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Dear Editor:
As the very proud superintendent of Sheridan Community Schools, I realize how fortunate I am to work with such a tremendous group of teachers, faculty members, and students every day. We are currently achieving across the board at levels we have never seen before, and this is entirely due to the support and collaboration we have with the community. We are working very hard to provide cutting-edge education and opportunities for our students.
Fiscal stability has been another leading factor in this ability to provide top-notch education and programming for all our students. Through our recent community surveys, maintaining excellent teachers and faculty was one of the top priorities noted by survey participants. In addition, the need to compensate these individuals to the best of our ability was listed as a priority. Through the assistance of the community and the passing of our referendum, we have been able to maintain this parental expectation.
On Nov. 7, we will be asking the community to vote YES to allow us to renew our current referendum. Over the past several weeks, we have worked extremely hard to speak with everyone we can to clarify information about the referendum. We have had around 20 meetings and met with over 200 community members. In each meeting, I have received numerous outstanding questions. I have tried to address the main recurring themes here:
- This referendum replaces our existing one – we would NOT have two.
- ALL the referendum funds are used for SALARY.
- All referendum funds go towards obtaining and maintaining a high-quality teaching staff.
- The Fieldhouse and construction projects are NOT using referendum funds – construction/building funds CANNOT be used for salaries.
- If we do not pass, we will have to cut 12 percent or $1.2 million starting Jan. 1, 2024.
By statute, a school district has to renew its referendum every seven years (now eight after this one). We are working very hard to reiterate that we are not asking for a new tax or a different amount, we are asking the community voters to support us in allowing us to continue to work within the funds we have been receiving.
We will have one final open forum before the Nov. 7 election hosted by the SES PTO at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 1 in the elementary cafeteria. We hope to have a great turnout as we want to make sure we answer any and all questions someone may have regarding the referendum or the entire district. This referendum is about the continued excellence and opportunities for Sheridan students as we look towards a very bright future.
Voting YES means you are helping to maintain a strong SCS school district and strong academic programs. We know we really have a lot to look forward to and we have a ton of planning. The district has been working VERY hard to prepare for this growth and looks forward to showing everyone what an exciting future and next steps we have.
Please help support Sheridan Community Schools with a YES vote on Nov. 7. As always, please reach out to me at any time as I would be more than happy to help answer questions or clarify any concerns. Please feel free to contact me at dmundy@sheridan.k12.in.us.
We have so much to be proud of and we want to continue to be a top-rated school district for another 100 years. Thanks for all your continued support.
Dave Mundy
Superintendent
Sheridan Community Schools