Gladbrook-Reinbeck’s Financial Stability

This blog post has been submitted for publication in the Northern Sun Print and the Reinbeck Courier.  

I am pleased to introduce myself as the new superintendent of the Gladbrook-Reinbeck Community School District. I want to thank the school board for their confidence in me, and the staff and community for their warm welcome.  In my short time at G-R, I’ve already seen a great deal of evidence which confirms that G-R is a GREAT place to work and learn. 

I was recently asked by one of the local papers if I would write an article introducing myself to the school community. The paper asked for some background on their new superintendent, and perhaps a summary of the career path I have chosen which has led toward my becoming the superintendent at Gladbrook-Reinbeck while continuing as superintendent at North Tama. While I will be glad to provide an article with this information in the near future, another high-priority issue has come up recently which I feel that I must first address for the patrons Gladbrook-Reinbeck.

In recent days, I’ve been asked numerous times about the financial stability of the school district. Simply put, people are asking me, “Financially, how many years does Gladbrook-Reinbeck have left?”  Some have even stated that they’ve heard the district can only exist for another 3 or 4 years and have asked for me to confirm or deny this.

I want to make it perfectly clear: Gladbrook-Reinbeck can and will remain financially viable FOR MANY YEARS TO COME as long as there is a collective desire among the school board and school community to make this happen.

That’s the simple answer, “in laymen’s terms” as they say. Now, I’ll explain the reasoning behind my thinking and provide some background on why some people have expressed concern. In April, noted Iowa school finance expert Gary Sinclair of the Iowa Association of School Boards (IASB) presented 5-year financial projections to the G-R board of education. While I had not yet started as the G-R superintendent at this time, I attended this meeting and saw the exact same information that the board received. 

The number one financial indicator that school districts with declining enrollment need to watch is their Unspent Authorized Budget, abbreviated as UAB.  UAB represents the district's legal authority to spend. Districts with a negative UAB must have a “work-out plan” approved by Iowa’s School Budget Review Committee. Schools that are unable to successfully work out of a negative UAB are sometimes dissolved by the state. This explains why UAB is the key factor in a district’s financial viability. Gary Sinclair’s report to the board in April included some projections on the district’s UAB which were based on the best information available to the district at the time.

For optimum financial health, the IASB recommends districts maintain a UAB ratio between 5% and 15%. UAB ratio is calculated by taking the UAB divided by that year’s Maximum Authorized budget.  G-R's UAB ratio was well within the recommended range (12.4%) at the end of fiscal year 2015. According to Gary Sinclair’s April projection, the UAB ratio is projected to decline to about 7.5% by the end of fiscal year 2020. While this declining ratio is a concern, the projected ratio still falls within the range recommended by IASB.

It is appropriate for me to mention at this point that the district was blessed to have received a major estate gift in the amount of $438,000 during the 2016 fiscal year. To date, about $20,000 of this gift has been spent by the district. If the district had not received this estate gift, the UAB ratio projection would likely fall below the IASB’s recommended range four years from now. 

Keep in mind that the whole purpose of these projections is NOT to tell us when the district will be in financial trouble; rather, it is to PREVENT financial troubles from happening by providing a warning to the district along with time to adjust. Knowing that our spending authority is likely to decline will help the school board make informed decisions to secure the long-term financial viability of the district.  Looking ahead 5 years gives us time to make adjustments now to ensure the district's viability. This means we can implement cost-saving measures and take other actions this year, next year, and in the following years which will positively affect the district’s outlook well into the future.

For the past eleven years, I have served as an administrator in school districts with declining enrollment. Based on my experience as well as the information provided by IASB’s Gary Sinclair, my honest belief is that as long as there is a collective desire among the school board and school community to make it happen, the Gladbrook-Reinbeck Community School District will be able to maintain its financial viability for many years to come.

I'm proud to be your superintendent and excited to have the opportunity to provide leadership as we work together to ensure a GReat education for students in the G-R district – now, and in the future.  

Proud to Be Your New Superintendent

Greetings, Gladbrook-Reinbeck Rebels!  As the new superintendent of the Gladbrook-Reinbeck Community School District, I’d like to take this opportunity to introduce myself to the community. While most of my blog posts will focus on educational topics and school issues, I want to use this space today to give you a little background on your new superintendent and the path that has led me to Gladbrook-Reinbeck. Writing about myself isn’t my favorite thing to do, but I thought the patrons of the Gladbrook-Reinbeck Community School District might appreciate the background information. 

Your new superintendent is no stranger to the area. I was born and raised on a family farm in Northern Tama County, and have lived in this general area my entire life with the exception of my college years. In 1853, my great-great-great grandparents settled on a farm in Geneseo Township straight east of Buckingham. Our sons are now the seventh generation to live on the Hill farm, which has now been in the same family for 163 years. 

Education runs in my bloodlines. My great-grandfather was one of the founding board members of the Geneseo Consolidated school district. He served on the Geneseo school board for many years until his son – my grandpa – succeeded him on the board. My grandmother was a long-time elementary teacher at Geneseo. My grandparents were a great influence on my life – it is because of them that I knew from a very young age that I wanted to be a teacher.

My wife Tanya and I were married shortly after I graduated from Iowa State University. We have three sons ages 19, 17 and 13. Tanya was an at-home mom during our kids’ younger years, and she began her teaching career in 2010. She teaches Career Technology Exploratory STEM-based classes at Waterloo’s Hoover Middle School. As a family, we enjoy activities such as kayaking on Wolf Creek and other area streams, bicycling, visiting museums and science centers, and supporting the ISU Cyclones.

For the first nine years of my educational career, I was the FFA Advisor and 7th-12th grade Agricultural Education teacher at Benton Community Schools in Van Horne. For the next eleven years, I served as the PK-5 principal at Dysart-Geneseo Elementary School in Dysart. In 2015, I became the part-time superintendent at North Tama County Community Schools, which serves the communities of Traer, Clutier, Dinsdale, and Buckingham. In March, the Gladbrook-Reinbeck school board approved a 28E sharing agreement to share my services as with the North Tama District on a 50/50 basis. 

In the short time that has passed since the G-R board approved the sharing agreement with North Tama for me to become your new superintendent, I have truly been impressed by the students and staff at Gladbrook-Reinbeck. Yes, G-R can be proud of its facilities, technology, and programs – but it is the PEOPLE that truly make this school great.  Gladbrook-Reinbeck’s teachers have an incredible base of knowledge, experience, and skill.  They have developed a curriculum, programs, and opportunities that truly meet the needs of today’s students.  The educational community at G-R has so much to be proud of – and I am so proud to be joining the team!  As we approach a new school year, I just can’t wait to see our students and staff in action! 

The students, staff, and parents at BOTH Gladbrook-Reinbeck and North Tama are very important to me, and I will work diligently to meet the needs of both schools. While I will only be in each district about 50% of the time, I truly believe that we can make this arrangement work for the long haul! The result will be a long-term financial benefit which will enable both schools to continue to meet the needs of their students and communities in the most efficient way possible. I’m happy to be part of the solution that will help keep two great school systems strong for years to come.

I invite your thoughts and your feedback in the comments section below. Be sure to follow me on Twitter (my handle is @DavidRobertHill) for blog updates, photos and comments on school events and activities, and an occasional glimpse of the work I do for both districts.