Decatur board gets Roadmap 2030 update as district weighs building reconfiguration and academic priorities

Interim Chief Strategy Officer Jay Marino summarized Roadmap 2030 progress on Feb. 25 and told the Decatur Public Schools Board of Education the committee is moving from planning into recommending specific configurations and aligned instructional strategies.

Marino presented ten-year enrollment trends and projection scenarios showing an annual decline of roughly 1.4 to 1.6 percent and described how that trajectory drives a facility and program review. He said the district has ample square footage today but unequal facility quality and that the district needs a master facility plan and a strategic plan that align to a small set of measurable goals.

"We're not rearranging chairs on the deck of the Titanic," Marino said, arguing that the process is intended to make structural changes aligned to instruction, not cosmetic fixes. He listed proposed scenario variables under study: whether prekindergarten should remain in stand-alone sites or be integrated in primary schools; whether magnet programs should be retained, modified or consolidated; whether middle grades should be delivered in 6-8, 7-8 or K-8 models; and whether the district should plan for a single high school eventuality or maintain two campuses in the near term.

Marino voiced several guiding principles: reduce inequity of space per student across the district, improve operational efficiency, and ensure any reconfiguration directly supports classroom strategies that raise outcomes. He previewed a set of "high-leverage" instructional moves the district plans to tie to any facility and grade-span decisions: more job-embedded teacher time and professional learning communities (PLC) for collaborative planning, expanded career and technical education (CTE) pathways, a STEM/STEAM curriculum for grades 6-12, stronger gatekeeper-grade interventions (early warning and intervention systems rather than retention), expanded summer learning focused on students below benchmark, and growth of alternate-education seats for personalized options.

Marino said the district will deliver three final products: a five-year strategic plan with mission, vision, values and measurable goals; a balanced scorecard for board accountability; and a phased master facility plan (immediate actions in 2025-26, larger configuration implementation in 2026-27 and subsequent phases over a longer horizon). He said public engagement will continue and that committee work is three meetings from a recommendation.

Board members asked for additional clarity on enrollment baselines, the difference between strategic and school improvement plans, and the reason for proceeding now rather than waiting for elections or a future superintendent. Marino and other staff said delaying would defer difficult decisions and leave the district without a coordinated plan when ongoing demographic trends continue to shrink enrollment; they suggested a new superintendent should inherit a board-approved strategic plan rather than build it from scratch.

Ending: Marino asked the board to expect phased recommendations in coming months and warned significant trade-offs will be necessary: decisions designed to rebalance facilities and improve outcomes will likely disappoint some stakeholders, he said, but the committee's work aims to realign buildings and instruction to lift long-term student results.