Superintendent

A Message from Our Superintendent

Dear FPS Community,

This past month,  superintendents have been working with state legislators to shape policies and budgets that will impact our schools in the months and years ahead. Many people don’t know it, but one of our state government’s biggest responsibilities is to provide funding and oversight for public education. In fact, education is the only item identified as the state’s paramount duty and it makes up about half of our state’s overall operating budget!

I won’t bore you with all of the details, but it is important to note that the state funding model does not cover our operation costs. For example, the prototypical state funding model only provides funding for 4 nurses, 1.5 social workers, .5 psychologists and 384 certificated staff in our district. In reality, we employ 14 nurses, 6 social workers, 12 psychologists and 582 certificated staff, and spend approximately $6.5 million more than we receive on transportation and special education. Thankfully, we are incredibly fortunate to receive levy dollars generated through local property taxes.

I share this as a reminder that there are still broken pieces in our state’s education model and that we are incredibly fortunate to have the trust and support of our local community. I also recognize that our district goes above and beyond to provide resources for students and families that would otherwise not be available in our local community. While I wish that we had infinite resources to support each opportunity and address each need, I am continually amazed by the ways that our staff, families, and community show up to support our students!

With gratitude and appreciation,