July 7, 2017
Dear CH-UH School Community,
Let me be upfront with the purpose of this letter: I am recommending to the Board of Education that we maintain our current path of modest renovations for “6-7-8” buildings at Monticello and Roxboro.
It is obvious we have a community that is very passionate and engaged in the future of our public school system. Many of you reached out to the District over the past several weeks to express your thoughts about our middle school renovations. The overwhelming majority of the feedback we received was supportive of staying the course.
This is what voters passed in 2013, and this is what is most financially prudent given the budget that remains for the completion of Phase 1 of our Master Facilities Plan.
I still believe that the “5-6/7-8” configuration would be beneficial for our District, but that model can be explored down the road as we consider Phase 2 of the plan. In the short term, this type of change is just not feasible.
When our Educational Services team presented the grade configuration recommendation in April, the Board was supportive of the new model but asked that we go back and investigate it further to determine the cost and feasibility of implementing it within our proposed two-year timeline.
After concluding this investigation, and in light of the community input we received, it’s obvious that continuing on the current path is in the best interest of the school district and the community at large.
Regardless the configuration, our staff remains focused on providing an excellent education for each and every student. Next month, our high schoolers will be in a newly-renovated and modernized building, our middle schoolers will come together on one IB-authorized campus, and our youngest students will be starting their journey as members of Tiger Nation.
I want to thank the Board for considering the recommendation and engaging with the community to determine the best path forward for our District. Collaboration among administration, Board members, and the entire school community is integral to the success and longterm stability of the organization.
I believe I can speak for our staff and our students when I say we truly appreciate the passion and support that this community has for CH-UH Schools.
Dr. Talisa Dixon
Superintendent, CH-UH City School District