Dear Editor,
I am writing to encourage Springfield voters to vote YES to the school budget on Tuesday, March 7.
Over the last several months, many people have been hard at work crafting a budget during this very challenging time that both acknowledged the purse of the taxpayer, while also ensuring we provide great educational opportunities for our students. This hard work has paid off with only about a 3% increase in your taxes. Simply, if you own a home assessed at $200,000, for less than the cost of one nice meal out for two you can help ensure the children of the town have access to high quality education.
I wanted to take this opportunity to highlight some of the exciting things that have been occurring over the past several months.
The district has been deeply engaged in defining its vision of a “Portrait of a Graduate” with many different stakeholders since Sherri Nichols took over as Superintendent in July. Seeking input from administrators, school board members, teachers, community members, and the students themselves in order to define what skills and abilities a Springfield High School graduate should possess. This will now drive our vision moving forward to ensure our children possess skills like problem solving, resilience, responsibility, and effective communication when they enter the workforce or higher education.
Professional development days have a new look and include ongoing coaching and support. These days now include all PreK-12 teachers and staff attending together, helping to ensure that we are aligning our practices and curriculum not only from grade to grade, but from school to school.
We have exciting successes happening at every school within the district. From students receiving early intervention services in our PreK classrooms to help ensure our smallest learners are prepared for their educational careers, to planning to incorporate more hands-on learning experiences for our high school students in areas such as cosmetology and aviation. These hands-on learning opportunities will engage our students in exciting new fields and prepare them for career opportunities.
It has been my honor and pleasure to serve the voters of Springfield on the school board over the last year. I am looking forward to all the exciting changes and additions that lie ahead over the next year, and once again ask you to vote YES on the school budget!
Sincerely,
Denise Hunter
School Board Clerk