After voters last week failed to approve the school district’s request for an increase in annual per pupil operating revenue, Superintendent Ed Harris will be including in an upcoming newsletter a letter he hopes will put to rest some of the rumors and inaccurate speculation within the community.

Much of the forthcoming letter’s content was shared with students by staff in what Superintendent Harris said was an effort to accurately communicate what the future may hold for their school.

Harris first wants the community to know that Ogilvie Schools are not closing.

“We are staying open and will attempt to continue operating much like every other small school in the state for years to come even though we have significant financial concerns,” he writes.

Second, Harris does confirm that the district will have some serious budget and program decisions to make as a result of the vote on Nov. 3. Exactly what and when these decisions will be made is unclear.

Finally, Superintendent Harris stresses in his letter that there is “no active effort to consolidate as a result of the vote on Nov. 3.” While he does confirm that research has been done on some aspects of consolidation in response to inquiries from the community, Harris writes that at this time the study outcomes are for “informational purposes only.”

“No action has been taken, nor is any pending that will translate into the initiation of a consolidation process,” he writes.

Superintendent Harris goes on to explain that if consolidation were ever to be considered, the process takes years – not weeks and months.

Even then, the move would have to be approved by both communities.

Going forward, Superintendent Harris stresses the annual goal of the Ogilvie School Board and the district’s administration will continue to be an attempt to avoid Statutory Operating Debt while making every reasonable effort to preserve programming that is comparable/competitive to neighboring school districts until financial solutions can be realized that stabilize the general budget over time.

“The community should be very proud of the Ogilvie school district,” Harris writes. “The effort and care put forth every day by the adults translates into a nurturing environment with a personal touch where children can thrive in a way that is unique to smaller prekindergarten through 12th grade community schools.”