School has opened again for the 2015-2016 school year, but with a cooler and crisper feel to the air. Normally we would be enduring temperatures in the neighborhood of 90 degrees and wondering about early dismissal days, but the wonderful mid-70s to low-80s has been a great respite and help to the start of the year.
The school year promises to be an exciting learning adventure for the students of the district, even while a number of issues swirl around the country, state, and local community.
-At the federal level, the House and Senate are currently in conference committee regarding reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), the same law that was reauthorized in 2001 under the title of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). NCLB was a highly impactful act which continues to resonate today, fourteen years after passage. What the reauthorization, if agreed to, will bring with it remains to be seen, as the House and Senate versions of the bill had some significantly different approaches. Will there be more testing or less? More funding or less? More or less local or federal control?
-At the state level, the legislature and governor passed a bill providing funds for public school districts early this year, while many other areas remain a concern. At this time, the state is still providing less dollars for public schools than the funding formulas require, although at a slightly higher rate than the past school year. While hopeful for better times, it is unknown whether that amount of dollars will actually be paid and will not be known until June.The only fully reliable sources of funds for districts at this time are local property taxes and, oddly enough, federal grant funds.
-At the local level, elementary grades K-6 will be fully implementing the Comprehensive Literacy Model (CLM) this year. The pilot results were outstanding last year, showing great student growth, as was reported to the Board at the June Board meeting. The district is also reviewing and renewing the district's 1:1 computing model and equipment. The conversation regarding building construction/renovation-repair will also continue through much of the school year and beyond.
The annual sixth-day enrollment figures are available. The district's enrollment is 1,100 students. This is down 57 students from FY15, 92 from FY09, and 205 from FY06. The enrollment drop over the last 11 years has been 18.6%. There are 6 classes with 80 or less students, and 8 classes under 90 students. The trend line shows, if the pattern continues, that the district will likely have enrollment around 1,000 by 2020, and the implications of that trend for the next 20-30 years will have definite impact on Board decisions for the future of the district. To view a chart of the enrollment trends,
click here.
At the regular August Board meeting, the Board adopted a resolution of a 30-year facilities vision for the district. The vision is, by 2045, to have one campus housing all students of the district. This vision not only impacts the next generation or two of students as changes are made, but considering that the life of school buildings is 50+ years, would also impact the next several generations well beyond.