Wildcat Pride July 2019 Newsletter

Wildcat Pride Monthly NEWS & UPDATES

July 12, 2019 | 2019-2020 School Year

Quick Links

District Website

Activities Calendar

School Calendar

Questions & Comments

Upcoming Events & Activities

Swim Lessons

Starts July 22
Registration Form

Theater Performance

July 24 at 6:30 pm
High School PAC
Purchase tickets here!

2019-2020 Calendar Published

Friday, August 2

Fall Community Ed. Catalog Published

Friday, August 9

School Open Houses

August 26
Middle School from 3-7 pm
CLEC from 3-6 pm
August 27
High School from 6:30-8 pm
August 28
Taylors Falls from 2-6 pm
Primary from 4-6:30 pm
Lakeside from 4-6 pm

Grand Opening

October 4 & 5
More details to come

Superintendent's Message

Hello! I hope you had a great 4th of July! There is something special about being around a “lakes area” over the 4th. Boat Parades, pontoons tied together, packed beaches and parks... random fireworks displays that are many times better than the official ones! Family, cookouts and probably a little sunburn too! Chisago Lakes certainly came to life for the 4th! It’s such a great place to be!

Our schools go relatively quiet in July, but there’s still plenty of work happening. Cleaning and maintenance projects, staff collaboration and meetings to plan for another school year are just a sampling of what happens during the month of July.

Our fiscal year ends every June 30th. This is truly the end of our school year as the books are closed and the new year begins on July 1st. As I look back, as challenging as this past year was, there is much to be proud of. The academic and activity accomplishments of our students would be at the top of the list. We have bright, talented, energetic students that come from great families...that will always be the foundation to our success. I would like to also highlight our exceptional staff who, with their talent and passion inspire our students to greatness. No doubt, what makes Chisago Lakes special are our people. Honest, hard-working, no-nonsense, expecting much and delivering more. This is what makes Chisago Lakes a place people want to come to or wish they could. On behalf of the amazing people within our schools, I want to thank our communities for your on-going trust and support. It is an honor and privilege to serve you.

Please read below for detailed updates around the district and we will see you in a couple of months!

Dean Jennissen

@CLSupt2144

District Updates

Construction

What an exciting time to be a Wildcat as our students, staff and communities will experience the opening of some amazing facilities!

If you would like to see pictures, videos and information related to our Construction Projects, you may find it here: Construction Pictures & Videos

Wildcat Community Center

Our Wildcat Community Center will open by the beginning of August and it will be an

absolute joy to see the community accessing all it has to offer! We hope to sell many memberships, but also wish to emphasize that the Walking Track can be used for free for District residents as well as the Community Room for public non-profit groups.

Also included in the WCC is a new Gymnastics Gym for our Gymcats. This includes bleachers for our fans

and even viewing from above while putting on some steps on our walking track!

Overall, we have heard great feedback from the Community on the

Membership Rates. That they are very reasonable compared to other fitness centers/gyms/clubs. Go here to learn more about the Community Center and memberships.

Lakeside Elementary

Progress at the new Lakeside Elementary continues to be steady and we are expecting to be ready for our student and family Open House on Wednesday, 8/28/19. The Elementary Office and the District Office both expect to be open approximately August 5th.

Old Lakeside Elementary

I’ve been asked many questions about the old Lakeside building. It will be demolished in September and the site will be sold. A nearly 8.74 acre property with approx. 500 feet of frontage on Little Green Lake will surely have appeal to a buyer and there is much development potential to add something great to the Gateway to the Lakes!

We do have many items within the school and throughout the District that will be sold to interested parties. Please look for more information about the items, pictures, etc. and how you may purchase them on our website approximately July 15th.

Taylors Falls

The Taylors Falls addition is well underway and we are planning for completion of the projects in September and October. This project includes the renovation of the former Media Center into classrooms, two new classrooms, a new Media Center and the renovation of certain bathrooms.

High School

At the High School, the Wrestling and Dance Studios are being renovated this summer and at the Middle School the former Gymnastics space will be renovated in October to add additional Physical Education space.

Primary School

The Primary School will have some slight renovations in the Office, Media Center and an Early Childhood classroom or two. Long-term, the District has their sights on future renovation and classroom additions to this site as growth continues and funds allow.

Grand Opening

Finally, we are planning Grand Openings and Public Open Houses for our new facilities October 4th and 5th during Homecoming Weekend. We thought it would be a great time to honor our communities and their incredible support for our schools while hopefully cheering our Wildcats on to victory and then talking about it the day after!

Enrollment

The District’s enrollment was stable throughout the 2018-19 school year hovering at approx. 3,400 students. We anticipate starting the school year at approx. the same number.

A challenge for us is the lack of capacity in Grades K-5 on the West side of the District as classes are basically full in all sections at the Primary and Lakeside Schools. Where we have capacity in most grade levels, is at Taylors Falls. We haven’t closed open enrollment in any of our grade levels yet, but are close to doing so in a few. However, with larger class sizes generally on our West side, new Open Enrollees may find their only option to be at Taylors Falls. Our final

Open Enrollment window deadline is 8/1/19, so, for those interested in Chisago Lakes, time is running short.

For more information on enrolling in our schools, please visit us here .

Budget

As our communities are painfully aware, this past year we had to reduce our Budget for the first time in several years. Rising operational costs and continued inadequate funding has spelled trouble for Districts throughout the State and eventually caught up to our District after years of riding a razor-thin line between revenues and expenditures. The forecast for the 2019-20 School Budget projects another deficit unfortunately. The District will not be proposing an Operating Levy for the fall of 2019, but with a continued pattern of inadequate funding in place for the 2020-21 school year, a Levy vote in the fall of 2020 is highly likely. It is an extremely

challenging conversation to have with our communities when taxes are high, but unlike other public entities, schools must hold a community-wide conversation in the form of a Referendum vote. Our schools have been very-well supported by our communities and we are grateful for that. Unfortunately, with inadequate funding, the only way to provide adequate support for our students is to ask our friends and neighbors to provide it. We will continue to provide Budget updates during the coming months.

If this news came forwarded to you, sign up with your email here to get the next issue.

CHISAGO LAKES SCHOOL DISTRICT | www.isd2144.org