Challenges

The reality is that parts of our building are failing. The repairs are costly. Our funding is declining. At this point, we have little choice but to make the repairs. However, I was taught from early on that you do not spend money you do not have. There are caveats and exceptions, but in general, I live by this principle and I believe a well-managed school can be guided by this principle as well. We have to get creative with the budget, and it cannot be at the expense of student learning. We must prioritize our needs and wants, and we must understand that these are very different reasons for spending money. We have to understand "the why" behind our spending. And most importantly, we must plan for our financial future today.

Enrollment is projected to continue to decline. This will decrease our aid for years to come. We must be mindful of that as we look at our current spending and plan for future budgeting. We cannot control decreased funding, but we can plan for it now to lessen the burden in coming years. Through thoughtful planning, we can control the impact of decreased aid to minimize the effect it will have on the quality of education for our students.

We must strategically attract and retain quality staff, especially staff that directly serve our students. These are the people who directly affect the students' educational experience. We cannot undervalue the importance of a high quality professional in front of an energetic, young mind. There is too much at stake to put our students in the hands of anything less. We must be pro-active in addressing this issue before it impacts our students on a large scale.