Midland Public Schools leaders said June 16 they will step back from immediately pursuing another facilities bond and instead launch a community-centered strategic planning process to define student outcomes and align facility proposals to those goals.

President Rausch and Penny Miller Nelson told the board they had begun seeking an independent facilitator to lead broad-based community engagement. Rausch said the district needs "comprehensive engagement from our community" and that any ballot timeline for November would be too compressed: "to get something on the November ballot, we would have to have any application completed, August 10," a deadline the board said was too soon to run a deliberative outreach process.

Why it matters

The May bond proposal was defeated in the community. Board members and public commenters said that defeat reflects a gap in trust and in the district's outreach; speakers at the meeting urged transparent planning, clearer spending plans and more inclusive engagement. The board's stated intention is to use the strategic-planning process to define student-centered outcomes first and then design facilities that match those outcomes.

Specific next steps and facility actions

- Facilitator and strategic planning: The board directed administrators to return with a proposal for hiring an outside facilitator who can conduct an independent community engagement and strategic-planning process; the board emphasized the facilitator should be experienced in community engagement and change-management work.

- No immediate ballot push: Trustees said they are not comfortable rushing a new sinking-fund or bond question onto the November ballot; they cited both the required application timeline (August 10) and a need for deeper public work.

- Fast Ice property purchase: Penny Miller Nelson announced the administration is moving forward with purchase of the Fast Ice property to develop a robotics facility; a due-diligence environmental assessment was completed and the district negotiated a $20,000 price reduction. Penny and Phil (board/administration) were authorized to sign an amendment clarifying a June 30 closing date. (Penny said the district is "on track for that closing date.")

Public concerns voiced at the meeting

Several residents raised facility-maintenance and trust issues. Rosemary Roberts described leaks and electrical problems at Northeast Junior High and asked when repairs would happen; the board noted ongoing maintenance and said an engineering study indicated replacement could be cheaper than continued repairs. Don Hinkle and Artie Lamas urged the board to treat the bond defeat as an opportunity to reassess and to provide clearer spending plans. Deb Laver asked for clarity on what projects were completed under prior bonds and urged transparency about who would be affected by potential preschool expansion.

Distinction: discussion vs. direction vs. formal action

- Discussion: Board members and staff discussed community engagement, timelines and the need to align facilities to student outcomes.

- Direction/assignment: The board directed staff to return with a proposal to hire an independent facilitator and to present an engagement plan and timeline; Penny and Phil will complete the Fast Ice purchase process (amendment to purchase agreement, clarified closing date and price adjustment).

- Formal action: No formal vote was recorded on reissuing a bond; instead the board recorded decisions to pause immediate ballot activity and to pursue facilitated strategic planning and a property purchase process.