Unofficial Results: G-R Dissolution Election

Update: OFFICIAL RESULTS
(Includes all qualified provisional ballots and absentee ballots counted after the election.)

NO votes: 1635

YES votes: 712

The “Final Push”

Superintendent News & Views

The “Final Push”

By David Hill, Gladbrook-Reinbeck Superintendent

Gladbrook-Reinbeck's Parker Bown gets into the end zone with a helpful push from teammate Thomas Mussig in the second half against Saint Ansgar in the Iowa High School State football championship class A semifinals, held at the UNI-Dome on November 11, 2016.  

Reprinted with permission of the Waterloo Courier, copyright (2016). View Copyright Permission.

As we head into the “final push” leading up to the public referendum next week that will determine whether the Gladbrook-Reinbeck Community School District will continue to exist, I want to ask district patrons to examine the photograph that accompanies this article. 

This photo was first published in the WATERLOO-CEDAR FALLS COURIER as part of that paper’s coverage of Gladbrook-Reinbeck’s Class A semifinal football game vs. St. Ansgar on November 11, 2016.  I decided to request the rights to republish this photo on my blog and in the NORTHERN SUN PRINT and REINBECK COURIER because I think this photo perfectly illustrates what I’d like to talk about in today’s column. 

The picture shows Thomas Mussig (from Gladbrook) giving a “final push” to Parker Bown (from Reinbeck) to ensure Parker would make it into the end zone for the touchdown. Did Parker get more praise, applause, and accolades because he scored the touchdown? Probably. But the REBELS scored the touchdown and EVERYONE on the team benefited from these two teammates working together. Of course, the Rebels won this game and went on to take the state championship – one example of the many awesome achievements in athletics, academics, and fine arts earned by Gladbrook-Reinbeck students over the years. 

Could Thomas and a team comprised only of Gladbrook students have won a state championship on their own?  One can only guess. Could Parker and a “Reinbeck-only” team have accomplished a state title on their own?  None of us can say for sure. But I think most people would agree it’s reasonable to say that the student athletes from all parts of the G-R school district – Gladbrook, Lincoln, the rural areas, Morrison, and Reinbeck – have had more opportunities and greater success working together than they would have had working as separate entities. 

This partnership – Gladbrook-Reinbeck – which has existed since 1998 as a merged district and for many more years under whole-grade sharing and athletic sharing, has served its citizens well.  G-R is a high-achieving school district with an incredible record of accomplishments.  G-R has done its job in providing outstanding educational opportunities for its students and preparing them for the future while maintaining one of the lowest tax rates in the area. I think most folks would say that G-R has done a better job of preparing students for the future by working TOGETHER than they ever could have done working as separate districts. Yet here we are, about to vote on a possible dissolution. 

If the majority of the votes are “YES” votes, the Gladbrook-Reinbeck School District will cease to exist on July 1, 2018.  The territory and students will be split as is shown on the map depicted on the ballot.  Grundy Center, North Tama, GMG, Hudson, and Dike-New Hartford will inherit Gladbrook-Reinbeck’s assets and liabilities, and the current G-R students will be absorbed into those systems.  The G-R teachers and staff will lose their jobs.

If “NO” wins the majority of the votes, Gladbrook-Reinbeck will continue to be a school district.

The dissolution commission and school board have had multiple public meetings and public hearings, giving citizens the opportunity to ask questions and provide their comments. For those of you who couldn’t make it to these meetings and hearings, I hope I’ve done an adequate job making myself available to answer your questions.  Now, it’s time to vote.

Every vote is important! Polls are open on September 12 from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. New voters may register to vote on-site at the polling place just prior to voting.

As you visit the polls, think of the photo showing Thomas giving Parker that “final push” into the end zone.  These two young men respected each other and worked together, and EVERYONE benefitted. During the “final push” leading up to the election, please show respect for EVERYONE involved in this process, EVEN IF THEIR OPINION DIFFERS FROM YOURS. Every eligible voter has an equal opportunity to influence the outcome. Please RESPECT your fellow district patrons, and please RESPECT the election results. If we truly want what is best for our students, we’ll all show each other this respect as a way of modeling appropriate behavior for the young people in our lives. If we can do that, our students will learn a valuable lesson – regardless of the outcome.

I invite you to join the conversation by leaving comments on my blog at http://rebelsupt.blogspot.com and/or following me on Twitter at @DavidRobertHill. 

I Have Some GReat News to Share!

Superintendent News & Views

I Have Some GReat News to Share!

By David Hill, Gladbrook-Reinbeck Superintendent

It has been a GReat start to the 2017-2018 school year!  The weather has been favorable, temperatures in our buildings have been comfortable, and our athletic teams have gotten off to a great start for the year. Today’s column will consist of several positive news items to share with the G-R community. 

G-R PRAISED FOR LITERACY GROWTH

Sam Miller, the executive director of Central Rivers AEA (formerly known as AEA 267), recently sent a letter to the G-R school board commending G-R’s elementary educators for the outstanding growth in K-3 literacy.  

