Q&A Norman Ridder, Superintendent, Springfield Public Schools

Ridder: There's a strong value of education and community involvement. There is a nice, strong work ethic in the community, and a good faith base - not only religiously but also in others. There seems to be strong collaboration among all systems, good dialogue and ongoing dialogue on issues and needs in the community. There seems to be an appetite in the community for growth, but it's growth focused on service and need for this area.

SBJ: What are some goals the district will be working on in 2006?

Ridder: There's a strong initiative to continue the road to high performance and a calling to take it to the next level. We are also looking at fiscal responsibility and becoming a very effective and efficient system. And, of course, the main goal is not only to improve student achievement, but also to increase our number of kids who are graduating. The one thing that's underlying all that is to maintain and improve our facilities.

SBJ: One challenge the school district will face in 2006 is seeking more funding to meet students' needs. What can you tell us about us about those needs?

Ridder: There's a major, major need, especially in the middle school arena and across the system, there's a need for air conditioning in most of our sites. There's a need to improve many of our sites, and also to adjust our sites to be able to air-condition them. Then, we have some growth in some areas in our community, and we need to put schools in those areas, southwest primarily. There's also some remodeling needed to deal with facilities. We completed the Parkview project, for instance, and just need to do a few things there, but a lot of work across the district - quite a bit in the southwest - is needed.

SBJ: How is the district working to garner community support for meeting those needs?

Ridder: We are currently surveying the community to see what the community is comfortable with and should have that for the board Jan. 18. We're anticipating that the board will go ahead and support a bond initiative to bring forward the revenues to be able to work on our facilities. If it goes as expected, the issue will be put to voters in April.

SBJ: The $96.5 million bond issue the board is considering would increase real estate taxes by about $35 a year on a $100,000 house. What kind of feedback have you received from the surveys?

Ridder: We did an initial survey several months ago, and it showed that the community favored an initiative of some sort. We asked them what kind of packages they would favor, and they gave us a pretty clear picture, and then we fine-tuned that and (are) going back to them a second time … and there seems to be pretty strong support.

SBJ: We've heard that you spend part of your time visiting the schools - watching programs, interacting with students and teachers. Why is that important to you?

Ridder: Really, it's hard to make decisions if you're not in the trenches getting a feel for what's there. I feel I understand the kids fairly well. I feel I understand our staff fairly well, and I'm getting a pretty good feel for how our system works. If you don't have firsthand experience, I don't know how you can make decisions. The fewer assumptions you make, the better.

SBJ: How has the Character Education program affected local students and schools? Do you feel that the program has adequate community support?

Ridder: Basically it's a curriculum that schools are focused on each month. The word this month is “attitude.” So the kids in each classroom are looking at that. They're not only getting an increased knowledge of vocabulary, but they're putting together strategies of how to strengthen what a good attitude looks like (and learning) what a poor attitude looks like, and how attitude really is who you are … and how people see you. I think this community, if any, is really going to support any kind of values focus for kids.

Proposed projectsin $96.5M funding package:

o air condition multiple schools

o remodel and add to Weaver, Weller and Gray elementary schools

o build new southwest elementary school

o replace or renovate Cherokee Middle School

o add to Wilson's Creek 5-6 School

o create new labs at Kickapoo, Glendale and Hillcrest high schools

o continue renovation of Parkview High School