PORT ANGELES — A two-day meeting this week will center on planning for the Port Angeles School District for the next five years.
The community forum will be at North Olympic Peninsula Skills Center, 905 W. Ninth St., from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
The discussion will center on what kinds of strategies can be made to achieve the district’s goals over the next five years.
The goals, as adopted by the School Board earlier this year, are to improve organizational culture, student achievement, resources, adaptability and community.
The plans will include everything from fiscal to educational issues, said Superintendent Jane Pryne.
“We are looking at everything from the ground up,” she said.
The discussions this weekend will include everything from how to deal with declining enrollment to the structure of the schools.
School reorganizing
At the time Pryne arrived in Port Angeles in 2009, several community members brought up an idea of restructuring elementary schools to include all first- and second-graders at one school, all third- and fourth-graders at another and so forth.
“These are the types of discussions we will be having,” she said.
The discussions at the forum will provide the basis to make plans for each school and districtwide decisions, Pryne said.
All five School Board members are planning to attend the forum, she said.
“We are gathering input based on our five strategic goals on how to move forward,” Pryne said.
“We will have input from the community, from staff, from parents, from other classified staff.”
The planning will also draw community comment on how to deal with impending state budget cuts and declining enrollment, she said.
Because funds from the state are based on enrollment, when the district loses students as it has for the past couple of decades, its funding also declines.
“We think we are well-positioned for the short term,” said Jim Schwob, district finance director.
‘For the long term’
“But this [forum] will provide input for the long term.”
Because lunch will be provided, people who wish to attend are asked to RSVP, Pryne said.
Pryne said she is asking those who attend to commit to both days.
On Friday, presentations by several different groups will provide insight into different data on each of the strategic goals, Pryne said.
The 22-member planning committee has been in the community and schools collecting information for several weeks, and their findings will be presented at the meeting as part of the discussion.
“We are very excited to be creating this plan,” Pryne said.
“This will provide an umbrella on how we reach our goals through objectives and actions.”
The results of the meeting will be presented Monday at the School Board meeting, Pryne said.
“This isn’t just going to sit on a shelf somewhere,” Pryne said.
“We will be talking about this and utilizing it at nearly every board meeting.”
To RSVP for the forum or for more information, phone 360-565-3702.
Questions, comments and suggestions regarding the strategic planning process and its development may be e-mailed to info@portangelesschools.org or mailed to Pryne at Port Angeles School District, 216 E. Fourth St., Port Angeles, WA 98362.
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Reporter Paige Dickerson can be reached at 360-417-3535 or at paige.dickerson@peninsuladailynews.com.