Boe President Comments_june 2007

Comments prepared and delivered by Board of Education President Brendan Walsh at the June 11, 2007 Board Meeting

The current Board of Education has now been serving the community together for one year. Being a trustee has always been difficult, but more so now at what is one of the most trying times in the history of public schools in the state of Michigan. The responsibility is immense, and I am proud of how this Board has responded, both individually and collectively. Amidst a relentless stream of complex and difficult decisions, the community should have the comfort of knowing that our motivation has always been founded in what will be best for our school system, not just for today or next year, but to allow us to excel for years to come in an uncertain future. The story of this past year is that the Board of Education has not allowed the financial condition of the state to serve as an excuse for letting our district slip into a state of atrophy. To avoid this we have acted with a sense of urgency. We have challenged the status quo on many fronts. The refrain has been that we would leave no stone left unturned. We look back at this year and see many stones turned, yet still more left. We have made many decisions this year, not all of which were popular or unanimous. Such is the case when issues are complex and options limited. We can be honest and respectful about our differences. Throughout this year there has been disagreement between the Board and the Administration, the Board and the public, and frankly among Board members themselves. While our conversations may be direct and uncomfortable at times, through it all we have worked together diligently to reach conclusions that are in the best interests of everyone. The marking of the end of this school year offers an opportunity to take inventory of these decisions in a time of economic and systemic adversity. The budget consumed a great deal of time and attention. But our commitment to preserving and strengthening the cornerstone of our district - our academic programs - always served as our guidepost. Early on, recognizing the need to identify millions of dollars in cost reductions to balance the budget we will pass tonight, we made the strategic decision that we would not bridge this gap by cutting programs, laying off teachers, increasing class sizes, or spending down our Fund Equity - all of which have been too commonly relied upon in the past. Instead we challenged ourselves and the administration to critically analyze all areas of spending to derive greater efficiencies in everything that we do. While the process was painful and at times controversial, we will tonight pass a budget that is frankly a remarkable accomplishment for a public school district in the state of Michigan in 2007.

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Responding to the concerns of many, we did not raise class sizes in aggregate in any academic level for the first time in years.

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We maintained opportunities for students in academics, fine arts, and athletics, which are important to fulfilling our commitment to developing a well rounded student.

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We will pass a budget tonight that for the first time in 4 years does not rely on spending down our Fund Equity, an integral component of our short and long-term financial well-being.

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The total spending of next year's budget will actually be lower year over year for the first time in decades – a significant accomplishment that mirrors the reductions that we now must expect from Lansing.

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We identified innovative process improvements in areas such as technology spending, substitute 1!

Comments prepared and delivered by Board of Education President Brendan Walsh at the June 11, 2007 Board Meeting

teaching services, and energy consumption that will save millions of dollars for years to come and which allow us to preserve the programs our community expects. •

We took action to move our elections to the traditional November dates, which will not only reduce costs but will also likely lead to greater voter turnout.

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After considerable study and deliberation we chose to maintain our high schools' 7 period schedule that has helped both North and South achieve national recognition.

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We were able to reach a settlement with our Plant Workers to avoid what would have been an unpopular decision to contract with an outside firm to deliver this function.

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We challenged the administration to find ways to bridge the funding shortfall for our special needs student programs. They responded with resounding success, identifying over $600,000 for this important segment of our student population.

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We reduced spending in our operations and maintenance budget by a staggering $1,000,000 which, combined with last year's reduction in the same, will have yielded more than $1.7 million in savings over the last 2 years. This exceeds the combined affect of last year's 6 period day decision in middle school and the proposed savings to adopt the trimester schedule in high school.

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We reached settlements with employee groups that mark a first for employee medical and pension plan contributions. Equal credit and appreciation is due to those bargaining units for having the vision and courage to help address what can only be described as a statewide crisis in health care and pension costs.

We delivered equally strong results in areas outside the operating budget: •

We refinanced our outstanding bond debt to save taxpayers over $2 million.

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We hired a professional construction management firm to oversee the complex gymnasium and pool facility project at South. We performed a great deal of due diligence to ensure we will be able to deliver on all of the projects promised to the taxpayers when they approved the bond years ago.

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We launched an ambitious and comprehensive review of the district's policy manual that will ultimately lead to making our policies available on line and allow us to review those that have needed attention for years.

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In response to resident concerns about student discipline the administration seated a task force to review our practices in this area and we will be eager for their recommendations in the coming months.

Ultimately our primary interest and common goal is to make sure we maintain and improve upon the academic foundation. I am proud to report that again in this area your Board and Administration have delivered: •

After years of discussion we approved progressive new honors courses in our middle schools that will keep pace with the state's call for more rigor in our educational program and keep our district on the academic leading edge. 2!

Comments prepared and delivered by Board of Education President Brendan Walsh at the June 11, 2007 Board Meeting

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We approved a new elementary foreign language program that will get us back to par with most other district offerings and allow us to better leverage the outstanding foreign language programs on both our middle and high school levels.

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We approved and began construction on additional science labs at the middle schools, furthering our commitment to offer facilities conducive to academic achievement.

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We challenged our high school administrators to find innovative ways to leverage the high school tutorial periods and they have done so admirably.

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And we will close the year tonight by approving the formal analysis of an International Baccalaureate program for our district, further proving that we will not allow economic adversity to stifle our demand for continuous improvement.

We are proud of these accomplishments, both for what they will do for our district, but also for what they help us avoid doing. Our work, however, is not complete and the state's financial condition remains a very real threat. Our circumstances require that we continue to turn a critical lens inward on everything we do, a particularly uncomfortable act for a district as accomplished as our own. We carry the unenviable burden of replicating everything we do year over year when we simply do not have the means to do so. The challenge is complex, but the answer is simple. We must do some things differently, which means we must change, and change can be painful. We have had our painful moments this year, but I emphatically submit that we have succeeded because we have not mortgaged our future or compromised our standards. Our Board has challenged itself and the administration. We have recounted the results borne of this challenge. I now pose a challenge to our community. I challenge you to look objectively upon the gravity of our circumstances, what they require us to do, and ultimately how we have responded. I challenge you to recognize that the interests and motivations of the Board are no different from your own. We live in the same neighborhoods. Our children attend the same schools. We are as committed to the success of this district as anyone, proven by our willingness to serve on this Board in such a difficult time. We have the broad interests of the community as our guide. We seek to enhance the excellence of proud and storied school system at a time when we are dared to compromise. Many of our students this year undoubtedly learned about Abraham Lincoln. Among Lincoln's many famous quotes is one that best summarizes my challenge to our community. Lincoln once said, “Public sentiment is everything. With public sentiment, nothing can fail; without it nothing can succeed.” We have worked diligently to do what is best not just for next year, but for years to come. We won't agree on everything. The change we must affect will be uncomfortable. But in the end, together, we can do what needs to be done to succeed. For our children, our community, and our collective future, we must demand nothing less.

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