Even with challenges: East China is great!

I can remember when I took office a little over four years ago there was an article (2011) that painted a grim picture for the East China School District. I was critical of the difference between Marine City and St Clair scores/programming and as you know Marine City was brought up to St Clair's excellence. (St Clair improved as well!)

MCHS and SCHS are the top in the county for college attendance. Please read the article here

"A breakdown of the college-going data across districts showed East China School District with the highest rates — 76 percent of Marine City High School and 74 percent of St. Clair High School graduates went on to attend college last year."-Times Herald

Graph in 2011 Times Herald Article

We are the EAST CHINA school district and this improvement really helped mend both sides of our district.

With bold leadership in our curriculum department, coupled with accountability measures we are now the first and second in the county with regard to sending students to college! This remarkable turnaround is a testament to each and every staff member in the district.

I will say one thing: I do not place much stock in test scores, but when it comes to students going to college and actually completing it, East China leads the way in St Clair County.

Article in the Times Herald (February 2011)

We have met challenges in the past with bold leadership and came through. Now, again, we face a different challenge. We face a gaping budget deficit that must be dealt with.

Arguably it is one of the largest challenges our district has ever faced. We have kicked the can down the road for years and the time is now for us to act and finally balance the budget and get it back on track. We can sit here and feel sorry for ourselves, or we can act and move forward.

Some people ask me: why are you still fighting? What is the point? My answer is simple. I am fighting for the above reason. The fact that we overcame that enormous challenge of matching scores and exceeding expectations shows that we can do it. We are the leaders in St Clair County and will continue to be.

I am fighting for East China because if not us, who? If not now, when?-For the sake of our children and future generations, we must fight.

It's not going to be easy. In fact it's going to be tough, but we can do it. The East China School District's best days are ahead of us. When I have children coming through this great system of ours, we are going to look back and laugh at the declining enrollment issues as it will be exploding with endless growth in enrollment. The economy will be flourishing and the state will stop stealing school aid funding for the general fund.

We need bold leadership. Now is not a time for the faint of heart. Tough decisions need to be made, now it's just a matter of doing it.

I look forward to continuing to serve you and East China is awesome!