From the introduction and subsequent failure of Proposition Y, the tax levy the district attempted to pass, to new attempts at passing a similar tax levy, and from Pam Sloan’s announcement that she will be retiring at the end of the 2016 school year, to the ensuing search for a suitable replacement, the FHSD school board faces some difficult decisions that will shape the future of the district for the foreseeable future.

Superintendent Search

With first semester of school drawing to a close, the school board is focusing much of their attention on finding a suitable replacement for Pam Sloan. They are not undertaking this endeavor alone, having selected a superintendent search firm to help: McPherson and Jacobson.

“They were really the best choice,” school board member Rene Cope said.  “They weren’t the cheapest, but they also weren’t the most expensive. They have a good reputation. We got in contact with the last school district they worked with, and they had a really good experience with them. They have promised to do a lot of out-reach to the community, which is really important to us, so we figured that they were the best option for the district right now.”

McPherson and Jacobson is holding meetings with students, parents, teachers and community members around FHSD to see what kind of superintendent is the best fit for the district.

A New Prop Y

FHSD’s last attempt to pass a tax levy, Proposition Y, came to an end when voters cast it down on a two-to-one vote. However, the district is still in need of additional capital, so is looking to implement a new levy in the coming year.

“I think a lot of people just don’t understand why it’s so important,” school board member Sandra Ferguson said. “We have lots of money, but it also takes a lot of money to run a school district. We don’t want to have to cut things, or not implement new things, but legally, there is a point at which our budget becomes unmanageable. If we dip below a certain spending-to-budget threshold, we can become unaccredited as a district.”

While an exact time-line and amount have yet to be set for this new levy, school board members are hopeful, if a bit apprehensive about the new levy’s chances.

“I do worry that people won’t be able to distinguish between Prop Y and this new levy,” Cope said. “I think we can definitely learn from our mistakes though. We think we know what we did wrong first time, so we won’t make the same mistakes this time around.”