I asked them to think about and share some of the things that we do well in the New Hampton School District. I heard about our athletic programs, fine arts programs, FFA program, 8th grade trip to Washington D.C., and other things. I then asked them to share the following: If we had to make cuts or changes in our district, what are the things that we shouldn't touch no matter how tough things get. I heard about small class sizes in our elementary school, early intervention programs, variety of class options at the high school, and more. I then asked them to share things we could improve in the district. I heard some things there as well. When everyone arrived, they were given some Post-It notes and asked to write down their answers for each of these items. As they left, they posted each of their answers on a sign with the question on it. I have collected those and will be tallying them over the weekend. I will share the results on the blog and also at the board meeting Monday night.
At this point, we began discussing the future vision for the district. I shared some details on our facilities. We've spent over $240,000 on the middle/elementary school this summer on tuck-pointing concrete work etc. Basically to get the building sealed up. During the completion of the work, we found a number of other issues. Things like we will need to replace the roof on the 1913 building sometime in the next couple of years. Also, there is additional tuck pointing that will be needed each year. The contractor told me we would spend a million dollars or more on outside maintenance in the next 5 years. In addition, we are planning to spend $300,000 to redo the bathrooms and entrance on the west side of the gym early next year. As I've toured the building, I see that the bathrooms in the elementary building are the original ones from the 1950's when the building was built. They need to be redone at a cost of $20 to $30,000 each. The list goes on and on. A question the board and I have is how much money do we continue to put into this building? Is it time to look at other options? There is no doubt those options will be expensive and cost money--but should we look and see how much? We'll continue to seek feedback at our next meeting, so if you have some thoughts, please attend the meeting or stop in to see me or send me your thoughts.
We also talked about technology and I heard a lot of feedback that we are behind in technology use in our district. The question is always where do we go and how quickly? As a former technology director I know it's imperative that we provide training and time for our teachers to learn about and implement technology use. There is a big learning curve with technology and we have to spend the time and money to make sure they are prepared. In the end it can change how we teach and how students learn. However, the teacher is a key element in any technology initiative. They will always be a key element in education.
I've displayed this video earlier in my blog, but it's worth sharing again. I shared it during the meeting and used it as a discussion starter.
Thanks for stopping by. As always if you ever have any questions or concerns, please contact me directly.
