By the Harwood Unified Union School District Board
Greetings HUUSD friends, neighbors and community members!
As the days shorten and we move toward the annual budget season in our six-town unified district, the HUUSD board of directors is writing to share five goals it recently adopted to guide our future work, including that of the fiscal year 2019 budget. An outgrowth of our recent board retreat, the goals address equity, excellence, efficiency, accountability and affordability.
These five goals were developed through the multiyear effort to consolidate governance and budgeting into one district. Representatives from each town district board were involved in the important work of the Act 46 study committee. The HUUSD Board, which was created as a result of that work, believes these five goals can continue to provide a useful map to guide its work moving forward.
Here are the expanded goals for your consideration. Keeping all of our preK-12 students and taxpaying citizens in mind, the unified district will:
– provide substantial equity in the quality and variety of educational opportunities.
– lead students to achieve or exceed the state’s Education Quality Standards, adopted as rules by the state board of education at the direction of the General Assembly.
– maximize operational efficiencies through increased flexibility to manage, share and transfer resources with a goal of increasing the district-level ratio of students to full-time equivalent staff.
– promote transparency and accountability.
– deliver education at a cost that is acceptable to the community.
As always, we appreciate your feedback. Please visit the HUUSD website at www.wwsu.org/huusd-board.php to reach out to any and all board members with your questions, concerns and ideas regarding the five goals and our work moving forward. We welcome public input during the public comment section of board meetings, usually held on the second and fourth Wednesdays of the month.
Beyond our usual channels for public participation, our board is exploring new ways to build community engagement and promote other venues for public conversation. We look forward to representing all of our constituents and continuing to provide the best possible education to all preK-12 students for the fewest possible tax dollars this coming year, and in the years ahead.
Directors: Alycia Biondo, Rosemarie White, Jill Ellis, Lorraine Wargo, Rob Williams, Christine Sullivan, Peter Langella, Gabe Gilman, Tom Cahalan, Garett MacCurtain, Alex Thomsen, Jim Casey, Caitlin Hollister and Maureen McCracken.
