Find progressive solutions

I want to thank the GCDSD Board of Directors for making sure their coaches are being fully compensated and that each sport is getting an assistant for various logical reasons. Thanks for stepping up and doing the right thing. I respect our volunteer local board members who try to find balance with issues and will always be questioned.

As board members they nor us educators are health experts. They’re doing their best with the COVID-19 challenges. The recent approval for school staff to get vaccinated is tremendously helpful and addresses the “some staff will be working remotely because the GCDSD doesn’t make life and death decisions” comment made a while back.

In the future, fiscally, the GCDSD needs to stay at the $1.50 per $1,000 property value our legislators wanted districts to follow. Most districts are holding at $1.50. Districts are not supposed to get Impact Aid funds that help with tax inequities and then max out their levy capacity with their voters. Remember we also pay for capital projects. Locally now as taxpayers we pay $4.20 per $1000 for the GCDSD ballot measures and the GCDSD also gets Impact Aid funds on top of that. To validate my concerns, look at the property tax statement you just received. It will be higher next year. All this during the pandemic when many can’t pay their bills.

The bottom line is how the GCDSD decides to spend its funds and resources. If a district decides to over spend in some areas, then it won’t have funds for core systems, advanced in-person classes, or other wonderful options. Also, the organization must find balance. Some employees shouldn’t get double digit raise percentages and say the GCDSD is accountable to its budget while other employees are closer to minimum wage with part-time hours. I just want the GCDSD to be open (not reactive and resistive) to progressive solutions toward improvement that will involve significant change, restructuring and learning to live within its means without gouging taxpayers. With fiscal challenges, the GCDSD cannot keep increasing expenses, deal with declining enrollments and maintain staffing levels. This is basic math.

When I share thoughts in The Star, I am truthful, and my points have been clear. I am fully aware of what is happening. Some leaders embrace creative ideas, a growth mindset and have proven patterns of success with bigger challenges than the GCDSD has. These people should be valued and not shamed. Saying there will always be complainers and nothing of significance, is ignoring reality and not productive. There are people who have followed the GCDSD chain of command. They have been ignored or treated poorly, and they do not trust the system. This is a dysfunctional pattern that is not acceptable and must stop. If you were one of these people, you would understand and see what is actually happening. I will always fight for what is right and the underdog no matter what others think.

If a leader takes on more responsibility, the staff usually wants to do more to help the organization in return. Until our GCDSD superintendent shows accountability and increases his duties significantly, dismantles his armada and properly adjusts administrative and district office staff to create more balanced compensation for all staff and more options for kids, many voters will continue to vote no.

Final thoughts from a close friend. After Coach Gary Darnold was inducted into the State Cross Country Hall of Fame, he let me know I was a big part of the program’s success. I assisted him when the Raiders won a couple of team trophies at state championships. Our kids are LRHS graduates, and we love the GCDSD. I’m far from being an outsider.

Thanks for listening,

John M. Adkins