SCHOOLS STRATEGIC PLANNING DELAY PROMPTS DISAGREEMENTS OVER DISCLOSURE

Concerns that the school district's Strategic Planning process is too secretive and may not be as open as some would like was the centerpiece of an interesting discussion at the last school board meeting. 

That's where differences were raised over how much information should be released while plans are still being formulated. 

The disagreement followed Superintendent John Ramos' announcement that the planning, which dates back to late 2015, would be delayed another month and likely not produce a draft plan until November.

The discussion began with Board Member Johanna Wright asking that more updates occur along the way as the planning is being done, while Ramos claimed that the strategic planning committees should be allowed to work in private until they are done, urging the need not to reveal "how the sausage is being made."

Also in the discussion was student representative Philip Saulean, who countered by saying sometimes a rat is put in the sausage. 

Listen below:



You may recall some concerns were raised in March when some volunteer members released elements of the planning discussion, prompting Ramos to ask them to stop and sparking their resignation from one of the committees.

At the end of the recent discussion, Ramos stated:

"I'm concerned that what was always intended to be a process that brings the community together. I'm very concerned about its dissolving into something that becomes contentious. That is not what this was for, it was always designed to be a process that allows this community that has a broad talent base to come together and think about what this district needs to look like ... that's what this is about. There is no hidden agenda ... this is about people of good will trying to do good work."