In stressful times, we are often faced with difficult decisions. Sometimes the choices are not good, but we still try to make the wisest decisions possible.

I have found that often the best solutions are those that solve multiple issues or concerns at the same time.

Being an avid bird-watcher, whose stone throwing prowess was never fully developed, I prefer to call this “feeding two birds with one hand.”

The financial crisis in which our state and country finds itself has adversely affected our community and our children. These are the times in which one of the most endearing characteristics of Lake County shines through – we have an unbelievable capacity and willingness to help out one another.

When one organization suffers from the effects of financial distress, another organization or group of individuals comes to the rescue to continue programs that are essential to the health well-being of our citizens. We must work together and “feed as many birds as possible” with an open hand.

It is incumbent upon our school system to provide a safe environment that promotes academic success and physical health. Like many other state-funded entities, schools will be faced with severe budget cuts again next year. Nonetheless, our plan is to continue to provide the wide variety of programs our children deserve.

We will continue to offer music, performing arts, and athletics in the Konocti Unified School District.

We will continue to provide healthy, warm meals served by a caring staff who know our students’ nutritional needs.

We will continue to provide a full spectrum of vocational training programs at our high schools.

We will continue to offer advanced placement classes, the Academic Decathlon, and foreign language classes.

As we begin to hear the depressing news from other school districts around the state, Lake County’s schools will survive and thrive because we know that the best decisions require us to support one another.

In the Konocti Unified School District for example, we have determined that an excellent way to help balance our budget combines decreasing operating costs while concurrently reducing our impact on the environment and teaching students a more environmentally friendly way to live.

In the short term, we will do this by instituting intensive, systemized efforts to recycle and reduce waste. This new program will require greater participation by students, staff, and the community to maintain high standards for cleanliness and respect for our campuses.

We will shut down our heating and air units and water heaters when facilities are not in use. We will make a concerted effort to reduce electrical use in every classroom. In the long term, we are intensifying our efforts to explore solar options and other methods to reduce fuel costs.

Another important component of our budget-balancing plan is to ask the cooperation of parents, guardians and other caregivers to do whatever possible to send their children to school every day.

Research has shown that a student who misses 10 days of school per year or more will be behind the rest of the year and will have difficulty making up the gaps in knowledge. Sixth graders who miss more than 20 percent of their school year are nearly guaranteed to drop out of high school. So, sending your children to school every day ensures that they will be able to maintain their academic growth.

In addition, our programs are funded through attendance. The more the students attend, the more the schools can provide. Now that’s a classic example of feeding “two birds with one hand!”

Obviously these are only a few of the methods that we plan to utilize to balance our budget and cover the hundreds of thousands of dollars of cuts needed in the Konocti Unified School District alone. But, they do show how we are connected and how we can work together to reduce costs, increase revenue, and provide the programs for our kids that other communities have lost many budget cuts ago.

So please support your schools’ efforts to balance the budget, send your children to school, and attend our fundraising events. Your schools, in turn, will support a healthy community of children.

Dr. William R. MacDougall, Ed.D., is superintendent of the Konocti Unified School District, based in Lower Lake, Calif.