June 1, 2022
Nine Mile Falls Parents and Community Members:
As the 2021-2022 school year comes to a close, we would like to thank all of you for the support you have provided to our students and staff over the past year. As we begin looking forward to the 2022-2023 school year, I would like to take this opportunity to share a little bit more about some of the work that has been started and finished in the Nine Mile Falls School District.
Earlier this year the Nine Mile Falls School Board launched a ThoughtExchange to start communicating with the community at large about the district. From that feedback, the board has established a goal to “engage our community through active and transparent communication.” Along with this communications goal, and with the results of the second ThoughtExchange, the Board has authorized a Facilities Advisory Committee. This committee is made up of community members that are working over the summer/fall with an architecture firm and a demographer to build and be ready to share a recommended 10-year facilities plan for the Nine Mile Falls School District.
To continue to build on the Board’s overarching goal of improved communication and transparency, we will also be including monthly financial information in this newsletter. You will find two pie charts that show the amount of revenue received by the district along with the expenditures. Please know that this data will always be a full month behind due to how our fiscal information is updated locally and from the state level.
We believe it is also important to note that we have utilized some of the one-time dollars from the federal Elementary and Secondary Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER) to adopt new or update the older curriculum. Since the beginning of the year we have purchased; Biotech, Physical Science, Chemistry, Biology, Anatomy and Physiology, Physics, World History, AP World History, Psychology, Spanish 1,2 &3, Algebra I & II, Geometry, Precalculus, Calculus and a new Novel for Junior English. We are still in the progress of adopting 6-8 Social Studies, 6-8 Math, and are piloting curriculum in other areas. This process follows board policy 2020. We appreciate the community and parent volunteers that are needed on the adoption teams to get this important work accomplished.
Your school district has also utilized these one-time ESSER dollars to purchase hundreds of new desks and bring in new student technology. This summer we will also be utilizing ESSER dollars to add a third portable at Lakeside High School and complete HVAC projects at Nine Mile Falls Elementary and Lake Spokane Elementary.
As summer approaches, I want to wish all of you a very happy and relaxing summer. Thank you for the support you continue to provide to Nine Mile students, staff, and schools. If you have any questions or want to have conversations about our schools, please reach out to me at [email protected].
Jeff Baerwald