Knights,
As we wrap up another school year, I want to take a moment to thank everyone for what I believe has been a successful year. We've had our ups and downs, but I can confidently say that we are in a strong position moving forward. While we face challenges, particularly regarding funding in the coming years, we have already begun making decisions to address these issues and set ourselves up for success.
Reductions
One significant change for next year is the reduction of three classroom teaching positions. These reductions have occurred through retirement, a staff member transitioning to a new job/school, and non-renewal of contracts. We will also be reviewing support staff numbers and making necessary reductions in that area. I recognize that these decisions are never easy, but we believe these changes will have the least impact on students, and our class sizes will still remain smaller than many other area schools. We will continue to monitor enrollment and make necessary adjustments after each year to ensure we are meeting the needs of our students efficiently.
In addition to staffing adjustments, we are implementing other reductions to help us manage financially. This includes a 5% reduction in supply budgets, as well as a decision to discontinue printing the community newsletter. These changes are being made to ease the financial transition as we look ahead.
Summer projects
Looking forward to the summer, we will begin our summer work right after graduation, with plans to complete it before the start of the next school year. Some of the major projects include improvements to parking lots and roof replacements at both of our buildings. As we move forward with these projects, there will be areas on campus that will be off-limits during certain times, and we ask for your patience and flexibility. Additionally, we may need to move some events from the secondary building to the elementary building, and we will communicate any changes as soon as possible. With the roof and boiler projects, we will be operating without air conditioning in some areas, and we all know how warm it can get during the summer months. Please stay tuned for updates regarding these events.
Roof and Parking Lot Projects:
Elementary Building: You will need to park on the street (S Oakland St).
Secondary Building: Please park across the street in the baseball/softball parking lot and walk over. Please do not park on the street (Knights Lane).
Building Entrances:
Elementary: Please plan to use the main entrance (Door A) to the building.
Secondary: We plan to use the main entrance (Door A-East side of the building) for now, but this may change.
District Dashboard
I am excited to share with you our District Dashboard, which is attached to this email. This dashboard will be updated annually and will be available on our website for easy access.
The dashboard is a tool we've developed to help consolidate and visualize important data for our district. It is designed to track our progress and provide insights that will inform our decisions moving forward. By aligning with our strategic goals, this tool will help ensure that we are making data-driven decisions to improve and grow as a district.
I am incredibly proud to be part of the LCWM community. As we continue to move forward, I am committed to getting better and helping our district and community grow into the best version of ourselves.
Go Knights!
Brett Benson, Superintendent