[This message was sent to the School Board]
Virginia Thanks for your thoughtful comments and observations. I would like to offer a different viewpoint. The board, community and administration spent a great deal of time developing the Strategic Plan and the Plan for Fiscal Viability. the Strategic Plan was developed with the input and deliberation of over 40 community leaders. The Plan for Fiscal Viability was developed by the administrative team and approved by the board. Both plans included extensive discussions about the budget and the financial crisis the district had been in, and was projected to be in for the foreseeable future. You are correct in saying that plans need to be reviewed at least on an annual basis. We do that. The Plan for Fiscal Viability had annual review of critical factors built in. I am not sure what the reference means when you say these plans were formulated "pre-referendum". That is true, but each plan speaks specifically to the need to pass a referendum and incorporates this into the planning process. The offers from the City of Winona, Winona County and WSU are appreciated and will be included in deliberations as we move forward. However, it should be noted, that in all three cases financial support was not included in the offers. The last issue I have concerns your assertion that "Finally we need a budget". I believe that all of us realize that we do not operate without a budget. We have a very sophisticated and complicated system of budgeting and reporting that is mandated by the State of Minnesota. The budget was the cornerstone of the Plan for Fiscal Viability and continues to guide the district in decision-making. We do however need to enhance our ability and capacity to provide the board and the public with understandable and reliable budget information on a timely basis. Jeff Seeley is in the process of developing recommendations to improve the fiscal operations in the district through an updating of computer software and realignment of positions in the Business Office. Thank you again for allowing me to offer a different viewpoint on this issue. Eric At 10:07 AM 01/25/2002 -0500, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: >[This message was sent to the School Board] > >I was pleased to see the School Board's stand of last night. A call for >criteria upon which to make factual decisions for school closing was wise. >In addition it appeared that many members of the Board and the superintendent >understand that the numbers we are working with must be looked at again. >Eric mentioned that the strategic plan was formulated pre-referendum. It was >also made prior the discussions that have taken place recently - discussions >which have raised awareness and have moved at least three entities to offer >help. The city, county and WSU. > >I commend the board for making a plan, but all businesses understand that any >plan must be looked at critically at least yearly and in most cases >quarterly. The times demand it. Look at what has happened in the business >sector in just the last year. What if the plan that was developed during the >boom times of 2001 were still quiding the business today? > >Finally we need a budget. An understandable budget that will give us the big >picture and show us how each of the steps we are taking fits into the remedy >of balancing the budget. This budget should be the cornerstone of all >decision making and should be used to demonstrate how our decisions are >working to reduce spending or increase revenue. For all who want facts, this >is a basic it would seem. > >Virginia Laken >------------- >This message was sent to the School Board of Winona Area Public Schools. >To send a message to the entire School Board, address it to >[EMAIL PROTECTED] All messages sent to that address are viewable by >the general public. A public archive of emails sent to and exchanged >between school board members is available at >http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected] Eric Bartleson, Superintendent Winona Area Public Schools 654 Huff St. Winona, MN 55987 507.454.9461 ------------- This message was sent to the School Board of Winona Area Public Schools. To send a message to the entire School Board, address it to [EMAIL PROTECTED] All messages sent to that address are viewable by the general public. A public archive of emails sent to and exchanged between school board members is available at http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]
