State of Vestaburg Community School 2019

It is the time of year that our elected officials provide their constituents a State of the Union or State of the State Address, or at least most years anyway!  It is with this in mind that I thought I would try to provide a state of our school update.  However, please know that this is not all inclusive of everything that is taking place at Vestaburg Community School.

For starters, it has been a busy year with many staff changes.  These changes include the addition of Mrs. Jennifer Warner-Leja as the 7-12 Principal; Allyssa Wilson as the Business Manager; Samantha Cashen, Spanish, and Math Teacher; Kate Drury, Therese Hubble, and Tamara White, Second Grade Teachers;  Angela Davis, Preschool Teacher; and Jordan Hessbrook, HS Social Studies and English Teacher.  In addition, we have added several new paraprofessionals that are working hard with students to meet daily needs and provide academic interventions.  In many areas, there are shortages of qualified staff to fill these roles!  Thus, we are very excited to have each of these individuals join the Wolverine family. We are blessed with a very dedicated and caring staff and I am confident that our staff will continue to push our district forward!

This school year, 2018-2019, marks the third straight year that we have seen an increase in our student enrollment.  During this time, we have seen our enrollment increase by approximately 40 students.  We continue to see a positive net gain with school of choice numbers.  Currently, we are running two full preschool classrooms and a three-year-old program.  This has been a priority for our school board to provide our young children with a quality preschool program.  In addition, VCS has been at the forefront in the virtual/alternative education programming.  At this time, we are the authorizer for a charter school that serves approximately 1300 students through ten sites around the state of Michigan.  In addition, this year the district launched a new alternative education program that is serving 150 students through a blended virtual experience.  This has been a deliberate and powerful endeavor for the district and the Board of Education for the purpose of serving students in need and providing diversified programs and revenue for the district.  Through all of these commitments and programs, Vestaburg Community School is serving and changing the lives of over 2000 students in the state of Michigan.

This past fall, the district put a bond issue before the community.  While the issue failed by a close margin, the board did receive considerable positive feedback and has determined that it is important enough to try again with another election in May of 2019. The projects include roofing updates, purchase of school buses, replacement of the high school bleachers, and if funds permit some remodeling of older bathrooms and classrooms.  Each of these issues are considered capital improvements and very costly.  For example, one new school bus is $80,000 - $90,000 and a new roof is over $1,000,000.  While we understand that for many, additional taxes are not a positive thing and may be difficult, we feel our children and our school are worth it!   The decision to ask the community to approve an increase is not taken lightly and the needs are not luxuries, but rather necessities.   If approved it would cost the voters approximately $5.00-$13.00 dollars a month.  School funding can be complicated, and it does not provide for the capital cost and projects.  As you look at public schools across the state, capital projects such as this are funded with bonds and millages.  Furthermore, it is important to note that Vestaburg Schools receives one of the lowest amounts of tax dollars per student in our ISD and ranks in the bottom 5% in the state of Michigan. Lastly, we know that many people may not understand or agree with the decisions that have been made in the past. However, we cannot change the past, but we can ensure the current and future children of our community a great and safe school.  Our kids are worth the investment and we are committed to providing them with the best education possible!

The district is also in the process of finalizing the last stage of our security updates.  Over the next few months, we will be installing the latest Smart Boot technology that will make Vestaburg only the second school in Michigan with this technology.  As you may recall, we have been able to implement all of our security updates including the Boot, emergency placards, ballistic shields, and cameras through generous community donations and through lighting upgrades that provide savings to pay for all of these updates.  We remain committed to the security of our buildings and our students!

As previously mentioned, this is not an all-inclusive list, but rather an overview of some of the great things taking place.  While we may be small on the outside, we are making a huge difference for thousands of students and we are leading the way in many areas addressed above.  The Board and the staff are committed to continuing to put our students first, be fiscally responsible, and keep on the front edge of education.  We ARE Vestaburg and our Students are Worth It!