South Kingstown committee plans community forums to discuss equity audit; members asked to prioritize action items

The South Kingstown School Committee began planning community engagement around a recently completed equity audit and directed administration to schedule public forums within the next month.

Superintendent James Pedraza proposed at least two forums: one organized open forum led by district administrators to collect community reactions and another conducted in partnership with the Johnnycake Center to reach residents who participated through that outreach hub. The superintendent said the purpose is to hear reactions and community priorities before turning audit findings into strategic‑plan action items.

Committee members asked for a concise executive summary that highlights findings and priority recommendations, noting that most residents will not read a 90‑page report. Member Brad Shear suggested scheduling the forum soon but only after an accessible summary is prepared. Several members proposed that at the next school committee meeting each member submit their top one to three priorities drawn from the audit so administration can synthesize and plan the forums.

Members discussed the role of the strategic‑planning steering committee, which will use the audit as a needs assessment to guide strategy and implementation. The superintendent confirmed the audit will serve as the needs assessment for the strategic plan but said the committee will prioritize which recommendations are operationalized first.

The committee gave the superintendent direction to schedule forums within about four weeks, coordinate with the Johnnycake Center and the steering committee, and to provide committee members an opportunity to submit and discuss their top audit priorities at the next meeting.

Ending: The superintendent and administration will prepare a short summary of the audit’s findings and circulate dates; the committee expects to set firm forum dates and priorities at the next meeting.