Superintendent's Update

                                                                                                   

                                                                                                FEBRUARY 12, 2024

We are in the very middle of winter and our basketball teams are headed to the tournaments. The girls and boys have had an excellent season and we wish them all the best during the playoffs. We’re all so proud of the hard work that they and their coaches demonstrate day in and day out, at home, in practice and on the road.

Each of the School Boards will begin looking at proposed budgets for the next school year at their March meetings. It is our hope to have a final vote on the budgets by the Boards at their April meetings and then send it to the voters in May. We will be trying our hardest to keep the local property tax commitment to a minimal increase in line with the official inflation rate of about 3%. The cost of everything has gone up in the past year but a target of a three percent increase or less is what we’ll strive for.

I encourage all community members to check this website regularly and review the agendas for Board meetings. These agendas are posted seven days prior to any meeting so that you can make plans to attend. The Board members always appreciate your input on the budgets and any other agenda item you may want to address. There is a twenty-minute public comment period at the start of each meeting, right after the minutes are approved from the prior meeting.

The schools have a new bus that was delivered last week. Because of on-going repairs to our oldest bus, the Board approved purchase of this new one so that we don’t get caught short again. RSU #37 was kind enough to loan us a bus when our Bus #17 was off the road for more than a month. Now with a new bus, #17 can be used as a spare in case of needed repairs or breakdowns of Bus #18 or the mini-bus. Hopefully, we’re all set with transportation for a few more years now.

Our three schools are in excellent mechanical condition after the extensive energy projects undertaken a few years ago. This project has allowed for significant savings on oil consumption and the new HVAC system has allowed for fresh, clean air in every classroom. We have upgraded our flooring, added the new roof at the High School, new insulation and new lighting that is motion operated so that the inside lights are only on when someone is there. Our three schools are each over 43 years old but they look and feel almost like new! We all thank the community for their support in making our old schools come back to life. We feel it was an investment that pays great dividends every day.