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District to form steering committee for reconfiguration, schedules May 5 meeting with consultants
Summary
The school board discussed forming a steering committee to guide a proposed school reconfiguration and possible bond, agreed on outreach methods and tentatively set a special meeting for May 5 (6–8 p.m.) to hear architects and finance advisers. The administrator will solicit interest forms and aims to present candidates by the June board meeting.
Administrator said the district needs to engage the public before pursuing a bond and proposed a steering committee that includes five people from each community (Carbondale, Scranton, Overbrook), two to three staff members from each school, an administrator from each school and a board representative from each town.
"So I suggested to you guys in the past that, you want a big enough group, but you don't want too big," the Administrator said, outlining the tradeoff between representativeness and productivity. She offered an interest-form approach to collect names and suggested categorizing applicants by stakeholder type (business owners, parents, community members) before narrowing the list for board approval.
A Board member pushed back on assembling only supporters, saying the steering committee should not be a "select group of people that are behind something," and argued for including undecided community members so the committee can surface diverse viewpoints. The Board member also stressed the need for clearer direction to consultants so the district gets answers it can act on.
Administrator said architects and advisors have been sent the board's outstanding questions and recommended inviting both their architectural firm (HTK) and financial/campaign advisor Piper Sandler to a two-hour special meeting in May to review feasibility, tax implications and campaign strategy. She told the board she would also invite tax advisers to explain election and tax implications.
The board discussed scheduling conflicts with junior high athletics and other events at Santa Fe Trail, noting possible date clashes on May 5 and May 8 and asking staff to confirm regional athletics dates with staff contact "Mister Henry." Despite calendar conflicts, members tentatively settled on May 5 and discussed a 6–8 p.m. window, with some preference for a 6 p.m. start.
Administrator said she will post an interest form on the district website, promote it via newsletter, Facebook and community pages, and gather names. She set a target to present a recommended list of steering committee candidates by the June board meeting, with the intention of beginning steering-committee work over the summer once schools are out.
No formal vote or motion was recorded on the steering committee structure or meeting date; the discussion ended with staff committed to outreach, scheduling the consultant visit and returning with candidate names and consultant responses at future meetings.
