Thank You!

On Tuesday, March 8, 2011, the voters of the Sanborn Regional School District went to the polls and made their voices heard. Between the two towns, over 2200 people cast a ballot and participated in the democratic process. Thank you to all those who were able to come out to the polls on Tuesday.

The results of the election included strong support for the proposed budget, teacher contract, and the support staff contract. The school community cannot thank the greater community enough for their support. The budget that was proposed will help us continue our march to become one of the top districts in the State. We will continue to monitor our programs to ensure we are getting the biggest bang for your tax dollar.

The positive votes on both of the contracts will go a long way in providing stability in our workforce. Less time will be spent training new staff members in our programs and more time can be spent enhancing skills and improving student achievement. I am confident that teacher turnover will be significantly decreased this year.

In the coming year, we will continue to expand the implementation of our Pinnacle program. To date, we have implemented the Student Information System, and Gradebook (including the Parent Portal and standards based report cards). The next phase includes the curriculum and instruction modules and professional development. Elsewhere in the system, we will continue our work on implementing the Strategic Plan, and re-writing our Technology Plan and Professional Development Master Plans for the State. The next year promises to be a very busy, productive year.

Once again, I would like to personally thank the voters of Kingston and Newton for their support at the polls on Tuesday. If you have any questions or comments about this column, please contact me at bblake@sau17.org.