Where We're Headed: Part 2

At the beginning of the school year, we conducted a needs assessment survey to help us with the formulation of our next strategic plan. As part of that planning, I spent some time reviewing the progress we made on our most recent plan, which you can find in this article here. Respondents for the survey included 1 school administrator, 2 school board members, 11 staff members, 130 parents and community members, 29 teachers, and 50 students. Thank you to everyone who responded. The board subsequently used those responses to formulate our next strategic plan which can be accessed under the About Us page of our school website. 

Setting the stage for this strategic plan, we recognize foremost the district is experiencing robust enrollment growth, due to both open enrollment and residential enrollment. This, along with a strategy for controlling open enrollment was discussed at length in my October 16 article entitled, 'Counterbalancing Residential and Open Enrollment'. There is no mistaking the fact that residential construction in Hudson has been on the upward trend. In 2023, 22 residential home building permits were issued, adding a total residential value of $10.8 million to the district. Through the month of August (2024) 22 more residential home construction permits were issued, adding an additional $11.9 million in taxable value to the district. Over the last two years, 44 home construction permits have been issued in the Hudson Community School District. For more information on the growth of our school district, please refer to my January 29 article, 'Growing Pains'. 

This sets the context for this strategic plan. While the current plan suggested enrollment growth, it was much more conservative and speculative than what has actually come to fruition. This [enrollment phenomenon] is even further removed for the document titled ‘Hudson 2020’ where enrollment was actually declining across the district. Indeed, this is a very different school district than it was a decade ago, even five years ago when the previous plan was adopted. As we soon will see, the challenges facing the Hudson Community School District are vastly different from those faced in 2019.

Among the key findings in the survey, a plurality of both parents (45%) and students (33%) suggest that preparation for life after high school be the top priority for improvement. There is a significant drop-off after that, falling to 19% of parents suggesting that meeting the needs of all students should be the top priority. A second priority becomes less clear for students, as there does not seem to be a statistically significant finding. It is also less dramatic when board and staff members are asked to identify their top priority for improvement, although ‘reading’ is clearly identified (21%). However, the drop-off to ‘meeting individual needs of all learners’ is second at 15%. 

The district is currently wrapping up a major construction project at the high school attendance center. Included in this project is the addition of a career and technical education center. This career center, coupled with the addition of the CAPS program and more robust work-based learning opportunities, may help strengthen the top area of improvement as identified by both parents and students: prepare students for life after high school.

While only 26% of students indicate that anti-bullying efforts need to be improved, it did represent a plurality of students. On the other hand, 23% of board and staff members suggest teaching needs to changed, compared to 28% of parents and community members indicating that parental involvement needs to change. Both the elementary and secondary schools are engaged in continued efforts to combat bullying and harassment in schools, which was indicated as an area that needed to change by the students. The high school is currently involved in a social and emotional based professional development series designed to improve overall mental health in the system. Further, the district has recently taken steps as required by Iowa Law to combat chronic absenteeism and truancy. This work better enables the district to fine tune and understand what reasons may be leading to chronic absenteeism, including avoidance that sometimes comes from bullying. Finally, the board is currently engaged in work to strengthen our cell phone policy, which may be a contributing factor in online bullying and harassment.

In the future, the district may wish to consider major emphasis on instruction, content and the rigor of content standards keyed toward active student engagement in the classroom. In doing so, this will ensure that all students can learn at high levels, overcoming barriers and improving student achievement. Additionally, continued effort should be made to align the assessment system to the rigor of the standards. Finally, it will be important for all stakeholders to understand how leadership teams are organized and understand how they have a voice in decision making.

Our next step then, is to take those recommendations as outlined in our strategic plan and convert them to actionable goals. The School Improvement Advisory Committee (SIAC) will meet this spring to help formulate those goals. To read the full strategic plan, click this link. 

The Trouble With the State Budget

My first year teaching after graduating from college was in a small parochial school with a starting salary of $18,100. I can remember getting that first paycheck and thinking: wow, I can't believe they are actually paying me to do this job! 

