When we launched the Efficiency Project in August, I knew our commitment to improve the district’s bottom line by $4.5 million by the summer of 2017 would take a lot of work. Our goal is to explore ways in which our school district can operate more cost-effectively, while the same time, continue to offer high quality education and opportunities for our students.

For the past several months, I have had the pleasure of working with a group of dedicated residents who are also experts in various fields of business. The Efficiency Task Force has spent many weekend and evening hours together poring over financial data and touring district facilities. Chris Potts, the district’s executive director of business services, has been with us every step of the way, and both of us have been extremely impressed with the level of dedication from our volunteers.

While our group has been working for some time, we recently added a new dimension to our goals. As the district mapped out its new private-sector model for strategic planning, it became clear that financial efficiency and productivity needed to be a key element to our district’s plans for the future. The Efficiency Task Force has gladly stepped up to fulfill this important role.

In May the chair of our task force, Wade Steen, provided an update on the group’s work to the Board of Education. He’ll return to the board in July to present final recommendations as part of the district’s overall strategic planning effort.

I thank Mr. Steen and all of our volunteers for their commitment to this work and to our schools. They have asked tough questions, shared innovations in their own fields and they have truly delved into the details to explore every option for our district. This work will be a huge help to our district as we continue toward our efficiency goals – progress that will benefit our entire community.

Special thanks to committee members: