Well, life happened to me. I didn't get a blog-post up for December. Long post alert, too. This may be my longest post I've done.
If you missed it, please do check out the agenda and items attached to the agenda. The biggest news here is that the board voted to refinance some of our bonded funds, resulting in a savings of 5.99%--more than $225,000. For January's meeting, held on Monday (writing on Saturday), I encourage you to check out and read the bond project updates. We are approximately 40% of the way through the project, on time, on budget, and haven't had any major cost overruns, hiccups, or unforeseen circumstances. The board is beginning to discuss what other projects around the campuses can be done with the remaining bond proceeds. The administrative team has come up with a list of items that are their priorities and they are here. The board will continue to be good stewards of our resources provided. We also approved $54,000 in technology upgrades to ensure our students have access to the appropriate and needed tools to succeed. We also approved the ballot, and with three candidates and three positions, we won't have an April Hallsville School Board Election. While I only can speak for myself, I am grateful for another term and hope that by not having a contested election----that this shows our district is headed in the right direction and the community agrees. We've worked hard at transparency, fiscal responsibility, student-focused, and doing what's right by our faculty and staff. Now, to the elephant. The conversation starter of the year. The thing everyone has opinions on: 4-Day School Week. For those of you who haven't followed or visited lately, be sure to check our our district resource page. This is full of good information and shows how our district has worked to be transparent, inclusive, and deliberative. We will have a special board meeting on February 4th at 6:00PM to discuss and vote on this issue. It's fair to say that while the vote will likely not be unanimous, either way, we'll move forward as a full board. This issue, while an important one, needs to wrap-up, and we need to turn our attention back to working toward our long-term vision, mission, and planning toward student success continues. You all know I'm active at the policy-level. Leaders in education at the state level have been asked about the growth of 4-day school weeks in the capitol. The state board of education heard a presentation about it in January at their board meeting. Let me quickly generalize the issue. Generalizing runs the risk of painting too broad of a picture...but please bear with me as I truly am meaning to try to be fair:
Let me be clear: our faculty and staff are an incredible asset to our community and children. I've had children in high school and primary settings, and I can't tell you the amount of love our staff have poured into them. It's been humbling and so important in their lives---even when they were only in our community for a 1 school year each. For more than a year now, I have been a skeptic, concerned about food insecurity, child care, outcomes for students, wanting to be research focused, at-risk families, etc. As a district, just because someone around us is doing it---doesn't make it right for us. It doesn't make it wrong for us. For many in the community, you may have felt like this whole process was a sham, a slam-dunk, a done-deal. Let me assure you, it isn't, it hasn't been a done-deal. Now, where do I stand: I'm still a skeptic. Could information between now and February change my mind? I hope and have confidence that I'm not that closed-minded. However, here's where I am:
We'll see where we land, what (if any) additional information we are presented with. These are my hesitations, concerns, and gut feelings. One of the great things about our board is that we all have different perspectives and considerations. I may be on the losing or on the winning end of the vote. Either way, the board will need move forward to continue to be tweaking our major strategic planning documents and direction for the growth and betterment of our kids. I'm sure many of you disagree with the points that I've raised, and that's absolutely fine. I'm grateful for the ability and trust placed in me and know there will be many issues where we align and think alike. Either way, I'm always happy to visit by email, phone, or in person on any issue regarding our district. The board has a desire, regardless of the outcome of this vote, to move forward with working to ensure our students are setup to succeed, that our teachers are supported, that our community is confident in the education our children are receiving. Until next time, Craig
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AuthorHallsville resident. Foster Parent. School board member. Politico. Jesus Follower. Cardinals Fan #MizzouMade Archives
June 2020
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