As we come near the completion of our school year, we are accustomed to welcoming spring as a time when the children of our community shine. The Bayfield School District team is excited to show up each day and work hard, and we are rewarded when we witness your children performing on stage, competing on the field, enrolling in college, entering the workforce, joining the military, pursuing a trade or technical program, heading to “State”, or showcasing a year’s worth of learning and growth at conferences or exhibitions.
While these things bring joy to our hearts as your partners in educating your children, I believe it is also our responsibility to share that this spring we are in a period of significant challenge with our budget. In Colorado, education has been underfunded for many years, and our state currently ranks 49th in the nation for funding education. Revenue has remained flat for years while inflation has continually increased operating costs. Additionally, the housing market in our area makes it challenging for young families to move here, which has contributed greatly to a significant drop in enrollment in our school district. These converging pressures have forced us to make difficult decisions about how we staff and operate our schools.
The specific challenge we are facing is that our salary and benefits costs are nearing approximately 90% of our total revenue, a level that is not financially sustainable. We were tasked with reducing that to below 85%, which required identifying approximately $1.6 million in reductions. Every decision we made was in the context of that reality, and we worked hard to protect programs and people to the greatest extent possible.
We are working hard to preserve programs and provide even better service to your family in the future. We believe we have preserved innovative programs for our high school students that allow them to participate in career and technical education. We have also held onto concurrent enrollment (college courses) so our small town students can hold onto the big dreams they have for their futures. We will continue to offer Wolverine Academy for our high school learners who appreciate project based learning. We are also preserving a wide range of sports, clubs, and other activities that provide opportunities for our students to compete, learn life-long lessons, and enjoy their interests.
At the middle school, students will still have access to advanced courses and high-interest electives. At the same time, we have considered the needs of students who require extra support and have maintained these programs at all of our campuses. We have also honored the wishes of our families and teachers alike regarding class sizes, and have made sure there will be no increase from the average class sizes your children experience now. We will continue to value your feedback and truly need your support while we reorganize, and we hope for your continued support and partnership in remaining committed to excellence in the service we provide to Bayfield families.
As our partners, I want to be clear with you all about the changes you’ll see in the next school year as they relate to our district and school programs:
Bayfield High School
- We reduced one section of Wolverine Academy and will be bringing the program back to the high school. It will still have its own identity but in a new space at BHS. Dr. Wayman will work with students this Spring to have them co-design their new space and program.
- We’re maintaining the work based learning programs with a reorganization of roles within our staff for career-connected learning, concurrent enrollment coordination, and support for online class options.
- We are down one music teacher across our secondary schools but will still offer band, choral music, and orchestra.
Bayfield Middle School
- Our counseling team moved from a two person team to one at the middle school. The school leaders will reallocate roles to ensure students are still being served well and supported with counseling.
- With the resignation of the current reading interventionist, the principal is reorganizing the school’s reading intervention to be led by the classroom teachers your children already learn from.
- A reduction in the number of students with Individualized Education Plans means the Special Education team at BMS is being decreased by one teacher. All services will still be provided by the remaining staff. We remain committed to matching our staffing to the service minutes necessary in order to support our students with IEPs and we will continue to analyze this need every year.
- The Technology elective at BMS will no longer be offered. The BMS team worked hard to preserve the electives that the greatest number of students select each year.
Bayfield Intermediate School
- STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) will not be a standalone Explore class. The principal and his leadership team are working on the development of a “cross-curricular creativity” Explore class where students will use the 3-D printer, laser cutters, lego robotics kits, and other STEM equipment to work on projects from other content areas.
Bayfield Primary School
- Art instruction will be moved from SpArt (Spanish/Art) into our STEM class, making it STEAM. Infusing art instruction into the technical learning of STEM is a way to teach our young learners how art can transfer across all of their lives. It is a well researched approach that we are excited to move towards. Spanish will no longer be offered to our K-2 learners at this time.
Central Office and Departments
- We are reorganizing the transportation department with the retirement of our Director. The Assistant Superintendent will take on executive leadership roles with the support of a coordinator/transportation lead for daily operations. All routes will be preserved, and we will continue to provide excellent transportation services for your children.
- We are reorganizing the nutrition department with the retirement of our Director, and are committed to maintaining the program at the level that has been available to your families in the past. The Assistant Superintendent will take on executive leadership roles with the support of the nutrition manager for daily operations.
It is difficult for our community to adjust to this necessary reorganization, but as we match the size of our school district operation to our student enrollment, we are doing the best we can to protect the things most important to our students. We will have to be nimble as we learn our revised roles and responsibilities, so we can keep our Bayfield Schools excellent for you and your children. If you are interested, each school’s leader will share their program reorganizations and plans for the future at the upcoming School Advisory Committee and the upcoming District Accountability and Advisory Committee meetings. Your feedback and insights will continue to be important to us in this transition, so I close by sincerely asking that you please reach out to anyone on our leadership team, including your school and district leaders, to share your input.
Thank you,
Dylan Connell
Superintendent, Bayfield School District