Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Education Programs topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Superintendent to launch districtwide magnet-survey and outlines five priorities
Summary
Superintendent Dr. Gerald Gary said the district will distribute an independent magnet-interest survey in coming weeks to gauge community interest in Rafton Creek and other schools, and outlined five overarching priorities for 2026–27 including vision, leadership, equity and attendance improvements.
Superintendent Dr. Gerald Gary told the Sumter School District Board on July 13 that the district will commission an independent vendor to run a community magnet-school interest survey and that administration will "follow the data" to determine locations and program types.
"District officials will not touch that survey. We will not touch the results. The results are the results," Dr. Gary said, describing a third-party vendor that will collect and report community responses. He told the board the survey will be sent to every family enrolled in the district before mid-August and that families without computer access may take the survey at any school media center or front office.
Nut: The survey follows multiple public requests and earlier conversations about converting Rafton Creek Elementary into a magnet school. The superintendent framed the effort as data-driven: the district will use survey results to decide whether to proceed and where to locate programs, and staff said they will share raw results with the board and community through the vendor.
Dr. Gary also presented the district’s five priority areas for 2026–27: (1) vision and leadership, (2) expanded community engagement and partnerships (including military and higher-education partners), (3) strategies to improve attendance and discipline through MTSS and an attendance manual, (4) professional learning and capacity building, and (5) facilities assessment and resource allocation. He said the district will provide regular updates to the board on metrics and timelines for each goal.
Community responses: In public comment earlier the meeting, Rafton Creek parent Giovanna Diaz urged the board to transform Rafton Creek Elementary into a magnet school to stabilize enrollment and expand rural students’ access to specialized programs. "This proposal gives us hope," she said.
What happens next: The district expects the vendor to deliver survey results to the board and community; Dr. Gary said administration will not alter the vendor’s data. The board’s next procedural steps will depend on the survey outcomes, staffing considerations and any required state approvals for magnet programs.
Ending: Dr. Gary said the district will post updates to the website and report survey findings to the board and public once results are available.
