Superintendent Burmeister’s First 100 Days
Hello Fremont Unified!
This week, I reached a significant personal milestone: my 100th day as your superintendent. I couldn’t think of a better place to celebrate than Mrs. Helm’s kindergarten class at Leitch Elementary! I chose a kindergarten class because commemorating the 100th day of school is a well-loved tradition in kindergarten classrooms nationwide. On that 100th day of school, students will celebrate their often new-found ability to count to 100 by decorating a 100-day crown and celebrating all things in groups of 100. I got to step back into the world of Kindergarten–and it was a blast!
As I reflect on my first 100 days, what first comes to mind is the many strengths Fremont Unified has going for it. The first is our staff. I have had the privilege of visiting about 30 of our school sites, with my goal to visit all 41 by December. In each case, I have been so impressed by the level of student engagement, the creativity of the instruction, the commitment of our site leaders, and the teamwork exhibited by our teachers and staff. I’m truly honored to serve those who have chosen a career in growing the minds and hearts of Fremont’s youth.
I’ve also grown to respect the resilience of FUSD. I’m inspired by the many times this district and community have faced challenges and have persevered. As a significantly underfunded district that is neither too rich nor too poor to get needed additional state resources, FUSD continues to provide an incredible educational value for the relatively small amount of money it receives from the state. Knowing Bay Area districts as I do, I can attest that FUSD accomplishes much more with much less than most. Further, it never ceases to amaze me how many administrators, teachers, and support staff grew up in Fremont, graduated from FUSD, and returned to Fremont to give back. The sense of pride of place and connection to the community is truly inspiring–and rare in the Bay Area. And only because my list is getting so long, I will conclude my examples of strengths by saying how impressed I am by each school's unique personality and identity; it’s exciting to see a nice balance of autonomy and coherence alive and well in Fremont.
In my first 100 days, I have also seen those places where our leadership team will need to focus our energies to secure Fremont Unified's success in the future. The first and most obvious challenge is our budget. As we have communicated for the last several months, with the ending of one-time pandemic funding, declining enrollment, and increasing costs, Fremont faces a $30 million structural deficit. Once we address the immediate need to balance the budget, we must consider additional funding streams where possible. The expiration of the small and sole FUSD parcel tax in June is a clarion call to further invest in the education of our community’s children–now and in the future. Additionally, we need to consider how philanthropic dollars might help secure funding for programs we value.
Funding is closely tied to our ability to recruit and retain well-trained, committed staff who can afford to work in and live near Fremont. As it stands, Fremont struggles to compete with other Bay Area districts that can pay more and provide medical benefits, which Fremont doesn’t provide.
As the 24th largest district in the state, with 33,000 students at 41 schools, it’s sometimes difficult for families and staff to navigate such a large organization and understand how to get the desired information and response. As such, we are working to shift our practices to be more responsive to the needs of our students, staff, and parents. We’re big, but we can be more nimble.
100 days in, and I am as impressed and hopeful as I was on the first day I started. Thank you to everyone who has welcomed me to the District, invited me to your classrooms and offices, and joined me in partnership to serve our students. I look forward to connecting with more of you as the days go on and working together to keep Fremont Unified an outstanding place to learn, work, and hang out with the coolest kids around! And thank you, Mrs. Helm’s class, for reminding me of why we do what we do!
Sincerely,
Erik
Superintendent Burmeister