Dear Ada Community,
It didn’t take me long to learn that our vision of “Aspiring to excel in all areas of the school experience” is not just words.
Ada Schools really lives this vision. We share it with students and staff alike, and refer to it when making decisions. Recent successes at Ada Schools include improvements in technology, significant increases in the number of College Credit Plus courses offered on campus, a new STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) series of classes, additions to middle school electives, and continued implementation of the Literacy Collaborative to improve reading skills for elementary students.
In addition, students graduating from Ada Schools have been given opportunities to participate in numerous academic, art, music, and athletic extracurricular and co-curricular programs. There is something for every student in the Ada School district.
Ten years ago, the community made a commitment to build a new school building. It is truly the most beautiful K-12 building in which I’ve had the privilege to work. But, in order to keep the building like new, we must continue to invest in maintenance and begin to replace outdated items and equipment on a responsible, rotating basis.
While the district has been responsible with the fiscal resources the community has entrusted to us, and we find ourselves in a situation of fiscal health, the RENEWAL of the Permanent Improvement levy on this November’s ballot is imperative to remain fiscally healthy.
Some of the things we have done to come to this fiscal health include careful consideration of staffing each year, making improvements to the efficiency of the structures and systems (i.e. more energy efficient lighting), and weighing each purchase against our vision and continuous improvement goals. Again, this levy is a renewal, and is asking for NO NEW MONEY.
This particular levy, a Permanent Improvement (P.I.) levy, can only be used for items that are more “permanent,” lasting five years or more. Examples of P.I. expenditures include textbooks, technology costs, security equipment and infrastructure, new busses, building repairs, and school equipment/machinery.
We have been blessed by the community’s continued support of the district, and we have much for which to be thankful. We depend on that support to continue to maintain the beautiful, state of the art facility funded by this community. The superior academic and extracurricular programs that we have been fortunate to offer to our students provide them with multiple opportunities to succeed and explore in preparation for life beyond the K-12 walls.
It is our desire to continue to support these programs and foster excellence in all we do. The RENEWAL of this levy will allow us to do just that.
Thank you for investing in our community’s most valuable asset…its children. It is the greatest investment a society can make.
Mrs. Meri Skilliter
Superintendent of Ada Exempted Village School District
