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Greetings!

The 2004-2005 school year is underway! Articles in the September 15 issue District 16's "The Insider" (published online) highlight achievement and anticipation. Much has been accomplished within the school district over the summer and individuals and groups continue to make us proud of their accomplishments.

The school district—as a system—is making progress as well. Within the last two years, the district has made systemic changes to better enable continuous structural improvements on a regular basis.

A continuous improvement model is certainly not a new concept, but to do it in a $30 million "industry" and to include over 600 staff members is a daunting task, unless there is universal support.

Our progress will be slow but steady, and initially, the results will be as well. However, we believe that with initiatives such as regular meetings of Professional Learning Communities, coupled with training opportunities for the School Board and administration, and supported by a vigilant watch over district resources and expenditures, this district will soon receive its rightful status among the top educational organizations in the State of Minnesota.

To meet that challenge, we must be not only good stewards of the district’s finances, but also of its facilities and grounds. In 1995, district voters overwhelmingly approved a bond issue to complete deferred maintenance projects, make repairs and renovations on all of the buildings in the district, and add much-needed technology and infrastructure.

However, even at that time, the District wasn’t able to complete all of the tasks that it saw as necessary for the long-term good of this district.

Consequently, nine years later, we are conducting a Facility Utilization Study to determine what needs remain and what new needs have emerged over this time period.

We also know that demographic and census projections made in 1995 certainly couldn’t have anticipated the explosive growth such as Blaine’s TPC and The Lakes areas of our school district. This current study will take that growth into account.

A Facilities Task Force is being assembled and will be meeting throughout much of this school year. This group will review an architectural study of the facilities and its needs and make recommendations on the viability and priorities of the study. In addition, the community will be given numerous opportunities to provide input and make further suggestions as well. We welcome that opportunity for interaction.

It’s an exciting time to be a part of this school district. We’ve been a district for 50 years, but the district is a young fifty-year-old; eager to tackle the future with energy, vision, and hard work on behalf of all of our students.