TRUE CONFESSIONS

They say that confession is good for the soul...so here's my confession as it's definitely time for me to start working on my soul!!

This summer I had an affair with a lady named Gillian Flynn!!  That's right, Gillian Flynn and I had a rather torrid love affair during July and August!!

Like most affairs it started innocently enough.  Being an older man, I was flattered when Gillian flirted with me with Sharp Objects and then she enticed me with Dark Places and finally, she had me completely with Gone Girl!!

Did my wife know?  How could she not!! Gillian and I were right next to her throughout our summer fling, she had to know! Even though I knew my affair may be looked down on by others and that it was destined to come to an end eventually, I couldn't stop my nightly meeting with Gillian!!  I finally have to confess my darkest secret...

That's right, I'm a SERIAL READER!!

Although my affair with Ms. Flynn may be over with for now, I'm hoping against hope that she and I will meet again soon. (as soon as she writes another book that is) My addiction to reading is far from over!!

W. Somerset Maugham once said, "To acquire the habit of reading is to construct for yourself a refuge from almost all the miseries of life."

While my life growing up certainly wasn't miserable, reading allowed me to escape my small South Dakota town (147 friendly people, according to the sign), life with four sisters and access to only two television stations.

For a boy who never physically left the state of SD until he was an 8th grader, reading allowed me to travel the great battle fields of Europe and the American Civil War.   I was stranded on a deserted island with Robinson Crusoe and traveled the Mississippi River with Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn.  As a kid I was able to be in Berlin with Jesse Owens, hang out with Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig in New York and meet the greatest athlete of the 20th century, Jim Thorpe.  All because of books!

"The man who does not read great books is no better than the man who can't read at all!"
Mark Twain

Just this year alone, besides my afore mentioned love affair with Gillian Flynn, I was able to travel back in time in an attempt to save JFK thanks to Stephen King and 11/22/63, relive the trials and tribulations of the filthy rich by rereading F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby and feel the powerful impact of the written word thanks to Markus Zusak and The Book Thief.

"Until I feared I would lose it, I never loved to read. One does not love breathing."

Harper Lee

The lust of a true serial reader is never sated, so I expect that I will continue to burn up my Kindle and lurk at the closest Barnes and Noble in my quest for my next great read!!

"Stay Reading my Friends."  
Jonathan Goldsmith ("The most interesting man in the world.")

Architect Selected for Remodeling Project

On Monday night, October 21, the Audubon Community School Board selected DLR Group as the architects the district will be working with in developing the remodeling plans for the elementary school.  This project, which involves the interior of the original 1950’s building, is scheduled for the summer of 2014.

            The board had interviewed three companies, DLR Group, Shive-Hattery, and Struxture Architects, at a special board meeting on Wednesday, October 9th.  These interviews were followed up with site visits to Gilbert and Earlham by two board members and two administrators to gather additional information concerning the companies before the October board meeting.

            DLR Group, which is out of Des Moines, has done other projects in the area including several for the Denison and Maple Valley School Districts.  When contacted both of those districts had very positive things to say about working with DLR.

            The next step of the project will include meetings between DLR Group, representatives of the board, administration, elementary staff and parents to gather information and ideas about the district’s future needs. The hope is to have plans in place for bidding right after the first of the year with actual work starting immediately after school ends in May. This project is being paid for through the use of the District’s share of the state sales tax funding.

Audubon Community School Reverses Enrollment Trend

           At the October board meeting Superintendent Brett Gibbs reported that the Audubon Community School District saw a slight overall increase in enrollment numbers as compared to the previous school year. While the districts Certified Enrollment saw a decrease of 7.8 students that loss was offset by an increase of 3 students in the districts Pre-Kindergarten program and an increase of 6 students who decided to Open Enroll into the Audubon District for the 2013 – 2014 school year.  This increase reverses the trend of declining enrollment that the district has witnessed since 2008 – 2009.  Here are the enrollment comparison numbers that Gibbs shared with the board:

	FY14	FY13	Change
Resident Students	489.2	494.3	-5.10
Open Enrolled Out	36.1	38.8	-2.7
Certified Enrollment	525.3	533.1	-7.80
Open Enrolled In	43.6	37.6	+6.0
Pre-Kindergarten	38	35	+3.0

            Superintendent Gibbs pointed out to the board that even though the number may appear as only a slight increase for next year, when you take into consideration what the projected enrollment numbers were from October of 2012 the gain looks much more impressive.  “You also have to consider the total number of students that the district serves, or the, “Butts in Seats” number,” Gibbs told the board,  “That also shows an increase for the district which is very good news.”

