The Pasco School Board of Directors told Superintendent Whitney on Tuesday to pursue a targeted “tune up” of the district’s strategic improvement plan rather than a full rebuild, citing financial volatility and existing stakeholder work.

Superintendent Whitney said the tune up will use MTSS needs-assessment results, an implementation fidelity rubric, recommendations from a third-party review by AIR, academic and social-emotional data, and a 2023–24 listening tour to refine metrics and realign the plan. She told the board she will design a timeline that identifies interim deliverables and expects the full tune up to be presented for board approval by June 2026.

The board’s direction matters because a full-scale redesign would typically require an outside consultant and cost “anywhere between $20,000 and $60,000,” Whitney said, and could produce a reactive document if undertaken during budget uncertainty. Whitney said the district’s strategic plan was adopted in 2020, resumed in 2021 after pandemic delays, and runs on a five-year cycle with the current year intended as a “land and replan” year.

Board members who spoke during the regular meeting reiterated that they had reviewed MTSS needs-assessment data at the Sept. 9 study session and supported proceeding with a refresh instead of a rebuild. Dr. Kennedy asked for confirmation that the board’s prior study-session guidance should become a public record; Whitney said she would return with a timeline and regular updates in board meetings or study sessions between now and June.

Whitney described the district’s “outrageous outcomes” that frame the plan—reading on grade level, math success by the end of ninth grade, on-track graduation metrics, graduating with a career pathway, and students having meaningful connections and hope—and said those would remain the plan’s anchor during the tune up. She also said operational and evaluation policies (including board progress-monitoring reports and superintendent-evaluation policy) will inform which benchmark metrics are refined.

The action taken at the meeting was a board-level confirmation of direction rather than a formal vote. Whitney will bring a detailed timeline, interim deliverables, and progress reports back to the board as staff execute the tune up.

“We landed on a tune up instead of a rebuild,” Whitney said during her presentation. “I will design and develop a clear timeline for the process that identifies some interim deliverables that results in a complete tune up being done and approved by June 2026.”

Board members emphasized opportunities for continued stakeholder engagement; Whitney said she plans another superintendent listening tour this year and will integrate staff, community, and student input into the refresh.