A New Bloomfield School District Board of Education forum targeting residents of the district who don't have children attending the district is planned next week.
The "Chalkboards to Smart Boards" event will begin at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday in the New Bloomfield High School Gymnasium. After the presentation, a dessert reception will be in the high school cafeteria.
Gracia Backer, president of the New Bloomfield Board of Education, said the forum is designed to provide information about the district to patrons who do not have children currently attending the school.
"If I were not a member of the school board," she said, "I wouldn't know what's going on at the school. We wanted to have an opportunity to talk with people who don't have children in school now. It's not a gimmick. We have no ulterior motive. We have accomplished a lot in the last two years and we want them to know about it. Our student test scores have increased and we have added more technology to the classrooms."
In order to invite residents of the district who don't currently have children in school, board members made an informal list of names. They also went through the district's voter registration list to send 350 letters inviting individuals to the event.
"Our purpose is to showcase our school facilities, administration, and students. We have wonderful facilities. Some of our students are taking courses that will give them college credits before they get to college. One student graduate had already accumulated 20 hours of college credit," Backer said.
The theme of the event is "Chalkboards to Smart Boards."
"We have a lot more technology today. We will demonstrate a Smart Board during the event," Backer said.
During the presentation, New Bloomfield Superintendent David Tramel will discuss accomplishments of the school district.
"We will outline the basics, including school finances and sources of money to finance the district," Backer said. "Some people have asked why the money to build the ballfield didn't go to teachers. That money came from a bond issue earmarked for specific projects and bond issue money cannot be used for operational expenses."