Several Clarkston school board members spoke with The Clarkston News about the current school year, the changes put into place, and the upcoming challenges they would like to meet both as a board and as individuals.
Before the beginning of the school year, the board agreed on four primary goals focusing on curriculum, technology, communication, and financing (see sidebar).
The school board as a whole set a goal to ‘assist the administration in implementing an aggressive budget calendar and timelines,? as well as addressing non-homestead taxation and providing ‘clear parameters for the administration in developing a responsible budget.?
‘Frankly, not enough people pay attention, and clearly there are lots of misconceptions about what Proposal A does and what it does not do,? said Superintendent Dr. Al Roberts. He added overall he thinks Proposal A has done a good job; but often confuses citizens.
Board Vice President Stephen Hyer said the budget is going to be a big deal over the next year. Even though no programs will be cut this year, Hyer said he expects some major ones will be needed for next year.
‘We’ve always tried to keep the cuts as far away from kids as possible. We’re going to be looking at busing and some things that least impact kids in terms of academic rigor,? said Hyer.
Hyer said what is frustrating about working on the budget is changes at the state level.
‘The state is going to continue to change the budget, probably through December. So we approve a budget with a set of assumptions that we just don’t know if they’re going to be true until the state is done,? Hyer said.
‘The good news is that we’ve not had as many cuts as our neighbors. The bad news is we’ve held that off for quite a while, and there is no low hanging fruit. We’ve been a pretty prudent school district to begin with as is evidence by the audits that we’ve received. So I think we’ve done an excellent job of managing the resources that we have,? said Roberts. ‘We’re the third lowest funded districts in this county. Frankly, I’ll match up our programs and our kids, not just athletically but academically, with the heavyweights.?
‘I don’t pat myself on the back on that,? Roberts added. He said he gives credit to the people he works with in the administration and the school board.
Trustee John Koval said he has the opportunity to meet with board members from other districts on a monthly basis, and when the issue of budget cuts arises, he said he is very proud of the district’s position.
Koval applauded the administration for budget work, but also said he is concerned with what lies several years ahead.
‘It’s impossible to say what’s going to happen. If the state doesn’t come up with some more money for us per student, something like that, we’re going to be in trouble,? he stated.
In addition to the board goals , Roberts said he will put personal focus on several areas.
‘I want to advance the growth of our students intellectually, socially, emotionally ? and how I want to do that is to continue to provide an exceptional array of academic, co-curricular and extra-curricular activities, but also to maintain a developmentally appropriate and orderly environment in virtually all of our schools,? said Roberts. ‘I think you do that by raising expectations on one end of the balance beam, and on the social end perhaps lowering some of the expectations so that we can keep some of our youngsters young.?
These are things Roberts said he hopes to see happen as a result of the district’s reconfiguration over the summer. The overall effect of the reconfiguration is something Roberts and other board members plan to watch.
‘We’ll have to take a look at it and see down the road. If it doesn’t work, we’ll have to change something,? said Koval.
Trustee Joan Patterson said she is pleased with the results of the reconfiguration and expansion of Sashabaw Middle School as the district’s only middle school, even though the process was time-consuming at frustrating.
‘We have to be there to oversee, to ask questions. That’s not a fun job, but that is part of our job,? Patterson said.
She also said with construction projects nearing completion, more time can be spent looking at other issues.
School board Treasurer Ronald Sullivan said as a group, the board committed to making sure the last few parts of the contruction projects are completed properly.
‘We need to stay focused on these and get these done,? Sullivan said.
Koval said there is a challenge around every corner, and right now he sees the biggest goal as finishing the extensive construction.
‘So far it’s gone fairly well, just a few minor glitches. Looking at the magnitude of what we did, frankly, I’m very happy with the way all of the construction has gone,? he said.
‘We’ve got a situation now where we’re really fortunate to have some great buildings that tie into some great configuration and curricullar structure,? said Hyer.
Even with the additional space provided for students, Koval said the board is always concerned with possible future enrollment figures.
‘In the next couple years, our facilities will probably be just fine, although most of the buildings are at capacity right now. We expect at least another year or two of steady enrollment, after that with some things that are on the books right now as far as subdivision development’we’re going to have to relook at things shortly,? said Koval.
Roberts said the other major change, the conversion of Clarkston Middle School to Clarkston Junior High School, is something he sees as an enhancement to student growth
‘As we look at the eight and ninth grade building (Clarkston Junior High School) in particular, we made every emphasis on raising the expectation, but providing mechanisms so that kids can achieve that. Shawn Ryan’s selection as principal was largely due to his vision of how we can get that done,? said Roberts.
Hyer said the new junior high school is setup to help the eighth grade be more like high school instead of ninth grade being more like eighth grade.
‘We want to keep kids younger longer, but still challenge them. Because of that opportunity, we’ve got this place (SMS), so now we really need to learn more about it, learn how it’s working, make sure it’s working the way we wanted it to work and follow through,? said Hyer.
The effects of the reconfiguration will take time to evaluate, and Patterson said it was important to establish benchmarks and pay constant attention to them.
‘We need to be careful about putting something new out there and saying ‘Okay, we’ve done our job,?? said Patterson.
In addition to the construction, Roberts stressed the need to enhance communication between the schools and the surrounding communities. With growth of technology, the schools have the opportunity to broaden communications, and one area Roberts said could be improved is the district’s Web sites.
Roberts said the Web sites could be more interactive and there are plans to have grades available there in the next few weeks.
Hyer said the board wants to have as much two- way communication as possible.
‘Everybody in the community needs to know what we’re all about, whether they have kids in school or not,? said Hyer. ‘So it’s really important that we keep improving (communication) as much as possible.?
Roberts also mentioned possibly branching out through cable television programming as early as next month, as well as increasing communication through the media and public events such as the Open House held on Oct 8.
Patterson said she sees community input as a opportunity; not only to get more opinions, but also to explain the thought process behind board decisions that may raise questions.
Patterson said she is glad to hear questions, ideas or criticisms; and that she would prefer to hear them all before a major decision is made in order to properly weigh the pros and cons.
In Koval’s opinion, communication is a two-way street and that parents taking an active role would help improve the district.
‘Frankly, even before I was on the board, just a parent out there, I considered it my responsibility to know what was going on; so I have to shoulder some of that on the parents themselves. They have to make an effort too. We make this information available, but you have to make an effort to read it,? said Koval.
Looking into the future, Roberts and Koval mentioned the eventual goal to establish an international academy program, though Koval remarked the concept is still in extremely early planning stages.
In the here and now, Roberts and Koval also spoke of the integrated math and science program in the district. Koval said the program is run through CHS and allows students to take math and science and apply them to real-life situations.
‘That used to be done through the intermediate school district. They decided they could no longer do it, so they canceled the whole program,? said Koval. ‘Well, it was such a good program for the kids that participated that we in Clarkston said we’ll start one and make it every bit as good as what was offered before.?
Koval said the board will likely be evaluating the program throughout the year .
Trustee Barry Bomier said he stood firmly behind the goals agreed upon by the board as a whole.
School board President Karen Foyteck said her goal for the year was to put all of her effort into achieving the goals agreed upon by the board.
Board Secretary Shelia Hughes could not be reached for comment.