Friday Board Bulletin 2/23/2024

Posted Date: 02/23/2024

Board Members:

Thank you for your hard work on Wednesday night! We went a little longer than anticipated, but we got a lot of great work done! I'll try to be brief today. 

Typically, the week following the first funnel is relatively quiet. Even so, there were a couple of important developments in the legislature this week. On Wednesday night (same evening as our board meeting), the House Education Committee held a public hearing on the proposed AEA restructuring bill. The hearing was very well attended and the committee received a lot of feedback. The theme throughout the hearing was that the proposals are very unpopular. I would imagine we will see a final bill pushed through, but what that ultimately looks like is yet to be determined. Second, the House passed a 3% increase for supplemental state aid. This is notable since it differs from the governor's recommendation (2.5%) and the Senate has yet to take up the bill. The fact they are making progress is a good thing. (The difference between 2.5 and 3% for us is $27,576. Not a lot, but that spending authority does come with cash!)

I'm not a superstitious fellow, but even so I am a bit hesitant to bring up the state tournament. If we win tomorrow night, we are in. The tournament is scheduled for March 4-8, which also coincides with parent teacher conferences. My intention will be to modify the school schedule that week in an effort to accommodate as many people who want to attend as possible. (Similar to what we have done with prior state tournament appearances.) The full cabinet will be meeting on Monday morning to come up with a game plan, by then we'll have a good idea of the sequencing of games. In any event, I bring this up because I'm certain to receive feedback from some folks who do not support school being dismissed for the state tournament. In my view, this is part of the cultural fabric and tradition of our community. In any event, if you have any thoughts or feedback that you would like me to consider, please let me know!

Have a great weekend

Dr. Tony Voss