As the referendum looms, Davis also confronts a messaging problem. Groundwork is key to massing political support for major civic initiatives like ballot measures, something the pandemic made much more difficult. But the question now is whether the superintendent has cultivated the relationships and public trust necessary to push the referendum over the line. COVID-19 forced him to lead from “behind a screen” for his first year, as he described it. And with only days before mail ballots go out, supporters wonder whether the tax is on the public’s radar.Īlthough Davis inherited this crisis, the August referendum will define his tenure. Even now, some supporters of the school system complain the district has been overly optimistic or premature in predicting a durable financial turnaround. In short, the August referendum boils down to a simple decision: Would a yes vote transform the district or merely amount to throwing good money after bad? That is why understanding how Hillsborough got into this mess is essential. Why, voters may ask, should they tax themselves more for a school district that spent itself into trouble? Why is the district crying poor when dozens of its schools are only half or two-thirds full? What has really changed with the spendthrift culture, and who says another financial crisis isn’t around the corner? With inflation at a 40-year high, and schools the new battleground in the state’s culture wars, the referendum comes at a difficult time. And while the spending crisis has abated, thanks in part to buckets of onetime federal money, the financial headwinds remain.īut the board’s split decision on the tax reflects the uncertainty with the recovery plan and the unease with going back to the taxpayers to ask for more money. Three members of the seven-member board that hired him are gone two lost reelection in 2020 and a third moved to a higher office. But two years into the job, his honeymoon is long over. Board members are facing a number of politically contentious decisions, from vastly redrawing school boundaries to consolidating or closing campuses.ĭavis’ scramble to balance the budget bought him time and room to maneuver. The district is shedding jobs and expenses - cuts that many complain will undermine the district’s effort to boost its academic appeal and push more families to move their children (and the educational tax dollars that follow them) to privately operated charter schools. The pent-up shortfalls finally forced some accountability. Operational technology focuses on increasing communication between Information Technology (IT) and the District’s divisions and enabling the increased, seamless integration of systems and data to drive decision-making.The district’s cost cutting, combined with tens of millions of dollars in federal COVID-19 relief, stabilized the short-term budget. Instructional technology focuses on employing technology to support students and promoting the district’s strategic goal of student achievement. The Office of Information and Technology has key roles in technology that support the District’s strategic goals in both the instructional and operational categories. Ridgewood Cemetery - Historical Response Committee.Education, Prevention, and Intervention Centers (EPIC).Student Enrollment and Registration Checklist.Resiliency, Character and Life Skills Education.Realizing Exceptional Achievements at a Community Hospital (REACH).Non-Traditional Programs K-12 Career & Technical Pathways.HOST (Before and After School, Summer Care) Programs.Homeless Education and Literacy Program (H.E.L.P.).
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