Superintendent Quarterly Newsletter

Welcome to the first-ever Superintendent electronic newsletter! Each quarter I plan on sharing information in this format to keep stakeholders informed about the various things taking place within New Buffalo Area Schools.

Over the summer we launched new branding for New Buffalo Area Schools!

The NBAS primary academic logo represents the essence of our educational community. At its heart stands the buffalo, a proud and strong representation of our school spirit and resilience. In the left section, waves gracefully flow, an homage to the shores of Lake Michigan that grace our coastal landscape. The right section symbolizes the importance of our community, emphasizing our commitment to fostering meaningful connections, where every individual is valued and supported. The ribbon embodies our unwavering pursuit of excellence. It serves as a constant reminder that striving for the highest standards is always paramount.

Our new visual identity short guide is available below with detailed information on our visual brand. We will adhere to these new standards to create consistency throughout the district and to strengthen our visual brand.

There are many ways to use our new logo and visual identity and if you have any questions or need assistance around it, please reach out to our marketing firm email at: nbas@getmarketingmedia.com

New curriculum that was purchased and will be implemented this year including the following:

Over the past year, many members of our district and community have contributed to creating a five-year strategic plan. With the assistance of Studer Education, we gathered valuable input from stakeholders through surveys and face-to-face meetings. Using this information, we formed a steering committee to establish key pillars for our plan. This committee included teachers, administrators, directors, parents, and community members. From these pillars, our administrators crafted specific goal statements. To monitor our progress, we will develop a strategic scorecard and conduct quarterly assessments. I will periodically share updates on our progress toward achieving the goals outlined in the strategic plan.

New Buffalo Area Schools is funded by an 18-mill tax levied on our business and non-residence. As an out-of-formula district, we receive very little state aid; the majority of our revenue comes directly from these local taxes. While the language by law says an increase of 19.875 it is actually a replacement and this is NOT an increase. This year, the district must renew our operating millage because the Headlee rollback has reduced our millage, potentially leading to significant impacts if we do not renew it this November.

The Headlee rollback occurs when the growth of existing property value exceeds the rate of inflation, which has been the case over the past few years. In November, New Buffalo Area Schools will have a ballot measure for the continuation of the 18-mill levy on business and non-residence, a practice in place since the 1990s. The ballot language will read as follows:

This proposal will allow the school district to levy the statutory rate of not to exceed

18 mills on all property, except principal residence and other property exempted by

law, required for the school district to receive its revenue per pupil foundation

allowance. The remaining 1.875 mills are only available to be levied to restore

millage lost as a reduction required by the "Headlee" amendment to the Michigan

Constitution of 1963 and will only be levied to the extent necessary to restore such

reductions.

Shall the limitation on the amount of taxes which may be assessed against all property, except

principal residence and other property exempted by law, in New Buffalo Area Schools, Berrien

County, Michigan, be increased by 19.875 mills ($19.875 on each $1,000 of taxable valuation) for a period of 6 years, 2025 to 2030, inclusive, to provide funds for operating purposes; the estimate of the revenue the school district will collect if the millage is approved and 0.2037 mill is levied in 2025 is approximately $196,276 and 18 mills are levied in 2026 is approximately

$18,548,151 (this would supplement and replace millage that will expire with the 2025 tax

levy).

Elementary kitchen remodel, cafeteria expansion, and BASE office addition is almost complete. We anticipate receiving occupancy for this space on August 16 The elementary kitchen was in its original form from 1974. The remodel of the kitchen required additional space which infringed upon the existing dining area; therefore additional dining space was needed. A small addition was added to accommodate the additional dining space along with the after school BASE office and freezer/cooler space. There will be a grand opening / ribbon cutting ceremony for everyone to view this space on Tuesday, August 27 at 5:45 PM.

Electronic key cards will be installed across the entire district to maintain our high priority on safety and security for students and staff. While we initially planned to complete this project before students returned in September, supply chain issues have caused delays. Consequently, we will need to continue the installation into the school year, but we expect the project to be fully completed by October.

Safety glass/film has been installed on every window in the district. Once again, this is to increase the safety and security for all of our students and staff members at New Buffalo Area Schools. Five Star Window Coatings was contracted to upgrade our glass throughout the district to increase safety throughout the district.

The interior and exterior camera system at the middle school and high school was upgraded over the summer. This system was over 10 years old and lacked coverage in many areas. In addition, cameras will be installed across the street at the basketball courts, tennis courts, football field, parking lots, pickleball courts and bus garage.

Over the past year we have been concentrating on improving drainage at the Middle School / High School building. As you know the building is located on Clay Street and does not percolate water very well at all. The lack of drainage wreaks havoc on our sidewalks and parking lots, especially in the winter months. Last year we added drains to the administration / student parking lot. Starting in August additional drainage systems will be installed in the middle school and high school entryways and will be tied into existing systems to funnel the water away from the building and parking lots. We tore out the circle drive at the middle school / high school and added drainage along with new asphalt and resurfacing the middle school parking lot.

The gold gym floor at the high school received a complete sand down this August. It now has new lines painted and fresh sealer installed.

Each building received carpet in 3 classrooms over the summer along with new carpet in the performing arts center.

The bus garage received a new interior paint job over the summer.

We also purchased a new bus and anticipate the arrival of this new bus in mid August. We will retire a bus that is starting to show engine problems and will be taking bids on selling the bus in the near future. In addition, we purchased a new Chrysler Pacifica van as well.

LED upgrades happened to the elementary gym and band room. There will continue to be a focus on upgrading all of our lighting systems to LED over the next few years.

The hallways at the elementary school had their 1954 skylights replaced. In the original wing of the elementary school these skylights are located in the hallways and classrooms. The skylights in the classroom will be replaced next summer.

Last summer we started replacing HVAC units at the elementary school. There were over 40 units to replace and some originate back to 2002. The bigger units were on backorder and finally were shipped and installed this summer to complete the project.

We are considering replacing two flat roofs at the middle school and high school, originally constructed in 2000, which are now leaking in several areas. At this stage, replacing the roofs is more cost-effective than continual patching. Additionally, in the next few years, we will need to replace the building's shingles. This will be a significant expense, so we are allocating funds now to cover the costs in the upcoming years.