As I mentioned in last week's newsletter, this past Thursday night I presented to the Board FY 2027-28 Budget Preview #1, the first of a four-part workshop series to help navigate and preview the upcoming FY 28 budget season. The 2027-28 budget is set to be the most complicated one in recent memory for a variety of reasons, with the One Campus project and shift to new grade spans the largest part of this challenge. Opening a fourth school building requires more programs and staffing, in addition to the increase in debt service that will pay for the bricks and mortar. This presentation provides critical information well in advance of the budget season to front load anticipated requests sooner than later. Here's the budget categories included in this presentation:
- Pre-Kindergarten: State law change shifts responsibility of special education services for 3 and 4 year olds to local school districts by the 2027-28 year.
- New Facility/ Grade Spans: Staffing and costs associated with opening the Carolyn F. Small School in August 2027
- Enrollment: Response to continuing enrollment increases over the last decade in MSAD 51 schools
There are many competing priorities in our school district right now. First and foremost, though, is ensuring that each student in our care during the 2026-27 school year receives the very best education possible. Beyond this, my focus- and the Leadership Team's focus- must be on the completion of the Carolyn F. Small School by June 2027. This is only part of the story, though. There is a lengthy To-Do list that must be completed by the time school opens for the 2027-28 year. This includes, but is not limited to:
- Complete construction of Carolyn F. Small School by June 15, 2027
- Commissioning of new school systems
- Develop plan for decommissioning and removal of 31 modular classrooms currently on campus by early July 2027
- Continue Transition Committees for each new grade span (PK-1, 2-4, 5-8) to plan logistics and programming for upcoming year
- Develop plan for reuse of land currently occupied by modular classrooms at MIW and GMS
- Finalize designs for the two playgrounds at the Small School
- Continue internal site work (roads, bus loops, sidewalks, crosswalks, paving, etc) summer 2027
- Final bonding of One Campus project debt service
- Securing the 2027-28 budget funds necessary to make a shift to new grade spans (PK-1, 2-4, 5-8) a reality
- Hire additional staff members, as approved through the budget process, to make the One Campus transition work effectively
- Finalizing the reassignment of three-quarters of our 450 staff members to new grade spans and buildings
- Development of a plan to begin special education services for 75 students who are 3 and 4 years of age, per a new state law
- Develop the 2027-28 calendar with new grade spans considered
- Adjust transportation routes to account for shift to grades PK-4 and grades 5-12
- Develop master moving plan and move all impacted staff members to new locations between June-August 2027
- Plan and purchase new technology infrastructure, movable equipment/furniture, and kitchen equipment for CFSS
- Develop safety plans and systems for new grade spans and new school building
- Complete closure activities and events for current grade spans
- Coordinate and plan adjustments to after-school programs and services based on new grade spans
- Etc.
The move to the new One Campus design is now just 9 months away. Much has been done already, but much still lies ahead, and the clock is ticking. As we continue to work through the One Campus work over the next few months, and secure the budget needed to make all of this work, please know that the district administration considers this to be Job #1 this year. The new Strategic Plan, which I will begin introducing in a couple of weeks, is heavily invested in the One Campus project and transition.
The success of the One Campus project inevitably rests on it being heavily prioritized during the current school year. It is important that our entire school community is committed to this momentous shift and that we are not distracted from this important work. We cannot do this alone; we need your help to do this. The future of MSAD #51 and its students-current and generations to come-is dependent on us all getting this transition done correctly. We have only one opportunity to get this right, and the time is now.