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Superintendent previews Nov. 4 sinking-fund millage, reports enrollment uptick and extracurricular wins
Summary
Superintendent updated the board on voter outreach for a Nov. 4 sinking-fund millage, reported the district’s first enrollment stabilization and slight increase in five years, proposed a small stipend to revive esports coaching, and praised recent band and athletics achievements.
At Tuesday’s board meeting the Dowagiac Union School District superintendent outlined public outreach ahead of a sinking-fund millage on the Nov. 4 ballot, reported that fall enrollment has stabilized for the first time in five years and described plans to support extracurricular programs.
The superintendent said the district is producing and distributing materials about the sinking-fund proposal and urged the community to review the informational sheet the district prepared. Staff are also releasing smaller, shareable social-media factsheets to explain the measure and encourage turnout.
On enrollment, district leaders said last year’s student-count day recorded about 1,806 students; current projections presented in the meeting estimate the fall enrollment at roughly 1,817–1,820 students pending final reporting. The superintendent described this as the first stabilization or small uptick in several years; no single cause was given.
The superintendent also proposed posting a 1.5% stipend on base salary to secure a coach for an esports program that previously operated as a volunteer-run combined middle- and high-school team; staff said the stipend would likely total in the low thousands of dollars for the coach position. Board members generally expressed support for efforts to expand extracurricular opportunities.
Extracurricular highlights included a Division I band rating at a recent competition and several individual athletic recognitions across football, cross country, soccer, golf and other fall sports. The superintendent thanked staff filling a principal vacancy at one building and noted parent-teacher conference schedules for elementary schools this week.
What’s next: The district will continue outreach about the sinking-fund millage ahead of Nov. 4, finalize fall enrollment counts with state reporting, and post the esports stipend position to seek a coach.
