Community engagment and transparency remain key to the success of our distrct
The Board of Education has been very deliberate in establishing its priorities for each school year. As a district we have set six strategic priorities – Personalized Learning, Future Readiness, Inclusive Education, Health & Wellbeing, Community Partnerships and Communication, and Stewardship. Obviously, there is a lot to cover under each priority. I am proud that under Health & Wellbeing we have prioritized Social Media Awareness and Digital Citizenship. We all know that increased usage of technology and social media has negatively impacted our children. I look forward to continued focus and research in this area as we work towards helping our children set boundaries and safely navigate the ever-changing digital world.
Transform 220 will be another Board priority as we oversee the recently passed $64 million referendum. While the main focus of the project will be the new Community Auditorium, there are several other exciting projects happening all across the district, including new middle school science classrooms, career pathways addition, and STEAM labs.
Our administration has worked hard to establish a long-term Capital Planning tool for our district that covers every single building component and establishes replacement value and anticipated durability. We have approximately 1.4M square feet under roof to maintain and over 200 acres. Establishing the Capital Planning tool is significant because it will allow the Board to better plan for minor and major capital projects each year. It also gives us the opportunity to proactively budget and plan for future building maintenance. This is a priority under Stewardship that I am particularly focused on as we know we cannot solely depend on Referenda to maintain our buildings.
I feel the BOE should represent the voice of the community. As a board member, I have worked hard to listen to all stakeholders. To be an effective board member it is essential to understand that while we do not have to agree on everything, we do have to listen to all opinions and work towards compromise and the common goal of doing what is best for our students, our staff, our taxpayers, and our district.
