Congratulations to Mr. John Borman, the new superintendent for
Lewis-Palmer School District 38. John lives in the school district
and has been principal at Lewis-Palmer High School for the last
four years. I am excited about the work John will do for this
school district and for this community into the future. The school
board has asked me to organize a transition plan that will assist
John in moving into the superintendent’s role as well as involve
him in some of the decision making that needs to take place in the
next three months. The process for Mr. Borman’s replacement at
Lewis-Palmer High School will begin immediately.
Many of you are aware of the news about Gov. Hickenlooper’s
2011-12 State of Colorado budget and his plans to reduce funding
for K-12 education. Although devastated by the news, the district
is forging ahead with ideas for ways to cut, reduce, and deal with
some drastic situations which we are facing. Outsourcing services,
transportation and other student fees, reductions in pay and
benefits, furlough days, and position cuts are all being discussed.
Ideas generated by the Planning Task Force are being examined in
depth for potential savings and increased efficiency. This Task
Force has volunteered countless hours and accomplished a great
deal.
Protecting class size and student resources are my major goals,
and we will struggle to make that happen with the challenging
possibility of having to cut another $3 million from what I
consider an already heavily-cut budget from last year. The district
won’t receive final figures from the state until April or May, so
it is also difficult to plan a budget based upon unknowns. These
are challenging times calling for challenging decisions.
This district continues to provide excellent educational
opportunities for students because of a dedicated and committed
group of teachers, staff, administrators, and school board doing
everything possible to keep resources closest to our kids.
Thank you,
Ted Bauman
Interim Superintendent
School District 38