Submitted by Ethan Sickles
It’s that time of the year again . . . high school practices have begun, the registration process has started, and our building and facilities are looking sharp for another great year with our students, staff, and community! Officially our teachers return to work on August 18, while students have their first day on August 25. As a reminder, that first day of school is always an early dismissal day at 12:05 p.m. Hopefully, you caught our back-to-school ad in last week’s newspaper for upcoming event dates and times. If you missed it, that information is on our website as well.
I wanted to update you on a couple things as we begin the school year…
• The ongoing pandemic still provides many questions and challenges as we prepare for this upcoming year. As of now, we are not requiring masks for those in our building, but we strongly encourage you to wear them, vaccinated or not. This could change by the time school begins, or it may be an on again/off again requirement throughout the school year. Following current Atchison County protocols, those individuals who have been vaccinated would not have to quarantine this year if they are deemed a close contact. If a student or staff member is not vaccinated, those individuals would have to quarantine 10 days. I am hopeful we will not have many quarantined individuals this year, but if it does occur, please contact the appropriate principal to ensure we can continue educating your student(s).
• Our assessed valuation raised significantly due to the addition of Gavilon on our tax roll, windmills on the east side of the county, and the increase in personal property taxes. The increase from the real estate portion was just over $300,000 in new revenues, while the personal property increase raised an additional $33,000. We (I) have been waiting for this jump since the day I became superintendent four years ago, and am thankful we will have some additional revenue to continue providing an excellent education for our students, provide more competitive salaries for our staff, and pursue additional improvements to our facilities.
As I get older, these summer months seem to move faster and faster! However, I really am looking forward to having everyone back in the building and seeing our students and staff achieve fantastic accomplishments during the 2021-22 school year. I hope everyone continues to take care and stays healthy. As always, I leave you with three important words . . . GO BIG BLUE!
