The Dexter Leader
A Heritage Newspaper
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LaFerle oversees district's buildings and grounds
By Sean Dalton, Staff Writer
PUBLISHED: March 27, 2008
A $28 million budget may sound like an awful lot of money to run a small school district for one year.
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But to Dexter Community Schools (and most other districts), it's just enough to pay for high-quality teachers, administrators and support personnel who will turn out a crop of high-quality graduates this year alone (never mind next year).
With about 90 percent of the school district's budget feeding into those salaries and benefits, guys like Dave LaFerle come in handy.
LaFerle serves as the district's interim director of building and grounds, which means he has to work within the boundaries of a $2.3 million departmental budget.
If you're not uncomfortable with the temperature in a building, not tripping on a sidewalk or not being accosted by a critter hiding in grass needing to be mowed, you can thank Dave LaFerle.
"My job is to oversee the buildings and grounds, and make sure that we're providing a safe, clean and healthy environment for the students, staff and any visitors," LaFerle said.
"Primarily I make sure that all of the equipment is maintained and kept in good repair."
He was brought on board last September when Don Price retired from the post.
Assistant Superintendent Mary Marshall certainly is impressed.
"I really like that he brings experience from another district doing the same job, so he is a great source of comparison for us," Marshall said.
LaFerle retired after spending 28 years with Clawson Public Schools in Oakland County. He is currently with Dexter Community Schools on a one-year contract until June.
Marshall says the reason she would like to bring him into the district long-term is how he has managed taxpayers' money.
"His fiscal responsibility is amazing - it's allowed us to use the money in different ways," Marshall said.
"He is also extremely collaborative in working with principals, directors and staff."
One byproduct of LaFerle's management is the district's ability to purchase two new trucks this year, which will kick-start a replacement cycle for a half-dozen old snow removal and utility trucks, many of which are on their last wheels, according to Marshall.
"The reason Dave saves us money is that he has such a personal level of knowledge of the system that he is working with and he can troubleshoot what is going on," she explained.
"We had three trucks down at once in January ... you have got to have everything cleared away before school gets going," Marshall said.
Dirty elbows and a down-to-earth attitude were instilled during his long career at Clawson, Oakland County's smallest school district with just 1,200 students total.
As someone on the outside looking in, LaFerle says Dexter is pretty lucky to be where it is as a community and as a school district.
"At one point (Clawson) was caught in a baby boom and it was a very nice place to raise a family and the schools were doing really well," he said.
Unfortunately the baby boomers graduated and settled in and no new families moved in, he said, meaning stagnant or shrinking pupil counts - bad news for a district's state funding.
"What's nice about this district, which is kind of unusual, is that it's increasing in size," LaFerle said.
"There's a lot of room to build out here, so there's no reason (Dexter) couldn't continue to grow."
He's also interested in the May 6 election which would provide $47.8 million in bond money by renewing existing millage levied for needed maintenance work and improvements.
"Bonds are always important," LaFerle said. "If we're going to spend all this money (on schools), how are you going to protect your investment?"
One of the good things about being building and maintenance director is having adequate staff and funding, according to LaFerle, who was working in Clawson in 1998 when they passed a $34 million renovation bond.
Dexter would have to hire LaFerle on a limited contract, because he's collecting a pension from another public school system.
His contract will be up for review this summer.
"I enjoyed my brief stay here," he said. "I like the people and I like the district."
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