Bob Behnke - APS Superintendent
President-Elect Rod Pender stepped in for President Mary today and also introduced our speaker, Bob Behnke who spoke to the members about the upcoming bond issue/ballot proposal to enhance the Adrian School District’s infrastructure, technology and facilities which, he admitted, are always areas requiring upgrades to stay competitive and that they go hand-in-hand with the district’s core focus of academics, the arts and athletics.
Bob said that the original planning actually predates his coming on board under the Cochran administration. Back then a needs assessment was conducted along with the hiring of an architect who handled the professional assessment to confirm what the district’s research identified what they needed. At this same time, Bob said, the district was conducting “visioning sessions” in an effort to lay out a 4-5 year plan since things were changing dramatically in the education sector. Since he has been here, he said, he’s toured the entire district extensively and chatted with students, teachers and administrators. Bob said that the schools technology was in much need of upgrading. The district has also been testing out different types of furniture for students. He said he looked at the food service area as well. Each of these things, he said, contribute to a student’s overall education. .JPG)
Bob said that during this visioning process, some 50 people were involved representing a wide range of age groups and backgrounds for the purpose of discussing what it was like “back then” and measuring it against “what should our model look like in the future?” Other questions asked were: “What do we do in terms of preparing students for college and careers?” and “How do we meet the demands of this community?” As a result of that discussion the planning, he said, was rooted in four strategic focus areas: (1) academics, the arts and athletics (2) positive school culture and climate (3) organizational effectiveness and (4) build, foster and enhance connections with the community.
Bob mentioned that McKinley (a 3-story, 35,000 square foot building where only four classrooms are used) and Garfield schools were woefully underutilized yet very costly to maintain. Bob said that he was especially fortunate that clubs like our and others were partnering with the district to accomplish some of their objectives.
Bob then shared with members the proposed “central campus” concept explaining that, once the proposal was passed, an addition would be built on the rear of Springbrook Middle School allowing the entire 5th and 6th grades to be moved over to this new facility from the current Drager Middle School location. All that would be left at Drager would be the Boys & Girls Club. However, future plans call for taking the students currently at Garfield and moving them over into Drager and occupy the first and second floors so that the Boys & Girls Club could expand if they wanted to. The Adult Alternative Ed students would occupy the 3rd floor of the building. Once Garfield and McKinley were vacated, there would be a possibility, Bob said, that those would be converted to senior housing much like was done in the Grand Rapids school district some time ago.
Bob enlightened members about state funding saying that the state only gives school district funds for “operations” not for “infrastructure or capital improvements”. So, when a pool is in need of repair, a choice needs to be made between spending money from the general fund for the necessary repairs OR should it be used for something else.
Bob closed by announcing that there will be another informational meeting scheduled for February 11th from 8-9:30pm. For more info go to: bondinginfo@adrian.k12.mi.us