The Dog Ate My Homework

Astro ate my homework. What? What teacher would accept this as an excuse for not producing last night’s homework assignment?
Nearly two years ago your school board was asked to show our plan for facilities to justify borrowing about $3 million of the yet to be collected tax moneys granted by the voters. The idea was to borrow the money up front, renovate the old buildings and pay off the loan with future tax collections.
Just one problem. There was no plan in place. Nor even thought of. We could not explain which buildings would still be in use in 5 or 10 years. We had not thought that far ahead.
Yet here we were being asked to commit future tax dollars to a project that would use the money to patch up old buildings that may not be in use in the foreseeable future. And we could not answer simple questions about those buildings because we had no plan.
That was the first big clue that things needed to change. We needed to take a hard look at our resources and make an honest evaluation of just what could be done with what we had. Thus began our journey to a self-evaluation of the entire system.
From buildings to buses to choirs and football teams. Algebra, Biology, Calculus, and on up the alphabet. We should be able to answer simple questions about what we have, what we offer, what we need and what our plans are. We should have those answers and plans ready for the public to view at any time.
The plan should be an honest review of where we are now in virtually all areas of operation of the school system. It should include where we would like to be in a reasonable time period; say 5 years. And it should include logical steps showing how we expect to get there.
Most of all, it should be flexible. Able to change as times and circumstances change. Able to be amended or re-directed if the original focus becomes obsolete. And it should be respectful and conservative of the taxpayer’s money.
It has been a long journey. Many hands have done the work. There is much yet to be done. The initial product is ready for viewing and will be available at the upcoming public meetings on the bond issue. Those meetings will be at 7 PM on the first three Tuesdays in October. It will also be available electronically soon on the www.buildmariettaschools.com website and also on the Marietta City Schools regular website.
There is far too much to absorb in one sitting. It is our intent to review each of the categories one at a time in upcoming weeks. We want the public to review the work and add their observations and ideas. Over time the plan will become a product of the community outlining its envisioned future for their school system.
At the same time this work has been evolving, the teaching and service staffs have been working on their areas of expertise and developing the Professional Learning Community concept in all the buildings. Their work is directed at developing best practices for delivering the education product.
Combined together, the community will have a system that is constantly improving and responsible to the citizens for the future of its schools. With your help we will no longer be caught unable to answer reasonable and simple questions about your schools.
The dog ate my homework is just not acceptable. It’s time we stepped boldly into the 21st century providing education for our future leaders.