Cannon County Board schedules community workshop to address middle school overcrowding
Get AI-powered insights, summaries, and transcripts
Subscribe
Summary
Board members agreed to organize community engagement and a workshop to explore options after staff described crowded classrooms and a feasibility report that found no immediate construction funds; a tentative community meeting was proposed for Jan. 26 at 6 p.m. at the middle school.
Board member (Speaker 2) urged the Cannon County Board of Education on Thursday to hold a focused public workshop to address overcrowding at the county middle school, saying classrooms and hallways were operating beyond capacity and that some students were being taught in nonclassroom spaces.
"I just feel like I would not be doing what you all hired me to do if I didn't start having a conversation about it," Speaker 2 said, asking the board to set a date for community input and a follow-up workshop to review feasibility information. Board members said they wanted to involve the wider community and conduct district-level roundtables to gather local feedback before finalizing recommendations.
The board discussed a feasibility study completed about two years ago that, participants said, indicated there were no immediate funds to build or renovate. Speaker 2 asked staff to bring current enrollment and classroom-usage data back to the board; Speaker 3 and others requested counts of students per room and grade-level classroom usage to inform next steps.
Members debated the best format for community engagement. Speaker 6 suggested holding neighborhood roundtables so families could participate locally, then reconvening to share district-wide input. Speaker 4 and the chair emphasized the need to advertise clearly so the public would understand the meeting was for information and input, not a decision-making meeting.
A preliminary date was proposed in the meeting: Jan. 26 at 6 p.m. at the middle school. The date was discussed as tentative while staff confirm schedules and district athletic conflicts. The board did not record a formal vote on a plan at the workshop; members asked staff to prepare data and logistics for the planned engagement.
Next steps recorded in the discussion included: staff will compile updated enrollment and classroom-use figures, the board will discuss how to run the community sessions and district roundtables, and the board will confirm a final date and location through follow-up communications.