Winding Down

According to my calendar we have just a week and a half to go before the end of the school year. I know a lot of people (especially the kids) are well aware of this fact. I can promise you that in many classrooms this time of year it is common to see a countdown written on the white boards. For me, it always seems to catch me off guard a little bit. All of a sudden someone will say to me, 'Wow, I can't believe we only have XX days of school left!'. Yep, it's winding down.

Of course it has been very evident. If the green grass, blooming flowers, and little league ball weren't a signal, then the deluge of spring programs certainly should have been! This time of year our challenge is keeping the train on the tracks! As the days grow warmer and longer, the ability to focus in the classroom grows shorter and shorter! I reminded our teachers this week the best remedy for students who are anxious, excited, and a bit tired from all the activities is to remain committed to instruction. My take is that if we don't keep them busy, they'll find other ways to keep themselves busy! Even so, I am not naïve enough to understand the last two days of any school year are not incredibly productive; at least from an instructional standpoint. 

Here are a couple of things to keep in mind as the school year winds down. Today, May 15 is a full day of school. This is not a change in our schedule. It was originally scheduled as a full day to accommodate semester tests in the high school. Next Wednesday, May 22 will also be a full day of school. This is because we'll be in Pirate Term. The following day, May 23, is the last day of school, which is an 11:30 dismissal. Sack lunches will be served. By the end of that week, May 24, most of the teachers will have wrapped up for the summer and will be on their way out the door. 

Following Memorial Day, we'll shift fully to our summer schedule. To remind everyone, the central office will be open Monday through Friday during regular business hours (7:30-3:30) all summer long. While this office is open on Friday, I ask that you please call ahead as I am the only in the office that day, and in the district doesn't necessarily equate to me being in the office.

Offices in both attendance centers will also be open during regular business hours through the month of June. In July, please route all inquiries through my office. Even so, if you have specific building level inquires, understand a response may be delayed as the principals will be enjoying some much deserved time off. Those offices will reopen on August 1. 

Registration materials for the 2024-2025 school year will available beginning in July.

Keep in mind this will be a very busy summer construction schedule, even bigger than last summer! While the majority of the work in the high school classrooms is now finished, this summer will be devoted to renovation of the common spaces. Included in this work will be finishing the installation of the new HVAC system. You will recall we took the air conditioning offline last fall. Just last week the boilers went offline. All the equipment in this mechanical room is being replaced, as well as all the heat pumps for the building. Access to the high school will be restricted for most of the summer. Sometime over the summer, when the time is right I'll provide a full update on progress at the high school and when we anticipate the new addition will open.

While there may be column from time to time over the summer, next week will be my final weekly column for the school year when I share my message to the Class of 2024. Even so, remember the office is open daily if you need something. Until then, have a great summer and I look forward to seeing you all again at the start of the 2024-2025 school year!

Echoes of the Classroom

In my weekly communication to employees I admitted this year I would be finishing my 20th as a school administrator. I can hardly believe how quickly the time has flown by, particularly when one is surrounded by the whirlwind of classrooms, lunch rooms, pep rallies, and a whole array of school activities. But my educational career didn't begin in the administrative wing of a school. My journey began like so many others: in the classroom. In my case, I spent ten years as a music teacher. At times, I am certain teachers think that I have lost perspective. And quite frankly, from time to time that might be a fair assessment. I mean, I've been an administrator twice as long as I was in the classroom. But, these last twenty years haven't erased memories of the ten I spent in the front of the choir room, wielding a baton instead of a budget report.

Sure, the challenges are different. Now I worry about test scores, budgets, and trying to get a high school renovation project finished on time and on budget. I leave the worries about the soprano who tends to lean a bit sharp or the tenor who can't quite master the bridge to falsetto for someone else. But there is one thing that remains constant: the incredible dedication and collaboration that makes our schools tick-the teachers. There is no mistaking the fact our roles are vastly different. There is no mistaking the fact that the success of our school is reliant on our teachers. They are in the starring role in our schools and will/do have the greatest impact on shaping these students into the adults they someday will become. Know this: twenty years from now I can assure you that our students will be able to remember with fondness a teacher who inspired them, cared for them, or were present when the lightbulb came on. They won't remember the grizzled old superintendent (What was his name again?) who called a snow day every once in a while. Believe me, I am happy to serve in this supporting role!

Indeed from time to time I can still hear the echoes of classroom chaos in my head. It is those instances when, perhaps I am able to ground myself and remember what it is like to be in the trenches. The long hours of lesson planning, the emotional investment in every student's success, the constant feeling of needing to be ten different people all at once. It is a very demanding job!

But here's the other thing that I see from my vantage point: They don't do it alone. As we close in on the final weeks of the school year, our schedule has began to compact, much the way it does every May. Activities are stacked upon activities and the coordination and planning necessary to ensure success is as complex as any problem encountered in workplaces everywhere. No, they don't do it alone. They do it together, as a team. I see them planning together, sharing best practices, troubleshooting behavior issues collaboratively, and celebrating each other's victories. This collaborative spirit is what separates good schools from great ones, and it is something I witness daily. 

Don't get me wrong, there are frustrations. Budgetary constraints. Too much focus on standardized tests. Politics. The occasional parent email that makes you question your sanity. It's all part of the territory!

But during this Teacher Appreciation Week, let's focus on the positive. Because the positive force our teachers create is undeniable. They nurture young minds, ignite passions, and inspire the next generation to dream big! They are the artists, the scientists, the historians, and the mathematicians sculpting the future one lesson at a time.

So from a former colleague who, admittedly sometimes may lack perspective, a heartfelt thank you. You are the heart and soul of our schools and your dedication makes all the difference. Here's to the next twenty years of learning, growing, and making a difference together. 

