090511 School district seeks input on results of facilities study
By Sharon Haught
August 31, 2011
287
Summary: With a study of the condition of the physical buildings that make up the Wooster City School District complete the district is seeking input from the public on the results of the study.
With the results of a study of the condition of the buildings that make up the Wooster City School District in hand, the district is ready to receive input from the community on the observations made by the Facilities Optimization Committee.
During the Board of Educations August 23 meeting, Wooster City School District Director of Business and Community Affairs Dave Kocevar presented a timetable for obtaining input from the public on the study completed in June.
According to Kocevar during the remainder of August and throughout the month of September district officials will undertake an educational review of the report prepared by the committee.
September will also mark the timeframe in which the district will begin to seek input from members of the community.
We plan on having parent and staff meetings at all of our buildings through the month of September, said Kocevar noting that the purpose of the meetings is to both review all the information the district has gathered to date and to seek out input from staff members and families at each of the districts buildings.
On Sept. 28 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at the Shisler Conference Center we are planning to have our first focus group said Kocevar noting that the format for the session will be a table top discussion utilizing the same World Café model recently used to obtain input on improving and sustaining the districts kindergarten program.
According to Kocevar participants at the event will work in small groups and focus on responding to a series of pre-prepared questions which will be developed by the district during the month of September based on the feedback obtained during the building level meetings.
After we receive data back from that first focus group and from the individual parent and staff building meetings I plan to have a follow up report to the board in October, Kocevar noted.
It will be at that point that I will try to focus that information so we can bring it back to a second focus group, said Kocevar.
Kocevar noted that the second focus group is planned for Nov. 9 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at the Shisler Conference Center.
Finally once we do all that work I will have a report at the November board meeting that will summarize the entire facilities optimization project, said Kocevar noting that the November report will include the initial work that our committee did about the physical facility conditions that we have and the recommendations that we received from all of our community and staff members.
During the board meeting a member of the community asked whether the district is considering holding an open forum where community members can ask questions and provide input on issues outside of the specific questions to be discussed at the focus groups.
For part of this that might not fit but Im sure that between the staff and parent organization meetings and the first and second focus groups there will be some time that if somebody has a question that doesnt fir or has input that doesnt fit one of the questions well try to create some forum to do that, said Kocevar.
Kocevar noted that information on the focus group sessions will be communicated to the community via the districts automated calling system and General News e-mail newsletter as well as on the districts web site and Facebook page, on cable channel 10, in the newspapers and on posters to be placed at Buehlers.
For more information on the districts facilities utilization activities visit the districts home page at www.woostercityschools.org and click on the Facilities Optimization link.
