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Pembroke superintendent presents $20,000 local strategic-plan option and $87,000 national alternative; committee to decide
Summary
Superintendent presented two proposals for a five-year strategic plan: a local option from Teaching and Learning Alliance (~$20,000) and a national option from Hanover Research (about $87,000). District staff said budget capacity exists and recommended starting the process this summer.
The superintendent told the Pembroke School Committee on May 21 that the district needs a formal strategic plan and presented two vendor proposals: a local provider, the Teaching and Learning Alliance, at roughly $20,000, and a national firm, Hanover Research, with a fuller package priced at about $87,000.
"The Pembroke Public Schools has not had a strategic plan in many years now," the superintendent said, describing the plan as a five-year framework to guide district goals, school- and staff-level planning, and community engagement. The Teaching and Learning Alliance proposal includes facilitation, focus groups and a dashboard the district could post on its website; the superintendent said that option would run about $20,000. Hanover Research offered a more intensive model described as a "Cadillac" option, with a cost of about $87,000 for both research and advisory services.
District staff told the committee there is budget capacity to fund the work and that the cost could be split across two fiscal years (about $10,000 in the current year and the remainder next year). The superintendent said the local vendor would manage the process end-to-end and has experience working with nearby districts; Hanover Research would require more travel and a higher fee but offers a polished national product.
Committee members asked about process details, involvement of the full committee, and public engagement. The superintendent described a multi-stage process that would include surveys, focus groups, and a strategic planning steering committee. The steering committee would include a school committee liaison, administrators, staff representatives and suggested student voices; focused meetings with the full school committee could be posted as executive-session focus groups if members preferred private discussion.
The superintendent proposed starting survey work over the summer to complete a plan by the following spring — a process of slightly less than a year if started immediately. No procurement decision or vote was taken at the May 21 meeting; the committee asked for time to review proposals and indicated interest in the process-oriented approach.
The options on the table range from a lower-cost, locally based process with direct community engagement to a higher-cost national model. Committee members will review materials and return with questions at future meetings before the committee selects a vendor and approves expenditures.
