At a Nov. 19 workshop the Alachua County School Board formally kicked off a comprehensive school strategy project led by district staff and consultant JB Pro. Presenters described a three-phase process to right-size facilities, review programming and craft a long-range strategic plan intended for possible board adoption in March 2026.

JB Pro said the process couples three elements—facilities, instructional programming and boundary mapping—and emphasized community-first engagement. The consultant outlined Phase 1 activities (data collection and community visioning) with a public-engagement kickoff on Dec. 4, a series of open houses and pop-up events in December, a January–February drafting phase and a proposed final adoption in March.

Presenters said there will be eight in-person open-house events per round, student-focused sessions, at least one pop-up community event, and a parallel online engagement portal where residents can review materials and provide input. "This is about community and I mean community in the broadest sense of the word," the consultant said, asking board members to act as champions to encourage participation.

Board members raised Sunshine Law and logistical concerns about board attendance at community events (risk of backroom deliberations or the need to produce minutes). Attorney Delaney advised that multiple board members attending interactive events could trigger public‑meeting requirements; the board discussed alternatives such as a recorded greeting played at events and limiting live attendance to a single member per event as a greeter or sign-in helper. Board members volunteered to attend specific events in single-member roles to avoid creating a quorum, and JB Pro agreed to post corrected presentation materials on the project portal.

The district will collect artifacts from every engagement activity and provide summaries to the board; the consultant said a draft plan with proposed boundaries and strategies would be presented to the board by late February and will be considered for adoption in March.