Salem City Schools, Virginia

C-
Taxes Y Budget Y Meetings P Elected Officials Y Administrative Officials Y Contracts P Audits P Public records N Academics Y Background checks N Transparency grading process

Website evaluation

Main article: Evaluation of Virginia school district websites

The good

• The Salem City Public Schools 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 budgets, including federal, state, and local revenue, are available. The fiscal year 2009 Annual Report of Expenditures is also posted.^[1]
• Administrative and school board contact information is available.^[2][3]
• School board meeting documents are available on Board Docs, but were not accessible at time of article publication. Meeting dates are also posted.^[3][4]
• Academic performance information is available via links to the Virginia Department of Education School Report Cards.^[5]
• Teacher salary scale is available.^[6]
• The School Board’s financial information is included in the City of Salem’s Comprehensive Annual Financial Report.^[7]
• The Salem City Public Schools Purchasing Policy Manual is available.^[8]
• Vendor contract information is available on the Virginia state website.^[9]

The bad

• The website does not include the results of background checks.
• The website does not include information regarding accessing public records.
• The website does not include the results of audits.
• Current teacher and vendor contracts are not available on the school website. Teacher salary data is available on the Virginia Department of Education website.^[10]

School Board

The Salem City School Board is comprised of five members serving overlapping three-year terms. Members are appointed by the Salem City Council. The Board’s responsibilities include setting division policies, overseeing administration of the division, and developing the school budget.^[3]

Current School Board Members

The current division superintendent is Dr. Alan Seibert.

The Virginia Public School System is supervised by a Board of Education, comprised of nine members appointed by the Governor and approved by the Virginia General Assembly. Members serve staggered four-year terms.

The Board of Education is responsible for dividing the Commonwealth of Virginia into school divisions and reviewing existing divisions to ensure standards of quality are being met. The Board makes annual reports to the General Assembly regarding public education in the Commonwealth and is further charged with certifying to the school board of each division a list of persons for the office of division superintendent of schools, one of whom the school board ultimately selects to fill the position. The Board also approves all educational materials used in the public schools. Supervision of school divisions is conducted by individual school boards.^[11]

Current Board of Education Members^[12]

Budget

The Salem City Public Schools budget for 2010-2011 totals $42,035,598. Instruction accounts for 73.0% of the budget. The operating budget includes $20,568,196 in local revenue (50.9% of the total revenue source), $13,419,304 in state revenue (33.2%), $3,036,855 in state sales tax funds (7.5%), $2,238,646 in federal revenue (5.5%), and $1,138,097in other revenue (2.9%).^[1]

Academic Performance

The Commonwealth of Virginia assesses schools based on Standards of Learning (SOL) tests and other statewide assessments; schools receive two accountability ratings a year based on student performance on these assessments. SOL tests assess student performance in English, math, science and history. Ratings are also given based on school and school division adherence to the goals of the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), which requires 100 percent proficiency in reading and mathematics by 2014.

School's state accreditation is based on performance in English, history, mathematics and science.

Schools and school divisions, as well as the State, are rated as achieving Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) if they meet or exceed annual benchmarks in reading and mathematics.^[13]

The Virginia Department of Education School Division Report Card reports Salem City Public Schools as having a student population of 3,941 and 6 schools in the division.

Salem City Public School Division made AYP for the 2009-2010 school year.^[14]

Unions

The Virginia Education Association (VEA) is the teachers union for the Commonwealth of Virginia.^[15] The VEA is affiliated with the National Education Association (NEA).^[16]

External links

Salem City Schools, Virginia

• Salem City Public Schools Official Website
• Salem City Official Website
• Virginia Department of Education Official Website
• Official Website of the Commonwealth of Virgina
• Virginia Education Association Official Website

References

	v • d • e State of Virginia Richmond (capital)
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