This column, by LCS Superintendent Matt Wandrie, appeared in the November 17 Edition of the Lapeer County Press.

It has been two weeks since the Lapeer Community Schools 2019 bond proposal failed to achieve majority support in our community. I know many of you who are reading this are still disappointed in the result, and I share that sentiment. Even so, the result does not, in any way, change the way I feel about our decision to take this proposal to the community. I am incredibly proud of our process and the hundreds of people who took part in it. 

Moving forward, please understand that the status quo is a luxury we cannot afford in this district. We have difficult decisions to make. You can rest assured that decision of consequence will be measured against our commitment to making the most out of the resources that we have in order to deliver a quality product to our students and families.

One of the big questions we heard throughout our bond campaign went something like this: Given what we know about the history of school bonds in our district, what happens if it doesn’t pass? The answer has not changed: difficult decisions will have to be made. It is my job to ensure as many of those decisions as possible do not negatively impact that academic opportunities we offer our students. We know there are concerns in the community about our ability to keep and maintain the programs we currently offer given our current district structure. I want to assure you that I will do everything in my power to hold our students harmless. This has been my number one priority in the context of every major decision I’ve made in my nine years with the District. 

In the aftermath of the bond vote, the District’s administrative team immediately began developing a plan aimed at securing the long-term future of the District. There’s no time to waste on pointing fingers or pouting. We have a job to do and we are going to do it the best way we know how. 

As I told our staff last week, I believe it is better to put a flag in the ground and lose than to never stand for anything at all. We still believe that the students of this District deserve the highest-quality education that we can afford them. That is not going to change.