Julie Dahlgren is chairwoman of the Blaine County School District board of trustees.
By JULIE DAHLGREN
I urge Blaine County voters to support the Blaine County School District's plant facility levy on Oct. 29. The bottom line is it will not raise your taxes. The levy request represents a carefully researched infrastructure plan that will allow teaching and learning to flourish with the least fiscal impact.
The excellent teachers in Blaine County for years have been designing SMART goals to set educational focus. SMART, an acronym for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound, is a model for developing topnotch goals that are critical for success in the teaching-learning environment. These are honed-down, no-frills, critical, essential learning goals.
The plant facility levy is a SMART financial goal that will save taxpayers money by bankrolling funds for the future and guaranteeing continued excellence in education for our 3,334 students. It also provides safety and security for students, up-to-date technology, more healthy, energy-efficient systems on all campuses and plans for a new elementary school if needed. We are encouraging local contractors to consider bidding for school district projects.
A remarkable community and school district collaborative effort created both the district's strategic plan and the three levy goals of technology, security and facilities. Both committees encouraged everyone from the community to help build a long-range vision for our public schools.
You, the citizens, told us what you wanted and acted accordingly, creating SMART goals. The school district uses its general fund (a combination of federal, state and local money) to pay for teachers' salaries and programs. This levy is to protect the general operating budget for the highest priority—programs and teachers. The funding of infrastructure can be accomplished smartly by a levy, which is an authorization to collect a tax. If the district discovers that the money is not needed, the school board will cancel collections. Your elected trustees are good stewards of your money and take leadership in providing the best possible education for Blaine County's pre-K through 12th-grade students.
Let me reiterate why the levy is a SMART goal. It is:
· Specific—It provides for the money needed in the next 10 years of projected building and infrastructure needs and improvements.
· Measurable—It defines quantity, quality and cost.
· Achievable—It was agreed upon by community committees and district education specialists.
· Relevant—It is instrumental to the mission of the district to be a world-class, student-focused community of teaching and learning.
· Time-bound—The 10-year projection is supported by the strategic goals, the will of the community, and time-proven demographic projections.
Levy information can be accessed from the Blaine County School District's Web site, www.blaineschools.org.
Vote SMART on Oct. 29; vote yes.
