Board proposes districtwide community engagement task force to guide facilities planning

The St. Francis Area Schools board presented a plan to form a districtwide community engagement task force to help prioritize long-term facilities and grounds needs, with work expected over the coming months and no action required at tonight’s meeting.

Chair said the facilities and grounds committee and Member Schonrock will lead an effort to convene stakeholders from across the district and to work with SiteLogic, which will assist with outreach and the application/selection process under the district’s existing contract. "What we are asking is, that we set up, the community engagement task force, which will get stakeholders from across our district community, not just 1 city or 1 area, but across the district, to help us prioritize the needs across the district," the Chair said.

Board members said the task force would provide community input for facility tours, reports from cabinet members and compiled data to inform future decisions. The Chair said SiteLogic typically helps districts recruit between 15 and 50 participants, with a "sweet spot" of 20 to 30. The consultant’s engagement services were described as part of the district’s existing contract and therefore not an additional charge to the district.

The board said some districts that used a similar community engagement process later connected the effort to a referendum or levy question, though the district did not take any such action tonight. The Chair said, if the board reaches consensus that the task force is a good idea, a future agenda item would seek formal direction to proceed.

No formal vote or motion on creating the task force was recorded in the transcript for this meeting; the item was presented for information and future consideration.