Change is Coming--Slowly

Big day in the Arizona Conference. It was my first big meeting since I got here. It's not the first "big" meeting, but the first meeting where the agenda called for serious engagement and discussion.
In brief, the stage was set for a complete overhaul of the educational system in Arizona. Today was the first baby step--an important first step. Thunderbird Adventist Academy is the flagship school for the Arizona Conference. It has a long and storied history. But times have been tough for the last three or four year particularly. The school seemed to have weathered the worst of its financial and enrollment woes in the middle of the present decade. Nonetheless, the economy took a serious turn for the worse about three years ago and the State of Arizona did not escape.
The academy was hit hard and some very tough decisions were made in order to keep the school viable. In spite of recent trends, the school entered the summer with high hopes for the new school year. The optimism did not match the reality that struck the school on registration day and into the beginning of the school year. Having budgeted for 128 high school students, presently there are only 114, with two new students having enrolled in the past two days.
The shortfall translates into a budget deficit of over $270,000. Talk of cutbacks and reductions in force have been heard. There was an underlying sense of foreboding. While no one was standing pat there did not seem to be a solution that would rescue the school from its present state of affairs. One thing was certain; it was going to take quick and decisive intervention before the situation deteriorated further.
Today's Education Board was the culmination of some very serious discussions ranging from slashing tuition for all students to raising the $250,000 needed to ride out the storm. In the end it was voted that the conference would make available up to $80,000 of scholarships ($2000 for day students and $3000 for dorm students) to match up with locally raised funds to provide additional assistance for students around the conference. The numbers needed to meet budget are 22 dorms students or 36 village students. It is not an easy trail that lies ahead.
All pastors are being summoned on Monday night to be enlisted into a task that will require every conference stakeholder. There is a sense of excitement mixed with a healthy serving of anxiety. But there is movement. Although I readily admit the change was neither as much or as rapid as I would have hoped for, it is a beginning. The work, in earnest, begins immediately. This small step will bide the system some time to shift the entire paradigm. There are two more committees that will have to ratify today's decision this coming week, but I am ready to push the agenda because the stakes are high.
I am looking forward to seeing how God continues to move in Arizona. There is never a dull moment when God is leading. I may not be totally ready, but I am willing. Pray for the children.