Superintendent's Message for September 2022

September has arrived and the school year is two weeks old already.  The staff and students are back into the routine of school and we are off to a great start.

We welcomed national keynote speaker, Joe Beckman, to our district on August 29.  He spoke with staff and students on the importance of human connection and being kind to all.  He returned on September 1 with a presentation for the community.  Our goal in inviting Joe to our district is to build on his message of building good relationships with our staff and students.  We lose the human connection with all the technology we currently have and need to be reminded to reach out, extend a hand, connect, and be kind to one another.

The Corning School Board approved a $150,000 upgrade to the high school auditorium.  We are installing new curtains, sound boards, carpet, and a sound system.  This is a great improvement for our auditorium.  The auditorium is closed right now and our plan is to reopen to the public by the fall play.  The 435-seat capacity auditorium has hosted many events and once reopened will be a great facility for our students and community to enjoy in the future.

The community facility committee continued to meet over the summer in Corning to discuss a potential bond referendum.  The focus is broad.   Some areas need immediate attention and some are future needs.  Our facilities are older buildings and need to be brought up to code or replaced.  We are in a new era now with the change in open enrollment laws and continued teacher shortages, the situation becomes a competition.  We must keep our facilities in excellent condition to attract new families and retain great staff.  We recently completed a handicapped accessible playground in Villisca replacing a great, but aging wooden structure.  The buildings on the west campus have gone through a major renovation in the past three years and we need to do the same on the east campus to provide the best for students and staff.

We will have several opportunities for public input and to share financial projections.  We will have more information on the proposed bond referendum later this fall and throughout the winter.

Have a great September!