SUPERINTENDENT’S LETTER
BY: BECKY WILKINSON
As we enter our last quarter of the school year, our school district is carefully watching our state’s fi nancial situation and its impact on our schools. Two weeks ago our district learned that state lottery sales have not met their projections, and our district received a cut in expected funds. At this mid-March writing, we are also watching our legislators as they are at work developing the budget for the next school year and are addressing a supplemental request for salary and benefi t costs incurred over the past year by school districts. It is a financially apprehensive time for school districts as they complete the current school year and plan for the next one.

Our hope is that our legislators will be able to fund the $58,326,000 supplementary request that our State Department of Education has proposed. This funding would provide districts with additional funds to cover the fi xed costs associated with last year’s $3,000 teacher raise and cover January 1st health insurance increases for our employees. Both of these costs were absorbed in our school budgets. We are also hopeful that funding can be found that would provide additional operating funds for the coming school year. The rising costs of fuel and other energy costs alone have taken a toll on school budgets over the past months.

I encourage our patrons to be supportive of state funding increases for our schools. Creating a state budget is a daunting task as our state has many needs. However, I believe our students and their education is a priority, and I believe that our patrons feel the same.