Enrollment Growth is the Key

I read an article the other day about a number of school districts in Iowa that are making pretty significant budget cuts. Before delving into a discussion on this topic, I want to make very clear this is not a Hudson phenomenon right now. There are very specific reasons it isn't, and hopefully this article will articulate those reasons for you (if you aren't interested in the suspense, just read the title of this post again). Even so, it is wise to pay attention to what is going on around the state and to be mindful of our own trendlines. Our financial metrics are quite good right now. The reason they are good is because enrollment is growing. A combination of open enrollment and residential enrollment [growth] makes up for woefully inadequate supplemental state aid. It hasn't always been that way for us. For those of you that haven't been around as long as I have, we were in a bad spot in 2011. That year, we had to implement some pretty significant budget cuts, somewhere in the vicinity of 10%. It was awful! Perhaps that is one of the reasons why I feel the growth that comes with open enrollment is such a big deal for our district. Even though as I shared recently, maintaining this balance between resident/open enrollment can be tricky. 

So let's get to it. What is going on around the state? A 2 minute story on the evening news simply doesn't peel back all the layers of the onion. On one hand, it is enrollment loss due to the voucher program introduced last year. But, it is also because the per pupil growth rate set by the legislature is/has been inadequate for more than a decade. Sure, it is a very valid point for legislators, and even community members to suggest the remedy is to simply to reduce staff as enrollment decreases. The common refrain is that, 'Yes, you have to cut the budget. But you have fewer students, so what's the problem?' Well, it's much more nuanced than that. 

Again, it is hard to argue with a concept that as enrollment either increases or decreases, staffing should adjust accordingly. I call it 'right-sizing' the district. The challenge though, is that as enrollment decreases those pupil losses aren't concentrated in just one class or grade level. If they were, it would be easy; right? The reality is that when you lose a few students here, a few students there; you can all of a sudden be down 20-30 students and not have any great options when it comes to adjusting your staff downward to meet the reality of the budget. Losing 2 students from 4th grade doesn't necessitate eliminating one 4th grade position. Losing 2 students from each grade however, does. But the question becomes, which one? There is no easy answer. So, in many cases superintendents will deficit spend their operating budgets. This means they are able to maintain (at least in the short term) staffing levels without class sizes getting out of control. Keep in mind it is wholly appropriate to make such a decision, so long as it isn't considered a long term strategy. But it comes with a cost. The consequence of this action is a deterioration of the unspent balance. Now, if you have a healthy unspent balance, deficit spending every once in a while is probably not going to cause too much of a headache. In fact, that is precisely the point of the unspent balance. To deal with unexpected or short term budget issues. It may recover, or it may be high enough to not be of huge consequence. Perhaps there is an assumption that enrollment may recover or that supplemental state aid will make up the difference. (Making those assumptions is unwise.)

The trouble is, that in many of these districts they just weren't deficit spending one or two years. In other words, they are treating a long term problem with a short term fix. Simply treating the symptoms won't cure you of a cold or flu. What happens in this case is that the unspent balance trend begins to turn, drop, and then accelerate. Why? Because of deficit spending year over year it then compounds. When coupled with supplemental state aid that is already inadequate, on top of stagnant or decreasing enrollment, the consequences can be profound. A tipping point is reached where the unspent balance is exhausted and there is no choice but to implement severe budget cuts. That is what is happening right now in many school districts; and I am not talking about small school districts. Des Moines: $14 million; Iowa City: $5.5 million; Linn-Mar: $2.5 million.

The reality is that as long as supplemental state aid remains inadequate there really is only one solution: enrollment growth. Unfortunately, deploying that as a solution depends on a lot of factors, many of which are completely out of the control of the local school district. It has become an even taller order with the introduction of vouchers whereas the schools that benefit from the voucher aren't playing by the same rules as their public school counterparts. 

To remind you, supplemental state aid is the percentage by which the state cost per pupil grows annually. It is not adequate to meet the rising cost of education and hasn't been for quite some time. In the last decade, the per pupil growth rate has averaged 2.04%. In the decade before that, it averaged 3% (which also includes a year where the rate was 0%). Set aside wage growth for one moment, we'll come back to that. The cost of electricity, heating, and supplies alone surpasses those percentages. The reason Hudson isn't experiencing or considering austere budget measures is simply because our enrollment growth makes up for inadequate supplemental state aid. Think about it like this. The legislature this year passed an SSA rate (supplemental state aid) of 2.5%. Because of our enrollment growth, it actually netted us 4.03%. By the way, that only considers the residential side of the equation!

House File 2612 did provide additional resources for schools. The bulk of course being the money needed to meet the new salary floors for teacher employees: $47,500 for beginning and $60,000 for teachers at 12 years of experience. While welcomed for sure, it has caused a bit of consternation for some. Some districts don't have enough due to faulty data in their BEDS report and a somewhat clunky rollout. Plus, it is hard square a circle where on one hand you are cutting $5 million from your budget, while on the other you are increasing teacher salaries by huge numbers. (Remember, prior to this law, the minimum salary in Iowa was $33,500. Increasing that floor to $47,500 is a 42% increase.)

One could argue, quite successfully, that if the supplemental state aid rate had been adequate over the last decade and a half, the salary gulf wouldn't be nearly as wide as it is now. Likewise, if guys like me wouldn't deficit spend year over year (making those staffing adjustments downward when enrollment dictates such), we might be in a much better position. Of course my colleagues would rightly point out that doing so is easier said than done. Remember that mention of 2011 and the budget cuts we implemented? That fall we opened with 2 sections of kindergarten. One of them had 29 students; the other had 28. How do think the parents liked that? Teachers? I suppose the upside now is that, yes, teachers are going to make more-- but they also may have ten more students in their class!