Dr. Jorgensen Highland Highlights - October
September 16, 2019
Highland Highlights
The residents of the Highland Community School District made a very clear statement on Tuesday, September 10th. 589 residents of the district cast their votes on a $3.7 million bond issue for the district, and 420 said yes. That is a 71% approval rate. I do believe this is a significant turning point for this excellent school district.
I am proud of the fact that this bond issue was initiated under my tenure as an adviser to the district. I facilitated the Building Committee meeting where it was determined that asking the board to consider a bond issue was determined. The district has had several difficult issues that they have battled through in recent years including drop in enrollments, funding concerns, the need to close an elementary building, and dealing with negative publicity.
The enrollments have turned a corner and the forecast is for growth in future years. We were able to reduce spending over the last three years and now have an unspent balance of a nearly $1 million. One of the spending cuts included the closing of a building, which is still difficult for one of our communities, but having all elementary students in one location has led to more continuity, better implementation of programming and more efficiency. The district has demonstrated three consecutive State of Iowa school report cards from the Department of Education that have shown that the district is a leader in the area in all three building levels, Elementary, Middle School and High School. The district has been able to deal with much of the negative feedback and concerns to improve and create a learning environment that is positive for the kids. That is an ongoing process to recognize deficiencies and address them. New and exciting programming have been created in each building and exciting classes focused on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) have been created. Robotics, Aerospace Engineering, and Agriculture Education are just a few of the examples.
While the new programs have been implemented in the last three years, I really believe that September 10, 2019, will be noted as a major turning point for the district. It is a date that the district’s residents affirmed their commitment to the district. I have been involved in 4 bonds issues throughout my career as a Superintendent. I am proud to say that I have been successful in 3 out of 4. Bond issues require a 60% Super Majority to pass. 60% is a pretty significant majority of support and is very difficult to reach. I never reach 70% in any of the votes I was involved with until September 10, 2019. 71% approval rate is very rare. It is a statement that the residents of the district have confidence in what the district is doing and want to see the district moving forward for the future. This is pretty important for rural districts in Iowa. Legislation and funding for schools has not been favorable for districts under 700 students in recent years. That is why the number of districts in the State of Iowa has shrunk almost 50% in the last 25 years. I would anticipate there will be less than 300 districts remaining in Iowa by 2025.
It is important now for the district to continue to push forward. Significant housing and population growth within the district in the future will lead to more facility planning. It was certainly a favorable environment to approve this bond issue due to tax valuations and the ability to offset the increase without raising taxes, but that certainly didn’t guarantee a successful vote. Congratulations to the residents of the Highland CSD residents. You made an excellent decision for the future. September 10, 2019 will be a date to remember for the district. It is the date the residents said Yes to continue the good things happening and moving the agenda forward for the future.
