Superintendent’s Message – March 14, 2014
Hello Timberlane!
I want to take this opportunity to thank the voters in our four towns. Your participation in the Deliberative session and at the polls is helpful as we can determine what our core values are in Timberlane. We have work to do…..and your continued involvement is critical.
Messages can be sent and received in many ways. It is always smart to not confuse the message with who is sending it or how. We need to listen to the message and not let the messenger complicate the work or delay progress. The message should drive our work…and it will.
Specifically our friends from Sandown have requested in a very respectful way to find a way to deliver the very best school district and to be EXTRA mindful of costs. You sent that message to me at the Deliberative Session and recently at the polls. I have been working on that for several months regardless of the voting results. Also, by putting the SAU budget back in the general Timberlane budget you have provided me that opportunity. I will continue this work and hope to be able to deliver on that promise next budget season.
Our Default budget provides us the opportunity to rethink and reorganize the way we conduct business. You can expect changes, although I am not ready to make them public at this time. We will continue to make changes and add the necessary tools and resources to deliver the best school district. Some of that work will mean repurposing money in the default budget. This will be challenging but also provides us the opportunity to work on efficiency and effectiveness simultaneously. So please be assured that the impact of a default budget in Timberlane this year will be minimal. The surplus will be impacted in the following year…and that is a reality of operating on a default budget. Our culture has been moving towards a budget without a significant surplus, so this will be an opportunity to budget as such.
I am in the process of setting goals for next year. I will have a SMART goal for our next budget season. A specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and timed goal is necessary so that I can deliver on that promise. Finding the comfortable budget number for our four towns is a priority. This goal will have my undivided attention.
Finally I would like to thank our elected officials for the time and energy that is spent. Public service is courageous work and should always be appreciated as such. Also, congratulations to our newly elected officials. Everybody in Timberlane has been asked to work harder…and our elected officials were no exception. Even if you disagree with decisions, we should always agree that we appreciate the time and energy that they spend representing us.
As always, I welcome your comments and concerns. I can be reached at Email or by calling Cathy Belcher at 603-382-6119 extension 2217.