After I got past the euphoria of being a professional, it didn't take all that long to realize that wasn't a whole lot of money, even in 1995 dollars. For perspective, the average starting salary for a public school teacher in Iowa at the time was $21,338. By the time I paid my rent ($250), a used car payment, and utilities, there wasn't much left. Then when the student loan payment kicked in a few months down the road there wasn't anything left. When faced with issues like this, there are a couple of solutions: find a job with more income or cut expenditures. For me, this meant no cable TV (cellphones weren't even a thing back then so no cutting to be had there), and a lot of canned food! I was young and healthy, so health insurance was also a luxury that I couldn't afford. For those of you too young to remember, in the mid 90s health insurance wasn't always a 'sure thing' as far as benefits were concerned. I could purchase it from my employer, but it was far too expensive and seemed like a waste of money considering I never went to the doctor. (I know, I know!)

Whether it's 1995 or 2025, that is how budgeting works. You live within your means. If your 'means' are too high, you cut expenses. Or you look for a way to improve your income stream. That's how it works for governmental entities as well. Except, not always. For public school districts, we really can't change the revenue side of the ledger. Our revenue is governed by property taxes and state aid. We have a statutory limitation on [spending] based on that revenue stream that is known as 'spending authority'. If revenue doesn't match expenditures we only have one option: cut expenditures. 

What if I told you that when faced with a budget problem instead of cutting expenditures, we were actually going increase our expenditures? You would probably tell me to update my resume. But wait, I'm not quite done yet. What if I also shared that instead of looking for ways to improve our revenue stream, I would actively pursue strategies to decrease that revenue? Up is down, down is up. Most people would probably question my competence. Rightfully so, rightfully so.  

Yet that is exactly what is happening with the state budget. In fiscal year 2023, the state of Iowa general fund net receipts were $9.721.3 billion. The Revenue Estimating Conference met on December 12, 2024 and set the 2026 fiscal year estimate at $8.601.9 billion. Yes, these numbers are quite large, but the math is quite simple: a $1.120 billion decrease in revenue. The decrease in revenue is because of policy decisions that have been made at the state level regarding tax reform. We'll all pay less in taxes this year. We're all for lower taxes! However....

In order for this to work though, there has to be offsets on the other side of the ledger. The expense side of the ledger, and we need to be prepared to accept the consequences of those offsets. It may come in the form of road repairs. Public safety. Or in the case of public schools, larger class sizes. The challenge of course, is that we want to have our cake and eat it too. The truth is that we like to have smooth roads and safe bridges. If we need to call 911, we sure hope someone shows up quickly. And parents, well I know you don't want your kindergartener in a class of 30. 

The reality is that very few things in our economy cost less than they did a year ago. In fact, its a safe bet they are going to cost more: fuel prices and natural gas are up. The software that runs our student information system cost $10,360.50 last year. This year, that same software package was $12,262.62. That kindergarten teacher is going to work wherever they can earn top dollar for their talents. So it goes. The only way to really impact the expenditure side of the ledger then, is to implement some of those 'austere' measures that were discussed in the paragraph above. We've actually had to do that before here in Hudson. I can promise you it is no fun and incredibly painful. I'm glad we don't have to do it right now. Even so, I understand the challenge.

Except that isn't what the state has done. No, quite the opposite in fact. Instead of cutting expenditures to match the revenue stream-they have actually increased the expenditure side of the ledger. And not, by the way through a natural 'maintenance of effort' type strategy. You know where I'm going, right? The expenditure side has increased because of the added expense of the voucher program. HF 68, enacted in the 2023 legislative session phased in state funded Educational Savings Accounts equal to the state cost per pupil set annually by the general assembly. It included a three year ramp up that this year includes no limit for income eligibility. The additional cost to the state, that didn't exist prior to 2023 is estimated to be more than $450 million annually.

So when compared to fiscal year 2023, we already estimate a revenue gap of over $1 billion entering fiscal year 2026. Add in the expense of the voucher program and the state has effectively decreased revenue while at the same time committing to new expenses. This only makes the gap worse. Now, there will be calls to use the emergency or rainy day funds to close this gap. Frankly, I'm not sure that is a wise decision. 

In school districts, this would be akin using our unspent budget authority-one time money-to shore up an ongoing revenue shortfall. We say one time because, once that money is gone it's gone forever. Budgeting 101: don't use one time money for ongoing expenditures. Further, we must ask ourselves: is it wise to use the rainy day fund for a self inflicted policy decision? Those are the questions that our legislators are currently wrestling with. I suspect it will get a bit uncomfortable before the dust settles.