Board plans to merge ‘Belonging’ and ‘Whole Child’ committees; facilitating team schedules first public workshop Oct. 6

Board leaders said June 5 that they plan to merge the district’s Belonging and Whole Child committees and that a community engagement facilitating team will host its first public workshop on Monday, Oct. 6.

Members reported that the facilitating team met May 22, selected volunteer committee leads, and organized smaller working groups for process design, communications, door‑to‑door outreach and community outreach. The team also developed two branding concepts and will choose one for district communications, presenters said.

Mike, facilitating team member, said the board’s charge to the facilitating team is “to make recommendations to the board regarding long term goals and priorities for improving the learning experiences and learning environments for students in a fiscally responsible manner.” The team set a meeting calendar: the next facilitating meeting is June 9 and the first public community workshop is scheduled for Oct. 6 at a location to be determined.

Format and access Members discussed scheduling to maximize attendance and noted a mix of weekday options; presenters said meetings will be live streamed and archived on the district website. The facilitating team has not finalized whether interactive participation options (for example, livestreamed participation or Zoom attendance) will be offered for every workshop.

Reporting and next steps The process chair, Molly Wood, will primarily report back to the board on facilitating‑team progress and preliminary survey results. The facilitating team will summarize community input and present recommendations for long‑term goals and priorities to the board following the scheduled engagement events.

Ending Board members said they expect the facilitating team to present a more complete plan at the next board meeting; no formal motion or vote was recorded on committee restructuring during the June 5 session.