Dear District 7 Parents:
On behalf of the Board of Education, teachers and all employees, and our 7,500 students, I want to express our sincere gratitude to the citizens of this outstanding school district for their support of Proposition E.
Get The Latest News!
Don't miss our top stories and need-to-know news everyday in your inbox.
The success of Prop E ensures that students today, and in the future, will continue to have all of the valuable opportunities, both academic and extracurricular, that we as a collective group of citizens want our students to experience. This historic vote allows the Edwardsville School District 7’s plan to ensure its ongoing financial stability and academic excellence.
Your support of Proposition E is tangible evidence of the priority the community places on our children’s academic future and that we refuse to allow the state’s decline in funding to diminish our vision of what a well-rounded education can and should be.
I am including a link to a powerful one-minute video produced by Sam Brammeier, a 2012 graduate of Edwardsville High School. The video does an outstanding job of illustrating the outpouring of community support that was the hallmark of the Prop E campaign. I hope you will take a moment to view this message of appreciation.
Now that funding is available, the District’s plans for the funding include:
- Ensuring a balanced budget by June 2019 to avoid a potential state takeover
- Eliminating the expected Education Fund operating debt of $6.7 million and begin establishing cash reserves
- Addressing academic, technology, and school security needs, including replacing aging textbooks, restoring the curriculum review cycle, upgrading technology infrastructure and hardware, and updating failing school security systems
The administration has already begun to address upgrades for critical academic, technology, and school security needs and will provide frequent updates to the public on progress being made in these areas. Phase I will be ready in August as students enter the 2017-18 school year.
The administration and Board of Education continue their pledge to be responsible stewards of the District’s funds and to maintain vigilance in oversight of expenditures. Updates on progress being made toward reduction of the Education Fund debt as well as the goal of being removed from the Financial Watch List will also be provided to the public on a regular basis.
The passage of Proposition E was truly a community effort and could not have been accomplished without the support of so many citizens, employees, parents, students, the EGHM Foundation, PTOs, booster clubs, business and civic leaders, and community organizations.
I especially want to recognize Save District 7 Schools, the dedicated citizens group that provided leadership, energy, enthusiasm, and countless volunteer hours communicating these complex financial and educational issues throughout the District 7 communities. I also want to thank the many individuals who took the time to record and post testimonials on social media, canvass the community, attend countless informational meetings, talk to neighbors and friends, and lend their expertise to the campaign. As a result of these efforts, Proposition E gained support from nearly every sector of the community.
We cannot thank you enough for all you have done.
Respectfully,
Dr. Lynda C. Andre
Superintendent of Schools
More like this:
