Very%20Confident%20Responses.pdf

Parent document: Regular Meeting following Surplus Hearing at 6_00 P.M.-10-17-2024.pdf

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Answers to the following question from the people who said they are VERY CONFIDENT
in Moses Lake School District:

What makes you confident about Moses Lake School District?

Communicative, effective leadership.
Current leadership, communication, the people | work with everyday

For the first time in my 3 years as a School Board Director, | am getting accurate
information, when | ask for it, along with corroborating information. This has never
happened prior to appointing Carol Lewis as interim superintendent and the hiring
of Mitch Thompson.

| attend the school board meetings in public whenever | can and watch the
livestream if | am unable to attend. As such, | feel very informed about what
happened and how the deficit occurred. | have seen the time and effort put in by the
current board and superintendent to get to a balanced budget and to safeguard
against future financial mistakes. | think that the community has to take ownership
for their ignorance. The administration and board has given the community ample
opportunities to learn what happened and what the district is doing going forward.
Anyone who makes the claim that the district is not being transparent has failed to
take responsibility for their own education on the matter.

| believe that the people working in positions of leadership in our school district right
now really care that our district gets out of this mess, and that they are working hard
to make sure that happens.

| have been to the school board meetings and feel confident with the explanations.

| recently met Carol Lewis and was very impressed with her dedication and
understanding of the situation with the MLSD. | do feel that the community needs
more of a detailed understanding of what happened and under the who/authority at
the time. Unfortunately, kids and teachers are suffering due to their leadership, and
as you know, Moses Lake is somewhat of a "conservative" town. Without this, | fear
we will never pass a Levy again sadly. There is quite a bit of distrust, dating back to
Josh Meeks, the high school land purchases, Vanguard, etc. My opinion, let's rip
the band aid off and move forward. But until that trust is build, it wont happen. And
to build that trust, we need to expose the screw-ups of the past openly. Holler any
time, would love to chat about this. Don Kersey 509-750-9140

| support current leadership and the plan moving forward


It starts at the top. The information provided by our current financial director and
superintendent is very clear and concise. The explanations for previous financial
mishaps has been very well detailed and widely available. It is clear to me exactly
what has transpired and | feel confident in how we moved forward from here with
our qualified and competent leadership in place.

I've always experienced transparency when it came to every question or concern
I've had.

MLSD has responded to the issue in a very open and transparent way. The district
has taken steps to reduce the budget and bring it in line to meet the needs of
students in a responsible way. | feel some on the board are looking for some sort of
smoking gun and are hoping to find something to pin on someone, when there isn’t
anything to find. Experts have already looked at the financial situation, and have
concluded there’s nothing to find. Good people are in place within the district to
manage the crisis, and the board needs to trust them to do their job. | think district
employees have done an amazing job to get the district to the point it now is. What
the board needs to do now is focus on the next levy election. Time is slipping by
that should be used to pass a levy. It would be helpful to have the board actively
promote the levy and for all five members to actually cast a vote.

Quality leadership that is communicating with its stakeholders.

The money situation has not changed the amount of care and attention employees
are providing to students ( besides the obvious loss of staff).

The new leadership


Transparency, open board meetings, and | don’t have a bunch of baggage over
past issues or extreme expectations of public services.