By Jim Wagner, Superintendent, KAHS
Good day Kimball. This week was the start of the new 2018-19 school year. The summer has once again flashed by to the point of making it hard to remember. The activities are already starting to compete this week and getting full swing into the season.
As I write this, it will be my last official update for the Kimball School District and the Kimball community. As I look back on the time I have spent in this community with my wife and family, I cannot thank the community enough for embracing them and allowing them to be a part of a truly special place. Many discussions were had over the last four years on a number of topics for the district and community. I feel that the school board and I have taken the approach to heart by listening to the community and the vision they have. I know that over the time I have been here, I didn’t always make the right decisions for everyone to support, but I just want everyone to know that I always tried to be true to the community and to myself in trying to provide the best situation for students who come through the doors and for the Kimball School District. Having my own kids being in the school system kept me true to the idea that I would never put anyone’s children through anything I would not put my own kids through.
Over the last four years, the biggest accomplishment of the school district and the board is having increased enrollment for five consecutive years. This stopped the trend of nine years of consecutive declining enrollment. This change occurred by staff and community embracing and talking about the good things that occur in Kimball, as well as expanding our programs to show the accomplishments of the students. Both buildings have continued to increase their test scores to the point that both are consistently above state average. This is an expectation now and not just hoping for it to happen. The school district now has been out of the “statutory operating debt” status for three consecutive years. This fall, our wood shop room will be equipped with a new ventilation system allowing for two separate classrooms to have metals in one area and wood working in a separate area.
These are just a small fraction of things the staff and community have accomplished and embraced over the short time I have been here. I want to thank everyone for raising the expectations of what we can accomplish together. The big thing to remember is to look at limitations not as road blocks, but rather the challenge to build a bridge over, or an alternate route that makes more sense. In all of my years working in education, limitations are controlled by the mind and age. We always need to try and think on how we overcome limitations. We need to think outside the box, and if thinking outside the box is too difficult, then make the box bigger. I wish Kimball nothing but the best now and forever. Go Cubs!