Dave Rabbideau

Alpena Public Schools is looking into the future and reimagining what education could, and should, look like over the next decade. This long-term planning effort is grounded in our strategic plan and guided by the trends and realities we face as a district. Most importantly, it will be shaped by the voices of those who know our community best: students, families, educators, staff, and local residents.

I believe it was physicist Niels Bohr who is credited with saying, “Prediction is very difficult, especially about the future.” It’s a humorous reminder not to get too confident about what’s coming. Still, when we pay close attention to where we’ve been and where we are, we can start to make informed plans for the future.

A look back

APS became Michigan’s first county-wide school district in 1963, serving just under 7,000 students. Enrollment peaked in 1973 with 9,282 students, a 25% increase in just 10 years. Since that peak, our enrollment has declined decade to decade, bringing us to 3,572 students today, about 40% of our high point more than 50 years ago.

At one time, APS operated 20 school buildings. Twelve school buildings have since closed, 10 permanently, and two (Sunset and Gordon Elementary) have been repurposed. These changes reflect decades of shifting population patterns across our district.

What makes Alpena unique isn’t just our history — it’s also our geography. Our district spans 604 square miles, making us the eighth-largest school district by area in Michigan. To put that into perspective, one suburban district near Detroit operates 22 schools across just 66 square miles — roughly one building every three miles. APS, by contrast, now operates one building for every 67 square miles.

That size has real implications. APS buses travel over 3,000 miles every school day to transport around 1,600 students. Our longest student route is an hour and 40 minutes each way. Transportation costs roughly $2.5 million annually, 8% of our total operating budget. That’s about 75% of the combined transportation budgets of the seven geographically larger districts in the state.

A look forward

One of the goals in our Strategic Plan is Stewardship, the responsibility to design and deliver long-term, sustainable plans for both instruction and infrastructure. That means ensuring high-quality learning opportunities while also preparing for the realities of declining enrollment and the unique demands of serving such a large geographic area.

Thanks to years of careful financial management, Alpena Public Schools is in a strong, stable position. That stability gives us a rare opportunity to think big, involve the community in meaningful ways, and plan for the future without the urgent financial pressures we’ve faced at other times in our history.

To help lead this work, the APS Board of Education recently partnered with Kingscott and Associates, a firm with expertise in school architecture, engineering, and design, and Clark Construction. Kingscott has already begun work, meeting with district leaders and touring facilities to gather data and insights.

Your voice matters

Over the coming months, we’ll invite students, families, staff, and community members to share their ideas and priorities through a series of public input sessions. These conversations will help shape the path forward, not just for our schools, but for the future of our community.

Alpena Public Schools has a proud tradition of service to students and families. With your help, we can build on that tradition to create a future that meets the needs of our children, honors our community’s values, and adapts to the changing world around us.

We hope you’ll be part of this important process. The future of Alpena Public Schools begins with you.

Dave Rabbideau, Ph.D., is the superintendent of Alpena Public Schools, a Rotary Club member, and an active community volunteer. He and his wife, an APS educator, have five children–one graduate, one soon to graduate, and three still in the district. They’ve witnessed firsthand the dedication of APS staff and the great opportunities for students. Outside work, Dave is a back-to-back Alpena Men’s Hockey League champion and a seasoned off-ice leadership expert, known for knowing when to step off the ice and support his team from the bench.