District 211 to begin work on strategic plan
Palatine-Schaumburg High School District 211 officials are preparing a new community engagement and strategic planning process that will occupy the first nine months of 2016.
The goal is to have a plan in writing that will guide the district's financial and program decisions for the next five years, Superintendent Dan Cates said.
Just over a year ago, school board member Anna Klimkowicz suggested District 211 had delayed development of a new strategic plan for too long. She wanted something in writing to better explain to the public decisions about financial matters such as property tax levy increases, or capital improvement projects at the district's five high schools.
Beginning in January, the drafting of a strategic plan will be driven a facilitating team comprised of approximately 30 people, most of them community members without a professional affiliation with the school district. The makeup of this group of parents, district residents and business leaders is in the process of being finalized.
The team also will include two liaisons from the school board and representatives of the district's administration and employee groups. The consulting firm Unicom•Arc has been hired to provide professional guidance to the process.
As part of the process, Unicom•Arc representatives also will meet with small, informal input groups that will not include any District 211 employees.
Between February and May, two community engagement sessions will be held each month - one at the north end of the district and the other at the south. Telephone and electronic surveys also will be conducted.
Data and input from the community engagement sessions will be compiled by the facilitating team and presented to the school board at its May 26 meeting. The board will work with a Unicom•Arc consultant during the summer to develop a strategic plan based on the input.
Board members are expected to adopt the strategic plan in either August or September, just as the new school year begins.