It’s hard to believe we are about two months away from the end of the 2025–26 school year. This year has included many awards and accolades for our students and staff, and spring is a time when we gather for celebrations in our schools and recognize that D38 is an amazing place. As always, I invite you to attend events in our schools, so you can see how our students excel in academics, athletics, and the arts.

While we celebrate successes, we’re also looking ahead and planning responsibly for our district. D38 is working hard to ensure we remain good stewards of taxpayer dollars by adjusting staffing to align with enrollment projections for next school year. Many school districts across the state are facing declining enrollment, due to a number of factors including families moving out of state to more affordable areas. A lower student count means lower funding for school districts like D38.

Our district and school leadership teams are exploring creative approaches for delivering instruction that include multi-grade classrooms, and sharing teachers across schools for certain courses or subjects. We’ve also identified other districtwide opportunities to reduce expenses including considering an innovative health insurance alternative for staff and pausing the relocation of Transition Services.

In closing, I have been dedicating time to community outreach to build meaningful relationships and spread the good news of D38. I have had the opportunity to connect with leaders of local businesses, faith-based organizations, and government partners to explore ways we can collaborate for the benefit of D38 students, staff and our community. I look forward to continuing these conversations and welcome the opportunity to meet and talk with any community members, including those who do not currently have children in our schools. If you’d like to learn more about our district, I invite you to reach out. I am always happy to sit down and talk about “The D38 Difference.”