Goodbye School and Hello Summer Break
We made it! It’s the last day of school and it has been an incredible year. A school year can never end without thanking the teachers, classified staff and administrators throughout the entire district. It takes every one of our almost 1,800 employees to make any school year a success.
Summer is a special time where many look for-ward to traveling opportunities to visit family and friends or to just get away to relax, study and enjoy favorite recreational activities. If you do travel this summer, I would like to wish you safe travels wherever your desires take you.
It is very fitting that this edition of the June Whiteboard be dedicated to our many retirees. I had a chance to attend a variety of retirement events these past few weeks.
In speaking with some of our retirees, I have been amazed with the dedication to the service and support to our district. I became a bit envious when I listened to the many stories of plans and adventures that await our retirees. I hope in between retirement activities that our retirees will come back and visit us often.
Ending a school year and looking forward to the new school year is always an exciting time.
There are two significant changes that will modify the California public education. Gov. Brown has been working very closely with our state legislators to change the way school districts are funded for years to come. This change known as the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) could bring additional revenues to our district to help support the educational needs of low-income students, English learners and special special-need students. At this time, it is not clear how the LCFF will be implemented in 2013-2014 or 2014-2015. But this is a passion of the governor and when it is passed, it will have a major impact on the students in our district.
The next change to look forward to is the continued movement toward the implementation of the Common Core Standards and the modification to the assessments that students will take to measure their academic achievements. This change to the Common Core will allow students in California and the rest of the nation to compete more effectively with students throughout the world.
As I stated earlier, I want to congratulate our retirees and wish them a long and healthy retirement after their many years of service to our students.
I also wish all of you the best of all summers and that you come back to the new school year fully rested and ready to take on, what I believe, will be a successful school year.
Donald Gill
Measure B
If you have not heard the good news yet, I am pleased to inform you that Measure B, the bond measure to renovate Antioch High School, was approved by the voters who reside within the School Facilities Improvement District by a vote of 61.55%. This strong statement of public support for Antioch High School and its feeder elementary and middle schools is greatly appreciated and will serve our students well for decades to come.
It was an honor to work with the many community members, parents, students, and District employees who volunteered their time in support of Measure B. They donated many hours of service during the evenings and on weekends calling upon registered voters to encourage them to vote “Yes” on Measure B. The unwavering support of these volunteers played a key role in the successful passage of Measure B.
Bids will be open for architects to submit their design plans for the project later this week. As this multi-year journey unfolds, the entire Antioch Unified School District community will be kept abreast of our progress.
We are very thankful and appreciative to the voters within the School Facilities Improvement District who generously entrusted our District with their hard earned tax dollars as an investment in our students and their future.
Thanks,
Donald Gill
