The show traditionally ends with the crucifixion of Jesus, but this year’s production will most likely also include a resurrection scene. Director Debbie Benson chose the show in
BLAST from the PAST The Simpsons, the longest-running American sitcom, debuted as a halfhour prime time show on Fox on December 17, 1987. source: the peoplehistory.com
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part for its many principle (lead) roles. “We have a lot of talent in the theater program at the moment and Godspell is a show where you can feature a lot of people,” Benson said. “It really is, more than most shows, an ensemble cast, so there’s not one person that really stands out.” Students can try out for a chorus part by singing in small groups, or for a principle role by singing and acting by themselves and dancing alongside others. “There’s a large variety of music in the
top news stories of 2010 in a 100 student survey
show so we’ll be looking for vocal range, style and interpretation,” vocals director Craig VanRenterghem said. “The music, in general, is very great and upbeat and and there’s a lot of singing. “There are many opportunities for students to have solos or songs of their own.” There will also be separate auditions for students solely interested in being dancers. “It is very much a show that depends upon movement and the action of the story,” Benson said. “Dancers will definitely help to add to
1. British Petroleum causes oil spill in Gulf of Mexico 2. A 7.0 magnitude earthquake hits Haiti 3. Chilean miners get trapped underground for over two months 4. Obama declares an end to combat mission in Iraq 5. Airport security uses full body scans Soldier photo: courtesy of scrapetv.com (fair use)
this movement.” Aside from maintaining the role of Jesus as a male, directors will be casting the remaining roles without regard to gender. Parts will be cast based on talent with some emphasis on comedic ability. “There are some great, really funny parts so we’ll be looking for some comedic people,” Benson said. “The show is about Jesus and his 12 disciples, so there are already a lot of parts, but we’ll also be adding a large chorus of his other followers.”
HATS
OFF
Janice Panuto was named Ohio Assistant Principal of the Year. “It’s a great honor to be recognized and I’m very excited,” Panuto said. Panuto