Fireworks and other pyrotechnics.....

I hope everyone enjoyed their Fourth of July celebration and reflected on how truly lucky we are to live in this great country.

At HUSD, we continue to work hard on maintaining programs for the coming year. Even though we are facing about $3 million dollars less in revenue this coming year, over what we are due, we are committed to keeping programs open and active.

Our sports programs are all in tact and our arts program is even more vibrant than it was a few years ago. Mr. Macon is returning to his "retirement" job as band teacher at the middle school and all other arts programs are continuing.

We have not had to lay off teachers due to retirements and other natural staff changes. We are, however, increasing class sizes. This is so all of our "optional" programs that we know are great for kids, can continue. Also, at this point, we are keeping our school year at 180 days. You will notice that many districts are reducing the school year by up to five days.

With the state budget up in the air, it's hard to predict how long we can keep all of our programs going as they are now. We are working hard to live within what they give us, but as education seems to not be a high priority for the state right now, it's hard to know what the future might bring.

Fortunately, we have a great community that understands and appreciates the hard work our teachers and staff do. Together we'll weather out this economic storm.