District planning ahead for success

By Jerry Ness | The Daily Journal

Published Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Thomas Friedman, author of The World is Flat, recommends that you “have a plan and stick to it” when preparing to thrive in our changing world. The Fergus Falls School District does have a plan for the future of our educational system.

It is our goal to ensure the success of our students by providing them with an excellent education, which includes a robust and challenging curriculum and innovative instructional methods, while at the same time being fiscally responsible.

Our preparations for the district’s future began taking shape last year when our community task force, the School Board and staff studied the Worner Report, prepared for the district by the Worner education consulting firm. One of the report’s recommendations was for the district to become more efficient.

Our first step in that direction was to reconfigure our elementary schools starting this school year. In the new reconfiguration, all students in each grade level will be housed in the same building, allowing us to appropriately staff each building to educate the students and balance class sizes.

Other benefits of the new grade level configuration are the professional development opportunities, including grade level curriculum meetings and consistent communication among grade level teachers.

The next key task force recommendation was to improve the district’s facilities. With the passage of the $32.5 million referendum for renovation and additions to our facilities, we will be well on our way to having updated facilities for our community for years to come.

Why renovate our facilities? Because each year the district was being forced to spend general education fund dollars, usually reserved for teaching and learning, to maintain our facilities.

Following the passage of the bond referendum, the audit for the school district showed that we were in Statutory Operating Debt. Less revenue due to declining enrollment, a change in special education funding and expensive maintenance of our facilities all contributed to our SOD status.

The district is now in the position of making significant budget cuts to get out of SOD. The building project is crucial to restoring the financial health of our district. Updating our facilities through the successful bond referendum will reduce the dependence on funds from the general fund to maintain our facilities.

It is never easy to see major changes, especially in an institution of learning that has changed very little over the years. It is our goal to continue to communicate updates to the plan and any adjustments needed as we move forward. The School Board always welcomes questions, comments and concerns from community members, parents and students.

Calendar Update

At the March 10 School Board meeting, the board approved a change in this year’s calendar. The last full student day for all students is Friday, May 23. The date and time for graduation, 7 p.m. Friday, May 30, remains the unchanged.

The early school closing was approved to give staff members an extended time to pack and prepare for the impending moves within our school buildings. Vacating the Middle School will allow construction to start there during the first week in June.

Here is a calendar update for the remainder of this school year. Friday and Monday, March 21 and 24, are the scheduled spring break. March 31 is a day off for students, while teachers have a workday to complete grades from the third quarter and prepare for the fourth quarter. April 11 is a scheduled three-hour early out for a staff inservice. April 25 is a day off for students and staff. This day would be used as a snow make-up day if needed.

Jerry Ness is the superintendent of the Fergus Falls School District. His column appears Wednesdays.