School district to make most of funds in 2002

As a new year unfolds, excitement and anticipation are typical feelings we all experience. But at Springfield Public Schools there's a heightened sense of expectation as we welcome 2002.

Much of that excitement centers around an important milestone the completion of the new wing at Central High School. In just a few days, students will settle into efficient classrooms and gather in the modern commons area of this 135,000-square-foot structure.

Completion of the $9.4 million addition is tangible evidence of progress the school district has made on the $30 million in bond projects approved by voters in 2000. More importantly it stands as a symbol of our commitment to provide a quality education to Springfield's children.

In my mind Springfield Public Schools is one of the premier school districts in the state. Our students score higher than the state and national averages on ACT exams and exceed state averages on MAP tests. In our district 3,452 students are in honors classes and 1,215 are in advanced placement studies.

Besides helping students succeed in the classroom, we are increasingly successful at keeping students in school. In the past three years Springfield Public Schools has reduced its dropout rate from 8.1 percent to a six-year low of 5.65 percent. By 2007 we want the number of students leaving before graduation to drop to 4 percent or less.

In addition to our obligation to help every child succeed, the district has a responsibility to its patrons to make the most of funds entrusted to us. Despite a small gain in local revenue this year, we barely kept pace with the rate of inflation due to $3.1 million in state cuts. Such uncertainty about future funding levels motivates us to maximize every dollar.

Streamlining our business processes and carefully managing our inventory are ways we have economized. By reducing spending on unused inventory by about $1.4 million, we can distribute that money for more pressing needs.

There are some needs, though, that can't be addressed simply by cost-cutting measures. The district shoulders a huge financial obligation for building maintenance needs. We have about $270 million in assets, including 54 buildings and 145 buses. Maintaining those can be costly, especially when the average age of our buildings is 55 years and the average age of our bus fleet is 12 years.

A 20-cent tax levy increase, which will go to voters Feb. 5, would allow us to pump $2.5 million into building maintenance and capital equipment needs. The remainder of the $7 million generated by the increase would be targeted at increasing student literacy and academic achievement, and improving salaries and benefits for all district employees.

These are priorities the community has identified for us and we're striving to achieve them.

We've accomplished objectives set out for us in the past, such as lowering the dropout rate and implementing an ac-countability plan, and I'm confident we'll meet these challenges with the same success.

(Jack Ernst is superintendent of Springfield Public Schools.)