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Leonia board says strategic plan is a ‘skeleton’; public calls for timelines and accountability
Summary
Residents pushed the Leonia Public Schools Board for clearer timetables and named responsibility for the district's new strategic plan; the board said a public dashboard with timelines and position-level responsibilities is forthcoming.
The Leonia Public Schools Board of Education heard public criticism and asked for more implementation detail Wednesday after the district released a multi-page strategic plan without explicit timelines.
A resident, Arthur Shea, 125 Reldis, told the board the plan lacked completion timetables and named accountability: “It seems like ... I didn't see that noted how as a as a target to how can you get there,” Shea said during public comment. He urged the district to add deadlines and a named lead for each objective.
The concern prompted multiple board members and acting Superintendent Dr. Karamanos to explain the document on the agenda is the plan's framework and that a more detailed, public-facing dashboard will break objectives into steps, assign responsibility by position and include monitoring indicators. Dr. Karamanos said the dashboard will show the “timeline of expectations and then who is also responsible by position.”
Board members said the strategic plan is intended to be a living document. Vice President Melman and other committee members said monthly committee meetings now incorporate strategic-plan progress so the items will be discussed regularly and the board's policies and operations can be aligned to the plan. “This is what is going to guide us with every decision moving forward,” President Lee said, describing the plan as the district's roadmap.
Discussion-only items included citizen calls for more explicit deadlines, staffing or a designated project manager to "honcho" implementation, and comparison to neighboring districts' compensation and staffing as a barrier to recruiting and retention. The board did not adopt any new policy or motion at the meeting to change the plan; members said follow-up details will be provided when the dashboard is ready.
The board and superintendent said they reviewed models used by neighboring districts and will incorporate more detailed sub-steps into the online platform; no state-required checklist exists for strategic plans, the superintendent said.
Board members, staff and residents will continue to discuss the timeline and monitoring during committee meetings and subsequent board agendas.
