Campbellsport School District Sets Goals in Strategic Planning Workshop

The Campbellsport School Board held a strategic planning workshop as part of its meeting on Monday, March 2.

During the workshop, the school board outlined its goals for the following categories: Legislative Advocacy and Student Learning; Facilities, Finance, and Operational Stewardship; Instructional Excellence and Data-Driven Decision-Making; and Community Engagement.

The school board aims to “strengthen its legislative advocacy by using district data to communicate local funding needs and successes to policymakers” and to participate in two or more professional development or legislative engagement opportunities.

In relation to finances and operations, the school board’s goal is to update the ten-year capital improvement plan and three-year financial plan by September.

Also by September, “the board will monitor district instructional improvement and make policy, staffing, and budget decisions that promote growth in core academic performance.”

Finally, the school board’s goal in the Community Engagement category is to “enhance communication, transparency, and trust by hosting at least two community engagement opportunities,” as well as eliciting more feedback from school district residents and parents.

Later in the strategic planning workshop, the board participated in roundtable discussions with administrators. After the roundtable discussions, the school board members presented the highlights of their conversations.

“We heard multiple times that our admin would really like to have us in the building more often in different and creative ways,” started Vice President Sharon Gazzola. “I would like to keep building the relationship and talking to our admin team and having more open, honest conversations.”

The administrators’ desire to see school board members present within the school building more often was echoed throughout the conversation.

“Also, doing school visits, showing the faculty that we’re taking some ownership for what’s going on in the classroom,” added Clerk Jim Ninnemann. “I do believe there’s a difference between micromanaging and just being visible and showing that you care. You can just be present and observe, and I think that would speak volumes.”

Some of the ways suggested for board members to be more present within the schools included reading to the elementary students and attending athletics, music, or other events.

Creating opportunities for greater unity and staff input was another thread that wove through the discussion. A recurring recommendation to create those opportunities was to consider changing the time of school board meetings, which currently take place at 7:30 p.m.

“One of the things that was a pretty universal theme was that our staff members come in early in the morning. When we have meetings like this where we start late, that’s a really long day, especially for people who have a long [commute] . . . This was mentioned by almost every individual,” said Treasurer Maureen Koch. “We want to be more involved and to really be united with the admin team.”

The final roundtable discussion observations to close out the strategic planning workshop were provided by school board member Keith Peters.

“I’m going to give you one word,” said Peters. “Enthusiasm. I heard it from everyone that came here. . . The enthusiasm I heard here makes me feel good. Thank you, all.”

School Board Matters:
• The school board discussed approving a request by middle and high school agriculture teacher Shawna Henke to pursue a Wisconsin Association of Agricultural Educators President-Elect opportunity. A motion to approve the request was made by Vice President Gazzola and passed unanimously.
• The school board also considered approving an overnight field trip request for students to attend the FBLA State Leadership Conference in Green Bay. The motion to approve the field trip was made by Vice President Gazzola and passed unanimously.