• The next few years will bring significant and exciting changes in Utica Community Schools.

    One of the largest and most visible changes has its roots in the $550 million safety and success bond issue that voters approved in May.

    Over the next several years, UCS buildings will undergo significant improvements that will benefit this community for generations to come.

    Since the adoption of the bond issue, we have been planning the projects that will represent the first $130 million phase of this package. We are continuing this work and will share information on the projects as we move closer to the summer construction season.

    The focus of the first set of projects has safety as the centerpiece. In addition, given the wide support of the issue, we are also pursuing highly visible projects that were important to our community as we created the project lists.

    It is a much needed and significant change, but one that also will require some flexibility as we balance construction and the day-to-day teaching and learning. For some communities, this may require a temporary relocation to other facilities so we can safely make the necessary improvements. We are fortunate to have an existing resource – Rose Kidd Elementary – to help us with these transitions.

    For impacted communities, we will need to work together closely with our eyes always on the prize – safe learning environments that will allow our teachers to do what they do best by empowering our students. These improvements will establish a legacy that will benefit generations for years to come.

    And while our facilities will look different at the end, we will never lose the pieces that make Utica Community Schools the community it is: exemplary teaching and learning; the positive relationships that are formed every day in our schools; the pride, care and concern that are at the center of our collaborative work; and the environment that is created by a community that is always working towards something greater.

    Robert S. Monroe

    Superintendent of Schools

     

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