Over the last several years I had the opportunity to serve as a community member on the ISD 181 Long Range Facilities Planning Committee. I have long since lost count of the number of meetings, building tours and presentations that I have attended as a member of the committee. Every meeting was filled with facts and figures on every aspect of the district operations and facilities. The members of the committee asked hundreds of questions, brainstormed for hours on visionary concepts and had more than a few vigorous debates. I have tremendous pride and confidence in the effort and the resulting long-range plan that was developed. I also learned a few important facts about our school district:
• Our district is operated as efficiently as any district in greater Minnesota, if not the entire state. Simply put, we get more done with less than just about anyone.
• The staff in our schools are some of the most creative, talented and innovative people you will meet in any profession. The results achieved are impressive and something we all should be proud of especially given some of the challenging environments that exist.
• The accessibility and security of just about every building unfortunately has fallen far behind the needs of current requirements and expectations. These are not easily fixed with updated procedures, they are structural and require significant attention to fix.
Just like the hopes and dreams we have for our students to reach their fullest potential, I hope the Brainerd lakes area reaches the fullest potential that it has. I will proudly be voting yes to all three questions confident that it will bring our community closer to its fullest potential. If you agree please make sure you take the time to cast your vote so that we reach our fullest potential.
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Mike Dillon
Brainerd
