Talk of the District With Stillwater Superintendent Corey Lunn: What’s next after the levy results?

Dear Colleagues, Neighbors and Friends:

Over the past week I have had numerous opportunities to witness our students and staff in action. I attended the fall play and listened with awe to the high school orchestra. I celebrated with the boys cross country team as they won the state title and are now on their way to the Nike national competition after winning the seven state regional meet. I also saw our true team state champion girls swimming team at the sectional meet. I was not only proud of the exceptional performances of these young people, but also by the way they conducted themselves. Some who currently live in this community may take this level of success for granted. As someone new to this district, I assure you such performances are not common place. We truly have something special here in Stillwater Area Public Schools!

It was also a week in which 80 percent of levy requests across the state passed; however, Stillwater was not among them. While most of the precincts were generally close (within 600 votes on question 1), our communities did not pass any of the three levy requests to meet the needs of our students. Precinct results are now available on our website. Thank you to all who took time to vote on Tuesday. Since the election I’ve heard a variety of theories regarding why the levy was unsuccessful - from the number of questions and tax increases to the short time frame for explaining and sharing the message. As a parent of school-age children and a new resident of the community I am still uncertain regarding how I feel about these results. More than 35 percent of residents chose to vote, while fewer than 50 people attended one of the four community meetings we hosted. I am afraid many people went to the polls to vote on perceptions, rather than taking the time to become informed about the issues. I am left wondering if those who live in the school district have begun taking for granted what those of us who are new see as the tremendous strengths of our public schools?

As the superintendent I respect the outcome of the vote and will continue my work to ensure that we do our best to keep our school system strong. After just four months on the job I must now move on to my second major challenge as we look to reduce our budget by $10 million. This is not impossible - I have been in these shoes before – however, it will not be easy. We need to re-prioritize what we can do, recognizing that we will not be able to continue to provide the students and community with the same opportunities we’ve all come to expect. The key to our continued success will be to take this challenge and turn it into a tremendous opportunity. We will need to ask difficult questions such as; “What is best for our students?” “What will the community and parents support?” and “How can we do things differently?” 

During this process we will need your help. No matter if you voted “yes” or “no” or even if you did not vote at all, the values of our homes, vitality of our businesses and communities, success of our students,  and reputation of our schools are all on the table. We have created opportunities on our website to collect your thoughts and ideas, and have formed a community-based committee charged with making budget cut recommendations to the school board. We will share these recommendations with you in January for feedback before the school board makes a final decision in March. As we move forward I encourage you to focus your efforts and responses not on the singular programs and services that will have to be cut and/or altered, but rather the larger picture of helping to create a stronger school district for the future.

After these reductions are made we still have to determine the best time and process to engage in discussions regarding the continued needs of our schools, including the current operating levy set to expire at the end of the 2013-2014 school year. If this levy is not renewed soon there will be another $10 million reduction, for a total of $20 million or 20 percent of the total budget, in the years to come. Since referendum elections cost money and take time we are also interested in hearing from you about why you think voters did not support the levy requests. Visit our Community Conversations website at http://conversations.stillwater.k12.mn.us and click on the “Lessons from the levy” forum.

For those of you that have expressed concern for my family during this transition to the new job I thank you. The silver lining to the whole levy process was that it provided me an opportunity to meet many people throughout the community – many of whom are supportive of our efforts. I am convinced that with detailed results, clear messages, and ample time to engage our public the community will support our future needs. I believe so strongly in this school district that my family has taken the steps this past weekend to find permanent housing and become integral members of the community. By working together I am very optimistic that when this is all said and done we will have a stronger school district. Like the flowering shrub that is pruned and trimmed, things might not look great at first, but with the right care, water and fertilizer, I truly believe that we will come back stronger, more vibrant and healthier. Please feel free to contact me directly with any questions, concerns and/or ideas that you may have.