At times, the world can seem challenging, and it is important to focus on our successes as well as our challenges.  The Morrison School District is fortunate to have a number of successes to celebrate.

This year, we have seen a steady increase in our student population.  Since the end of September, we have seen our numbers grow each month, and now have 10 more students attending school than four months ago.  I have received calls from prospective home buyers who want to make sure that a home they are considering is in the Morrison School District.  We can thank our faculty and staff for providing an excellent learning environment that makes Morrison a destination-of-choice for parents.  This attitude helps to stabilize real estate prices, helps our local merchants, and helps keep Morrison vibrant.

The District was notified this week that we have again received a Financial Recognition rating for the 2008-2009 school year.  This is even before the State takes into account the State funds that were not received during the fiscal year.  Last week, Standard and Poors gave the Morrison School District an AA- rating.  As an AAA rating is the highest possible, and there are only seven companies in the nation that have that rating, I have been told that this rating is exceptional.

Factors that helped us achieve this rating include our fund balances; our use of ten-year trend data for financial planning; having an involved Board of Education and Finance Committee; having in place policies to support fiscal responsibility.  When our bonds are sold, the AA- rating will save tax payers $15,000 in insurance costs, immediately, and then reduce our interest rate by ½ - ¾ of a percent over the life of the bonds.  We can thank members of our current and past Board of Education for helping provide the policies and procedures to support this rating.

This week, our food service program was audited.  The State auditor was highly complementary and said it was one of the best he has seen in 25 years.  I know that when I had lunch at the high school last week, along with a choice of main dishes, they served fresh broccoli and fresh grapes.  In addition, the salad bar option with grilled chicken, grated cheese, and a variety of salad toppings was excellent.   We are lucky to have a skilled food service staff that provides top-quality nutrition for our students.

As we focus on continuous improvement, the Wellness Committee met last week.  This is a committee made up of District staff, parents, community members, and students.  After reviewing our nutritional and physical education programs for students, they recommended ways to improve our program.  Plans are being developed to enhance the physical activity of elementary students before school and to provide more nutritional information for students and parents.  The plan for next year includes providing calorie and carbohydrate information in the serving line on all foods served to students in grades 6-12; post more complete nutritional information of our foods on our website for parents and students to access; increase student awareness of food group information for students in grades K-5.

What a pleasure to work with highly-motivated staff, parents, community members, board members, students, and others to focus on the continuous improvement of our District.  We do have much to celebrate.  Thanks for your support.

Sincerely,
Suellen Girard