Letter from Mark Boyd, Board of Education, President
October 29, 2007
It is hard to believe we have already completed the first nine weeks of the school year. The enrollment figures are in and our student body has increased an additional 57 students. This brings our total enrollment to 3589 students. We continue to see t he growth we expected in our student population on a yearly basis. Staffing is always a challenge as people retire or move on. We have been very fortunate to maintain a high quality staff. As a community, we should be grateful of the dedicated staff that makes up Seaman USD 345, knowing full well that it is the people working in our schools that make them successful.
There are some significant changes forthcoming in the way the Seaman School District will look in the years to come. Coincident with the opening of the newly constructed ninth grade addition to the high school in the fall of 2008, the District's two junior highs will be merged to become the home of the Seaman Middle School Vikings. The Board of Education has put into action a plan that will ultimately free up several hundred thousand operational dollars that could be better utilized to provide for more competitive wages and enhanced educational opportunities for our students. Earlier this spring, the Board held discussions on the merits of combining the two junior highs. Escalating fiscal expenses fueled the decision to move forward with consolidation. But most importantly, the Board's discussions were focused on the educational demands of a growing district and the promise of providing an even better and efficient means of delivering an exceptional education to our students. This is exciting, since many of our schools have enjoyed the rewards of being a "School of Excellence" several years running.
We are extremely fortunate to have two outstanding junior high principals that have done wonderful things under occasionally difficult circumstances in each of their respective buildings. Mr. Bob Horton, Northern Hills JH, and Ms. Kathleen Sooter, Logan JH, are extremely talented in what they do and have a passion for seeing students in their schools perform well. A very difficult and emotional decision to select a principal had to be made by our administrative staff in order to move forward in the process of combining the junior highs. Through an interview process and a few sleepless nights, the interview team selected Mr. Horton as the principal of the Seaman Middle School. Mr. Horton has a dynamic personality that works so well with the middle school age student. It's a time of maturing minds and testing boundaries and Mr. Horton seems to know intuitively when to allow them to express themselves and when to pull in the reins. There is little doubt in our minds that he will provide the kind of leadership necessary to unite these two schools and become one body with common goals. It is with much appreciation and a sincere thank you that we wish Ms. Sooter the best in her future. She has done a remarkable job leading Logan over the past eight years.
There is a lot of work to be done before classes come together next fall. Curriculum modifications, student activity and athletic event reorganizations, transportation route adjustments, food service expansions, and staff collaboration are just a few of the most obvious transformations that will take place in the coming months. Our measure of success will be in the face of the students that walk the halls of the Seaman Middle School.
We are in the midst of significant changes in our school district. Even desired changes do not come without difficulty. In the end, our entire community will be proud of the enhanced educational opportunities our district will be able to provide our students while at the same time utilizing our tax dollars in a more efficient manner.
Mark Boyd, President
Seaman Board of Education