AEA Director Miller has been reviewing student achievement scores from last year’s early literacy assessments, and he noted that Gladbrook-Reinbeck’s K-3 students exhibited exemplary growth during the 2016-2017 school year. He further noted that G-R students’ rate of growth far exceeded the state average.  Director Miller stated, “Because we all know that literacy is a gatekeeping skill in life, the efforts your district is making to ensure that students read at the highest level are to be commended. We at Central Rivers Area Education Agency are proud to partner with you on your continued path to success!”

We appreciate Central Rivers AEA for their support – and I want to commend our hard-working educators for their efforts to help our students achieve at the highest levels! 

G-R’S TLC PROGRAM RECOGNIZED FOR EXCELLENCE

I recently received a note from the Iowa Department of Education recognizing Gladbrook-Reinbeck for our successful outcomes in the first year of the Teacher Leadership & Compensation (TLC) program.  The Department of Ed was impressed with the data in G-R's year-end TLC report, stating that it was obvious that our TLC program has accomplished its goals in the first year of implementation.

The Department of Ed consultant further stated, “As someone who reads many, many of these reports I want to tell you how much I appreciated the level of detail, thoroughness, and overall quality of your report.”  The Department of Education has asked permission to use a portion of G-R’s year-end report as an exemplary example to share with other districts in future years.

My compliments to our teachers, teacher leaders, principals, and curriculum director for the fine work they are doing! 

G-R’S ENROLLMENT IS UP!

We’ve been working on our preliminary enrollment counts and we have some positive news to share!  Our “served enrollment” in grades K-12 looks to be UP this year, for the first year in a while.  As of 9/1/17 when I am writing this article, G-R is serving 17 more students (that’s right, seventeen) than we served on the last day of school in May.  We gained students during the school year last year as well…so as of right now, it looks like we’re serving 26 more students than we served on the official “count day” last fall.  This is a GOOD indicator! 

Some of this growth can certainly be attributed to the two new programs that were started this year – a Transitional Kindergarten program and an Alternative High School program; therefore, this may not indicate a new trend of growth. Even so, a gain this large will certainly make a difference for our district – especially when you consider that our long-term financial projections were predicting a decrease in enrollment this year. 

Keep in mind that these are September 1^st numbers…the count that really matters is the Certified Enrollment which starts on October 1 and is completed by October 15. Certified Enrollment takes a few more factors into account such as open enrollment in and out, homeschoolers and a few other items. It is, of course, possible that we could either gain or lose students between now and that official count. Nevertheless, I am so pleased to be able to share this exciting news. 

POSITIVE FINANCIAL INDICATORS FOR G-R

We’re currently working on wrapping up the fiscal year that ended this summer. While there are still a few details to be ironed out, our initial review shows that the 2016-2017 fiscal year was a positive one for Gladbrook-Reinbeck.  We project that our unspent balance will INCREASE for the third year in a row. 

The district’s financial gains during the 2016-2017 fiscal year can simply be attributed to the fact that the district’s expenditures were less than the new spending authority that was generated. During the 2015-2016 fiscal year, a large portion of the district’s increased spending authority can be attributed to a large estate gift; however, even without this estate gift, the district would have gained spending authority that year. What does all of this mean? It means that the district’s efforts to reduce spending are working!  For the long-term sustainability of the district, we will need to continue our efforts to control spending. 

EXPANDED DAYCARE OPPORTUNITIES IN GLADBROOK & REINBECK

I’m pleased to report that BOTH of our district’s daycare centers are experiencing growth in the number of children served. These young people represent the FUTURE of Gladbrook-Reinbeck! 

Last spring, the Little Rebels Learning Center board in Reinbeck presented to the G-R board to express the need for an expansion of their facility, which is leased from the school district.  In April, the G-R board voted to commit $180,000 from our PPEL and/or SAVE revenues to fund approximately 1/3 of the cost of this expansion. The daycare board has a goal of raising $180,000 in private funds and the city of Reinbeck has committed $180,000 once the private fundraising goal has been met. 

In July, the daycare board in Gladbrook presented to the G-R school board to share that the Crayon Corner facility is also nearing capacity and concerned about turning potential children away. They presented a plan for a $35,000 remodeling project which would include the addition of a new classroom in the basement.  In August, the G-R board voted to commit $35,000 from our PPEL and/or SAVE revenues to fund this remodeling project.  The project will begin immediately, with the hope of accommodating additional students starting in October. 

It’s great that our communities are experiencing this type of growth.  This is a good indicator for the future of Gladbrook-Reinbeck!  For more information on G-R’s commitment to early childhood education, be sure to read my blog post from last April at this link: http://tinyurl.com/GRDaycarePreschool

I invite you to join the conversation by leaving comments on my blog at http://rebelsupt.blogspot.com and/or following me on Twitter at @DavidRobertHill.