By David Hill, Gladbrook-Reinbeck Superintendent I am pleased to introduce myself as the new superintendent of the Gladbrook-Reinbeck Community School District. I want to thank the school board for their confidence in me, and the staff and community for their warm welcome. In my short time at G-R, I’ve already seen a great deal of evidence which confirms that G-R is a GREAT place to work and learn. I was recently asked by one of the local papers if I would write an article introducing myself to the school community. The paper asked for some background on their new superintendent, and perhaps a summary of the career path I have chosen which has led toward my becoming the superintendent at Gladbrook-Reinbeck while continuing as superintendent at North Tama. While I will be glad to provide an article with this information in the near future, another high-priority issue has come up recently which I feel that I must first address for the patrons Gladbrook-Reinbeck. In recent days, I’ve been asked numerous times about the financial stability of the school district. Simply put, people are asking me, “Financially, how many years does Gladbrook-Reinbeck have left?” Some have even stated that they’ve heard the district can only exist for another 3 or 4 years and have asked for me to confirm or deny this. I want to make it perfectly clear: Gladbrook-Reinbeck can and will remain financially viable FOR MANY YEARS TO COME as long as there is a collective desire among the school board and school community to make this happen. That’s the simple answer, “in laymen’s terms” as they say. Now, I’ll explain the reasoning behind my thinking and provide some background on why some people have expressed concern. In April, noted Iowa school finance expert Gary Sinclair of the Iowa Association of School Boards (IASB) presented 5-year financial projections to the G-R board of education. While I had not yet started as the G-R superintendent at this time, I attended this meeting and saw the exact same information that the board received. The number one financial indicator that school districts with declining enrollment need to watch is their Unspent Authorized Budget, abbreviated as UAB. UAB represents the district’s legal authority to spend. Districts with a negative UAB must have a “work-out plan” approved by Iowa’s School Budget Review Committee. Schools that are unable to successfully work out of a negative UAB are sometimes dissolved by the state. This explains why UAB is the key factor in a district’s financial viability. Gary Sinclair’s report to the board in April included some projections on the district’s UAB which were based on the best information available to the district at the time. For optimum financial health, the IASB recommends districts maintain a UAB ratio between 5% and 15%. UAB ratio is calculated by taking the UAB divided by that year’s Maximum Authorized budget. G-R’s UAB ratio was well within the recommended range (12.4%) at the end of fiscal year 2015. According to Gary Sinclair’s April projection, the UAB ratio is projected to decline to about 7.5% by the end of fiscal year 2020. While this declining ratio is a concern, the projected ratio still falls within the range recommended by IASB. It is appropriate for me to mention at this point that the district was blessed to have received a major estate gift in the amount of $438,000 during the 2016 fiscal year. To date, about $20,000 of this gift has been spent by the district. If the district had not received this estate gift, the UAB ratio projection would likely fall below the IASB’s recommended range four years from now.  Keep in mind that the whole purpose of these projections is NOT to tell us when the district will be in financial trouble; rather, it is to PREVENT that from happening by providing a warning to the district along with time to adjust. Knowing that our spending authority is likely to decline will help the school board make informed decisions to secure the long-term financial viability of the district.  Looking ahead 5 years gives us time to make adjustments now to ensure the district’s viability. This means we can implement cost-saving measures and take other actions this year, next year, and in the following years which will positively affect the district’s outlook well into the future. For the past eleven years, I served as an administrator in school districts with declining enrollment. Based on my experience as well as the information provided by IASB’s Gary Sinclair, my honest belief is that as long as there is a collective desire among the school board and school community to make it happen, the Gladbrook-Reinbeck Community School District will be able to maintain its financial viability for many years to come. I’m proud to be your superintendent and excited to have the opportunity to provide leadership as we work together to ensure a GReat education for students in the G-R district – now, and in the future.