West Holmes State of the Schools forum provides plenty of answers as levy approaches
When it comes to passing a levy, the administration of West Holmes School District wants the people of the district to understand one thing: While the focus is and always will be on the education of the kids, they want their constituents in the district to be well educated too.
With that in mind, the administration invited the public to a State of the Schools question and answer forum in the West Holmes High School cafeteria on Monday, April 11, and with a nearly full house of 200 interested people, the discussion at the event banged around from topics on district rankings, bussing, budget and spending concerns, state funding, school programs, combining the elementary schools and even the health of the cafeteria food.
While the floor was open to all to ask questions or respond, the evening ran smoothly, as the administration-led forum kept a brisk but well-mannered pace.
The idea behind the forum was to present an opportunity for everyone’s voice to be heard, for questions concerning the status of the school district to be answered, and for those wondering what the purpose of the levy is, and where the money generated by the 10-year, $1.22 mil emergency operating levy will be applied. The levy is very small compared to most, and generates no new taxes, but the school administration wants to be extremely up-front with the people of the district on every issue, and this forum was one way of presenting the levy while allowing many other questions to be answered.
“This was pretty new to us, in terms of the format of this meeting,” said West Holmes superintendent Kris Pipes-Perone. “We had no agenda, and no presentation. We mainly wanted to give people a chance to speak their mind and ask questions, and we just tried to answer them to the best of our ability. We weren’t quite sure what to expect, but it went very well.”
In order to prepare those who attended the forum, the district made a State of the Schools folder, which presented much of the school’s financial and levy information in it, as well as one of the district’s most recent newsletters.
During the forum, Pipes-Perone and West Holmes treasurer Jamie Zeigler answered many of the questions, and were at times joined by Lori Robson, who has been instrumental in a number of grant funding issues, and maintenance supervisor Mark VanSickle.
Zeigler said that the one thing that she fears as the district heads toward a levy, is that people’s fear of the unknown will be the deciding factor in their support of the school. Therefore, she said that they welcome the opportunity to discuss the issues that are vital to the district’s ongoing success.
“We really have nothing to hide, and we welcome the opportunity to get people as much information as we can,” said Zeigler. “Sometimes it is perceptions that hurt us. It’s when someone believes that something is fact, and it isn’t, and that issue is so big that it scares them. Hopefully someone heard something tonight that is completely opposite of what they always believed to be true, and they share that with friends and neighbors, and help us eliminate some of these false perceptions. We just want people to understand everything we do to operate the district and give these kids the best education possible.”
Now, just because the forum has come and gone doesn’t mean that the people will not have a voice. Aside from their voice at the polls May 3, Pipes-Perone said that the administration and school board continue to make themselves available to anyone who may have concerns or questions pertaining to the levy, the state of the school district or believe they have a suggestion to help out in some manner.
“We would love to continue to hear from people on feedback from this meeting or through any suggestions they may have,” said Pipes-Perone. “This is their school district, and we are simply in charge of making it the very best school district possible. We want everyone to know exactly what is going on in the district and we hope they feel good about coming in and talking to us when they have questions.”
“This is a partnership,” added Zeigler. “It’s a partnership between our administration and our teaching staff, and between our school and the people of the district, and it is that partnership and the communication between everyone involved that allows us to operate so well. We are really fortunate to live in a district where people care so much about the quality of their education.”
Pipes-Perone said that they were pleased with the turnout, and the hope is that the information they shared at the meeting will now go out into the community and be shared by those who heard it. She also added that because the forum was so well attended and provided such a great chance for those in the district to seek and hear answers to their questions and concerns, the district will continue to provide the forum on a more regular basis.
“It’s a lot of work, but what we do here isn’t a secret,” said Pipes-Perone. “And what makes it fun is that we do have a lot of exciting news to share. “We have worked very hard to watch our expenditures while continuing to provide a top-notch education.”
