Menands board to partner with Capital Region BOCES on five-year strategic plan

The Menands Union Free School District superintendent recommended on Aug. 25 that the board partner with Capital Region BOCES to lead development of the district's next five-year strategic plan, which will replace the current plan that ends in June 2026.

The superintendent said BOCES offered a comprehensive planning service that includes pre-planning and discovery, integration with budget development, stakeholder engagement (focus groups and surveys), communication launch planning and progress monitoring. She recommended beginning stakeholder engagement in February and completing the plan by June, allowing BOCES to work in parallel on document production.

Board members expressed support for the timeline but one member cautioned that starting with the board's existing top-line goals (academic achievement, diversity, equity and inclusion, fiscal responsibility and social-emotional learning) could risk missing issues that stakeholders might raise if they are added later in the process. "My only concern was that adding stakeholders later into the process, we might be missing something that's outside of those four," the board chair said, urging openness to new priorities emerging from stakeholder conversations.

The superintendent said stakeholder input will be prioritized, with BOCES facilitating focus groups, surveys and teacher engagement and working with the administration to monitor progress after plan adoption. The board did not take a formal vote on contracting at this meeting; the superintendent said she would return with next steps and any recommended agreements.