Dear Parents and Community Members of Coldwater Exempted Village Schools,

With great disappointment, I share the results of Tuesday's levy vote, where the proposed Operating Levy did not pass. While this outcome is disheartening, I assure you that every district member will continue to work hard, provide a great educational experience, and care for our Coldwater students.

The failure of this levy creates significant financial challenges for our district. As you may know, the consulting companies we contracted with in 2007 strongly recommended setting aside $385,494.56 annually (based on 2007 dollars) to repair and replace major infrastructure items. Utilizing an accurate Consumer Price Index for inflation each year, the total accumulated amount needed today is a staggering $9,280,862.17. This is in addition to the technological and capital needs addressed throughout the campaign. Failing to fund these recommendations proactively will inevitably lead to catastrophic infrastructure failures in the near future.

In light of this levy failure, we will work diligently to identify areas where we can responsibly set aside funds to address these critical infrastructure needs. However, this process will be challenging, and we will soon need to make difficult decisions regarding class sizes, program offerings, and services. A few of those difficult decisions will affect next year. Due to retirements, we will not replace the two teaching positions, one educational aide position, and one custodial position that are currently open. This will force us to move some teachers to different grade levels and combine classrooms, causing class sizes to increase. We will also look at other areas to reduce costs, like possibly eliminating some extracurricular supervisory roles and reducing building hours to reduce energy costs. This will impact outside groups that use the building or gymnasiums in the evening. We will also look at transportation costs and eliminate some groups that we now transport but did not in the past.

Thank you to everyone who supported our schools during this levy campaign. We appreciate your dedication to our students and their education. We will listen to our community's feedback and continue to learn from it as we navigate this situation.

The administration will work closely with the Board of Education in the months ahead to decide the next steps to address the district's ongoing financial challenges. As you may know, the board has approved a reduction plan that will be thoughtfully and responsibly implemented soon, as mentioned above. As the plans solidify, we will keep our community informed and involved in the process.

We understand the impact of these decisions on our students, families, and community. However, we remain committed to being fiscally responsible and proactive in addressing our district's long-term needs. Our top priority will always be providing our students with the best possible educational experiences despite the challenges we face. It is now time for me to go back and be the educational leader for the district 100% of the time.

If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me directly at mader.doug@coldwatercavs.org. Thank you for your continued support and understanding during this difficult time.

Sincerely,