A more in-depth overview of the questions that arose at the meeting and the answers that were provided will be presented in the April 25 edition of the Holmes County Bargain Hunter.
With that in mind, the administration invited the public to a State of the Schools question and answer forum in the West Holmes High School cafeteria on Monday, April 11, and with a nearly full house of 200 interested people, the discussion at the event banged around from topics on district rankings, bussing, budget and spending concerns, state funding, school programs, combining the elementary schools and even the health of the cafeteria food.
While the floor was open to all to ask questions or respond, the evening ran smoothly, as the administration-led forum kept a brisk but well-mannered pace.
The idea behind the forum was to present an opportunity for everyone’s voice to be heard, for questions concerning the status of the school district to be answered, and for those wondering what the purpose of the levy is, and where the money generated by the 10-year, $1.22 mil emergency operating levy will be applied. The levy is very small compared to most, and generates no new taxes, but the school administration wants to be extremely up-front with the people of the district on every issue, and this forum was one way of presenting the levy while allowing many other questions to be answered.
“This was pretty new to us, in terms of the format of this meeting,” said West Holmes superintendent Kris Pipes-Perone. “We had no agenda, and no presentation. We mainly wanted to give people a chance to speak their mind and ask questions, and we just tried to answer them to the best of our ability. We weren’t quite sure what to expect, but it went very well.”
In order to prepare those who attended the forum, the district made a State of the Schools folder, which presented much of the school’s financial and levy information in it, as well as one of the district’s most recent newsletters.
During the forum, Pipes-Perone and West Holmes treasurer Jamie Zeigler answered many of the questions, and were at times joined by Lori Robson, who has been instrumental in a number of grant funding issues, and maintenance supervisor Mark VanSickle.
Zeigler said that the one thing that she fears as the district heads toward a levy, is that people’s fear of the unknown will be the deciding factor in their support of the school. Therefore, she said that they welcome the opportunity to discuss the issues that are vital to the district’s ongoing success.
“We really have nothing to hide, and we welcome the opportunity to get people as much information as we can,” said Zeigler. “Sometimes it is perceptions that hurt us. It’s when someone believes that something is fact, and it isn’t, and that issue is so big that it scares them. Hopefully someone heard something tonight that is completely opposite of what they always believed to be true, and they share that with friends and neighbors, and help us eliminate some of these false perceptions. We just want people to understand everything we do to operate the district and give these kids the best education possible.”
Now, just because the forum has come and gone doesn’t mean that the people will not have a voice. Aside from their voice at the polls May 3, Pipes-Perone said that the administration and school board continue to make themselves available to anyone who may have concerns or questions pertaining to the levy, the state of the school district or believe they have a suggestion to help out in some manner.
“We would love to continue to hear from people on feedback from this meeting or through any suggestions they may have,” said Pipes-Perone. “This is their school district, and we are simply in charge of making it the very best school district possible. We want everyone to know exactly what is going on in the district and we hope they feel good about coming in and talking to us when they have questions.”
“This is a partnership,” added Zeigler. “It’s a partnership between our administration and our teaching staff, and between our school and the people of the district, and it is that partnership and the communication between everyone involved that allows us to operate so well. We are really fortunate to live in a district where people care so much about the quality of their education.”
Pipes-Perone said that they were pleased with the turnout, and the hope is that the information they shared at the meeting will now go out into the community and be shared by those who heard it. She also added that because the forum was so well attended and provided such a great chance for those in the district to seek and hear answers to their questions and concerns, the district will continue to provide the forum on a more regular basis.
“It’s a lot of work, but what we do here isn’t a secret,” said Pipes-Perone. “And what makes it fun is that we do have a lot of exciting news to share. “We have worked very hard to watch our expenditures while continuing to provide a top-notch education.”
A more in-depth overview of the questions that arose at the meeting and the answers that were provided will be presented in the April 25 edition of the Holmes County Bargain Hunter.
Published: April 17, 2011
