THE KEY ISSUES

By Larry Miles

The continued improvement of student achievement, preservation of the District's financial solvency, and the construction of new schools are the three most significant issues facing the District.

STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT. The most important issue is the continued improvement of student achievement. Our main effort here revolves around our continuing effort to align curriculum with state standards. In particular, it requires a laser like focus on improving reading and writing by third grade so students will be able to learn effectively as they grow older.

FINANCIAL SOLVENCY. The second important issue is the continued preservation of the District's financial solvency. When I was elected in 2004, the District was in severe financial straits, and we were forced at our first meeting to declare it to be a financially "Qualified" District. We made very difficult decisions, including taking tough positions on bargaining, closing schools, and reducing personnel in 2005-2006. Through the efforts of the entire San Juan family, plus a decent state budget in 2006, we managed to rescind the Qualified status and improve the District's financial position. Unfortunately, the state's current budget and the challenging forecast for the next two years resulted in a cut to our budget in January of approximately $44 million dollars, resurrecting once again the specter of dire financial straits over the next few years.

BUILDING NEW SCHOOLS. The third major issue is the need to begin replacing some of our schools, the oldest of which are close to 100 years old. If we do not build new schools, our District will ultimately be perceived as a second tier District and "consumers" will choose Districts in neighboring communities with new, state-of-the-art schools.