	Actual	Projected	Change
Certified Enrollment	525.3	513.3	+12
	FY14	FY13
Total Serviced	570.8	566.9	+3.9

Tapping Local Experts

Two Palms Grilling provided some expert instruction (and some really good food!!) to our Family & Consumer Science Foods class by demonstrating how they prepare pork in their new trailer/grill.

Pat and Brian Handlos travel all over the Midwest catering meals and selling their delicious pork sandwiches.  They took time out of their busy schedule to work with Jo Littleton's class showing the students some of the possible career opportunities that exits in the food service industry.  It really was a "Taste of Paradise" in the school parking lot that day.

SCHOOL BOARD ELECTION! GET OUT AND VOTE!

Many times throughout the course of the year as I attend school and/or community events I hear from people who have opinions on what direction they think the school should be headed.  These opinions usually range from school finance to school start date with an occasional opinion or two thrown in on who we should or should not be hiring to coach. Well the opportunity to have your opinions heard is here!!

On Tuesday, September 10th, Audubon School District voters will have the opportunity to elect two new representatives to serve them on the local school board.  The polls will be open from Noon until 8:00 p.m and will be located in the Board room, next to the Superintendent's office.

This is American democracy at the grassroots level as board members serve four year terms for which they receive absolutely no pay in return.  These representatives truly serve out of a since of duty to the school and the community.  Please take this opportunity to exercise your rights and vote tomorrow for the two open positions on the Audubon Community School Board.

BUS SAFETY NOTICE

As part of the new landscape design at the Audubon Elementary School the district has added an inset drop-off area for our buses along Tracy Street.  Even with this new safety feature all vehicles are still required by law to stop when a bus’s red lights are flashing and the stop arm is out.  All buses must engage their lights and stop arm when picking up or dropping off students and all bus drivers are required by law to report any motorist who drives through the red flashing lights. Under Kadyn’s Law, which was signed into effect in 2012, the fines for violating the red flashing lights has increased considerably.  For additional information either contact the school or click on: School Bus Safety

TWO OUT OF THREE

When I was hired seven years ago to be the new superintendent in Audubon I wanted to be clear with the board that the elementary building site was going to take some additional work and money.

By deciding to only move the 5th & 6th grade classes up to the MS/HS building in 2006 they had made a firm commitment to using the current elementary building for the foreseeable future.  Since the original part of the building was constructed in 1952 I wanted to make sure that the board and I were on the same page when it came to upgrading the facility.

At that time the board and I agreed on three goals we wanted to see accomplished at the Tracy Street site:

1. The removal of the 1916 Middle School Building.
2. Improvements in the landscaping and playground at the elementary site.
3. The remodeling of the interior of the original elementary building. 

The one thing I didn't tell the board back in 2006, mainly because I wasn't aware of it at the time, was that these three goals were going to take some time to accomplish! 

After spending four years paying for buses, roof repairs and computers we were finally able to accomplish our first goal by tearing down the middle school last summer. It was a bittersweet project as a lot of Audubon Wheeler history went down with the old building, but it still needed to be done.

This summer, we are in the final stages of finishing up goal #2, improving the landscaping and playground area around the building. The bank on the north side is now gone, the broken up asphalt playground has been removed and new playground equipment installed.  A new bus drop-off area has been added on the west side to improve student safety and all new sidewalks have been poured around the entire property.  The final project won't truly be complete until we have grass growing and new trees planted but mother nature will have the last word about when that will happen!!

Although we have been slowly working on goal #3 during the past two summers by installing all new exterior doors and windows, the summer of 2014 is when we hope to complete our final goal by remodeling the interior of the original elementary building insuring that it will continue to be a safe, clean, modern educational facility for the next generation of Wheelers. Keep watching for updates as plans are finalized and preparations are made for a very busy summer in 2014.

My hope is that next year at this time I'll be able to title this post, "Three out of Three!"

Advocating for Education

On Monday, February 4th the Iowa Association of School Boards (IASB) held their annual Legislative Day in Des Moines.  Audubon School Board President Mark Nissen and Superintendent Brett Gibbs, representing the Audubon Community School, had a chance to listen to and ask questions of legislative leaders from both parties concerning legislative issues dealing with PK - 12 education.  Following a trip to the capitol building in the afternoon to meet with local legislators, Governor Branstad and Lt. Governor Reynolds addressed the group concerning their plans for educational reform.  Pictured above are Mark Nissen and Brett Gibbs with Representative Dan Muhlbauer of Manilla along with Joel Davis, board President from Coon Rapids-Bayard and Jeremy Smith representing the Ar-We-Va school board.  Nissen and Gibbs also had a brief meeting with Senator Mark Segebart from Vail.