Superintendent's Message for May 2022

The month of May has arrived and we are on the home stretch of the 2021-2022 school year.  We will host many events leading up to our last day of school on May 20th.

We have begun the first steps of a potential bond referendum to update our facilities in Corning.  It is a very exciting time in our district and we are so proud to have supporting communities. 

In the fall, the Corning school board authorized Estes Construction to complete a needs assessment on the facilities in Corning to help the board determine the areas that needed improvement.  After reviewing the report given by Estes Construction and the costs associated with the improvements, the board decided the best route would be to proceed with a potential bond referendum.  The Corning district passed a bond referendum about twelve years ago to remodel the high school building and add a high school gym.  The cost of this bond was 7.4 million.  The district has this bond nearly paid off by doubling up payments over the last three years.

The new bond referendum would be more in-depth and improve many areas of our aging campuses.  The board formed a community committee and their first meeting was on April 12th.  One of the areas the committee is exploring is the elementary school focusing on making efficient learning areas for our students by removing both of the pods.  Other considerations of the committee are:  relocating the bus barn from the flood zone area, new ADA-compliant restroom and concession stand at the football field, baseball and softball field improvements, expanding the wrestling room at the Activity Center, ADA-compliant access, secure main entry and HVAC/plumbing upgrades at the high school.

The community committee will meet again on May 10th at the elementary at 6:00 p.m.  The community is always welcome to attend these meetings and tour our facilities.  We will have a more concrete plan for the project by September.  At that point, the board will receive recommendations from the committee and approve a plan to proceed with.

Again, there will be several community meetings and opportunities to tour our facilities.  Stay tuned for more updates on this project.

The month of May is School Board Appreciation Month.  We have excellent board members working for the betterment of our schools.  Villisca Board members are: Tom Williams, Leland Shipley, Jason Poston, Richard Mullen, and Tom Gourley.  Corning Board members are:  Amy Grau, Gwen Larsen, Stacey Venteicher, James Houck, and Howard Anderson.  If you see these people make sure you thank them for their service.  The two boards will meet together on Wednesday, May 4th in a joint session to review some items.  

The major events to end the year will be Scholarship Night on May 11th at 7:00 p.m. and graduation on May 15th at 2:00 p.m.   It has been a great year to be a T-wolf!