Master facilities representatives told the Lakota Local Board of Education on Sept. 2 that the district is expanding public outreach and adjusting communications for the Building Our Future facilities plan after several community meetings produced detailed questions and some heated exchanges.

Staff said they are holding multiple informational sessions for building staff, parents and community groups, and are experimenting with additional formats such as recorded Facebook sessions and Zoom to reach households that do not attend evening meetings. Master facilities staff reported turnout ranging from about 30 attendees at many sessions to as many as 60 at some parent-organization meetings, and said they plan to increase the cadence of events through September and October.

The changes come after presentations in Westchester and other neighborhoods drew questions about travel time for students, the number of buildings, and the local tax impact on older homeowners. Staff said they will return to trustees in Westchester and schedule a follow-up meeting with Liberty Township after Sept. 14 to answer questions now that site decisions are finalized.

Master facilities staff framed the outreach work as a continuing effort to respond to community questions and to refine materials. "We're getting around 30 or so folks per meeting, give or take," said Tom Stinson, master facilities representative. Staff also said they are collecting Q&A notes after each session and incorporating them into an evolving FAQ on the district website.

District communicators told the board they are pursuing a mix of bite-sized digital content, recorded sessions, printed flyers and targeted mailings to reach different audiences. Board members and staff emphasized reaching the district's large cohort of older voters: staff cited that roughly 62 percent of the district's registered voters are "empty nesters" and said that group tends to prefer in-person briefings or mailers rather than social media.

Legal review has already changed some language in district materials to avoid appearing persuasive rather than informational. Staff said a single word in a recent draft was changed at legal counsel's suggestion and that communications will continue to be vetted before distribution. The district also discussed differences between how ballot-language estimates are displayed by the county auditor's public calculator and the district's projections; staff said the county auditor, Nancy Nicks, uses the ballot language to avoid suggesting an alternative calculation and that the district will work to explain the difference clearly to the public.

Board members who attended recent sessions said some meetings were respectful and productive while others involved raised voices and pointed questions; staff said improving the clarity and availability of factual materials has reduced the number of follow-up questions at later sessions.

Next steps outlined to the board include scheduling additional Liberty Township and Westchester sessions after Sept. 14, continuing to update the online FAQ and video snapshots, and testing mailed flyers targeted at households less likely to engage online. Staff asked board members to refer groups they know (particularly empty-nester groups and homeowners associations) so staff can schedule in-person briefings.