The end of the first quarter of school is already upon us and boy oh boy it sure went by superfast. Our Cross Country team will be competing in Jamestown this weekend and our FFA chapter is off to Indianapolis to their national convention. These kids are simply an amazing bunch. I commend all of you parents, grandparents and guardians on the job that you are doing. I am thoroughly impressed each day when I greet the energetic kindergartners in the morning all the way through the day watching your children develop into outstanding young adults that the Bowman County School District can be proud of!I am the same as all of the rest of you in the fact that in this day and age of instantaneous access to the news in our country I feel completely bombarded with the upcoming November election. We are all keenly aware of the top of the ticket and the annual four-year selection of our countries president. As important and impactful that selection is, and should be, there may be a concern with a local ballot measure for the State of North Dakota that will impact every school district in the state. Before I go any further I want to emphasize that as an employee of the state I will not attempt to influence your vote in any way on any election issue and will just present some information in regards to ballot issue named Measure 2. In the 1993 Legislative Assembly, the legislature proposed a new section to Article X of the Constitution of North Dakota to be submitted to the voters at the 1994 general election. The resolution, introduced by Senators Yockim, Freborg, and Redlin and Representatives Soukup, Tollefson, and Kaldor, was approved unanimously by both the Senate (49 YEAS, 0 NAYS, 0 ABSENT AND NOT VOTING) and the House (95 YEAS, 0 NAYS, 3 ABSENT AND NOT VOTING). The key word here is “unanimously,” which means to me it is a great idea necessary for the future of this state. This created the Foundation Aid Stabilization Fund. This resolution provided that 20 percent of oil extraction tax revenue be allocated as follows: • Fifty percent (of the 20 percent) to the common schools trust fund. • Fifty percent (of the 20 percent) to the foundation aid stabilization fund. The principal of the foundation aid stabilization fund may only be spent upon order of the Governor to offset foundation aid reductions made by executive action due to a revenue shortfall. Currently only the Governor, not the legislature, can order any budget transfers out of this fund. Measure 2 proposes that the legislature have access to this K-12 foundation money. The Foundation Aid Stabilization Fund is an investment in our students, a tremendous “safety net” for all of our children in the state of North Dakota, essentially put in place to guarantee all of our current students and more importantly all our future students, guaranteed access to a first class education which our children need and deserve. Revenue in the foundation aid stabilization fund is invested by the State Treasurer. The Constitution of North Dakota provides that the interest income of the foundation aid stabilization fund must be transferred to the general fund on July 1 of each year, utilized by all state government agencies. Our forefathers voted unanimously for a good reason. Bowman County Schools has 3 book fairs each year. In the Fall the “Dollars for Scholars” organization runs one in Bowman.
In the spring, both Rhame and Bowman have book fairs. These “Scholastic Book Fairs” continue a beloved tradition of bringing books to students and giving back to schools. These literacy events generate huge excitement for reading in our schools. Our Scholastic Book Fair features mobile cases full of affordable books based on characters and subjects kids love and more importantly want to read about. From newly released books and best sellers to award-winning titles and perennial favorites, every book is hand-selected by Scholastic experts and chosen from dozens of other publishers. Scholastic provides the books, planning tools and display cases for the events, which are run by volunteer parents, teachers, and school librarians. They have been doing this for over 30 years. Each year Book Fairs sell more than 100 million books to 35 million children and their families visiting more than 130,000 fairs in preschool, elementary, and middle schools around the world. Book Fairs also generates more than 190 million dollars in cash and educational resources for schools, which receive a portion of sales from every Book Fair they host. At the end of the Fair, the school is awarded either a percentage of the revenue or books and educational materials. Scholastic Book Fairs helps generate more than $175 million in fundraising for school projects and classroom materials. More importantly, the events provide students, teachers, and parents with access to thousands of affordable books and educational products. I see this as a “win – win,” affordable books that kids are very excited to read. This is so important, because the more kids read, the better readers they become, and the more successful they’ll be in school, in work, and in life. Scholastic Book fairs will match monetary donations with a donation of up to $1 million in books from The Scholastic Possible Fund. I am so thankful we have these book fairs at our schools.
