Dear Residents of the Gahanna-Jefferson Public Schools,
We worked together as a community in 2016-2017 to develop a new
Vision, Mission and Beliefs document
for our district. This document is now the cornerstone of our academic and fiscal decisions and guides us as we move forward to position Gahanna-Jefferson Public Schools as one of the premier school systems in Ohio.
We are facing significant challenges that need discussed with the residents of our community. Many of our residents volunteered their time to serve on a Master Facilities Committee in 2016. The committee made an initial set of recommendations for a strategic facilities plan in August 2017 after reviewing data from surveys, visioning sessions, discussions with staff and a comprehensive assessment of all buildings. The initial recommendations identified four significant challenges. The first and most immediate is the condition of Lincoln Elementary and the negative impact it is having on our students and teachers. The current problems with this building are serious and need addressed.
Three additional challenges that need discussion are how best to address anticipated student population growth in our school district, how much more we can afford to tighten our operating budget without adversely impacting vital educational programs, and how to improve the current high school facility.
This letter is your invitation to join us in a frank and open conversation about the future of our school system. To provide everyone with an opportunity to participate in this community-wide discussion, we are scheduling small group “
Coffee Conversations
” throughout our school district, where we will talk about our district’s our initial recommendations in the Master Facility Plan and operational funding of our schools.
If you would like to host or attend a
Coffee Conversation
, please contact us at (614) 478-5533. We are looking forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Steve Barrett
Superintendent
