By Dave Fidlin
Correspondent
With the hopes of plotting out the district’s long-term future, Waterford Graded school officials are about to embark on an intensive strategic planning process.
The full scope of the effort will be fleshed out in greater detail in the months ahead, but the WGSD board laid the foundation Oct. 26, when board members voted to enter into a $10,000 contract with the Wisconsin Association of School Boards.
WASB will assist Waterford Graded’s board and administrators in planning the logistics of the strategic planning. Steps could include an assessment of what is and is not working seamlessly in the district.
Other processes could involve an analysis of the district’s current facilities and financial forecasting.
Louis Birchbauer, a consultant with WASB, came before the School Board during a special meeting Oct. 6 to discuss how the organization recommends officials proceed with the long-range planning.
“The goal is to take the opportunity to do an analysis of what is currently happening in your school district,” Birchbauer said.
At a minimum, the scope of the long-range planning effort is expected to span five years.
The strategic planning exercise itself, at minimum, will encompass six months of work. In his initial pitch to the School Board in early October, Birchbauer frequently emphasized the process should extend beyond WASB and WGSD’s School Board and administrators.
Birchbauer suggested – and the School Board agreed – teachers, faculty, parents and other community members should also be part of the long-range planning effort.
One tangible way of achieving this objective is an online survey that will gauge respondents’ feelings of Waterford Graded’s schools and overall teaching climate. Depending upon the depth, Birchbauer said a respondent would likely devote between 15 and 35 minutes to the survey.
The issue of transparency throughout the strategic planning exercise also was discussed during the conceptual meeting in early October. Birchbauer said data should be meticulously collected and shared freely with the community.
“You are in a very open, microscopic environment,” he said.
Speaking to the issue Oct. 26, board member Matt Kranich said he believed the $10,000 expenditure toward WASB’s guidance would well serve the district.
“WASB has helped our district on many fronts,” Kranich said. “I think we’ll benefit from their expertise.”
Fellow board member Tom Hoffman said he was optimistic the strategic planning exercise will bear fruitful results.
“I think this will help focus our efforts,” Hoffman said. “Hopefully, we’ll hear from community members … and get everybody involved so we can help shape the future of our district.”
More specific details about the strategic planning process will be unveiled in the months ahead.
WASB’s consultation work with school districts has hit close to home. The organization was recently involved in a similar effort with the Burlington Area School District.
In Burlington, Birchbauer said officials were specifically interested in long-range planning, relevant to co-curricular activities, how the applied arts can be enhanced across the district and an assortment of facilities-related issues.
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