Dear Families,

I hope you have had a wonderful summer. We are excited for another great year of partnering with you to provide the best educational experience for your child.

In this edition of MacGregor’s Message

• Back-to-school reminders and important dates

• School meals and the Education and Nutrition Benefits Application

• Non-Homestead millage renewal and restoration

• New school safety terminology

• Who to contact with questions or concerns

As we kick off the school year, please take a few minutes to review and update your contact information in PowerSchool. Keeping your information current will help ensure you receive important communications from your child's school and the district. For instructions on how to update your information, please visit https://bit.ly/4xGtCG2.

Our Back-to-School webpage at HowellSchools.com/BacktoSchool is full of helpful resources for the start of the school year. There, you'll find our Back-to-School publication, updated bus routes, the school year calendar, and much more. You'll also find a link to our popular first-day-of-school signs. If you'd like your child's photo to be included in our Back-to-School album on Facebook, simply send us a Facebook message with the photo.

As we launch the new school year, below are some important dates to remember.

• Monday, August 17: All school buildings closed until 1 p.m. for districtwide meetings

• Monday, August 17: Elementary school open houses

• Wednesday, August 19: First day of school and a half day of school

• Thursday, August 20: Half day of school

• Friday, August 21: Full day of School

• Friday, September 4-Monday, September 7: No School, Labor Day

• Tuesday, September 8: Classes resume

As part of the State of Michigan School Aid Budget, school meals will once again be provided at no cost to all students. This applies to complete school meals, which include a fruit or vegetable, whole grains, lean protein, and milk. It does not include à la carte items. While school meals are free for all students, it is still very important that families complete the Education and Nutrition Benefits Application. Completing this application helps ensure the district receives its full funding and may qualify families for additional benefits, including discounts on college admission fees, Advanced Placement exam fees, and eligibility for the Michigan Summer EBT (SUN Bucks) program. To complete the application, please visit https://bit.ly/4wT0wTI.

On Tuesday, November 3, district voters will be asked to consider two ballot proposals related to the district's non-homestead operating millage. The first proposal would renew the district's current non-homestead operating millage. The second would restore 0.6084 mill of taxing authority that has been reduced over time through Headlee Amendment rollbacks. The non-homestead operating millage is not a tax on homeowners. It is levied only on commercial property, rental property, and second homes. Since the passage of Proposal A in 1994, Michigan school districts have been required to levy an 18-mill non-homestead operating millage to receive their full per-pupil funding from the State of Michigan. For Howell Public Schools, this millage generates approximately $20 million annually, representing about 20 percent of the district's operating budget. To learn more about the ballot proposals, please visit HowellSchools.com/Renewal.

Beginning this school year, Howell Public Schools will transition to the "I Love U Guys" Standard Response Protocol (SRP) in accordance with a new Michigan law requiring all K–12 schools to use standardized emergency response terminology. This statewide approach ensures that students, staff, first responders, and families use the same language during an emergency. While the terminology is changing, our commitment to school safety remains the same. To learn more about the Standard Response Protocol and the new emergency response terminology, please visit https://bit.ly/4xLJZBf. 

We know that throughout the school year, families may need to contact various school and district staff members for a variety of reasons. To support clear, effective communication, we created a new page on our website to help families identify the appropriate team member to answer questions or help resolve concerns. The page includes contact information and outlines the recommended communication process, which often begins with the staff member closest to the situation, such as the classroom teacher or program leader. To view this new resource, please visit https://bit.ly/4wojCjt. 

I hope you have a great weekend, and we look forward to kicking off the school year on Wednesday, August 19. Go Highlanders!

Sincerely,

Erin J. MacGregor, Ed.D.

Superintendent

Howell Public Schools