“Are there areas where you think the school could save money?
“Should the school promote volunteerism through coursework?
“How are we doing at balancing academics, fine arts and athletic?”
These were just a few of the many questions posed to the public at the second annual community meeting held to gather information from community members on important school topics.
The two-hour meeting was held at the Arrowhead Center for the Arts on Tuesday, May 28 and was broken up into 11 subjects.
Topics varied at each table. One table was set up to discuss technology and was hosted by John Jacobsen and Betsy Jorgenson. Another table facilitated by Randy Davis, Erika Ternes and Tim Dennison delved into testing and what it means to parents while at still another table the discussion focused on safety.
Discussion didn’t just center on the high school. School board member Mary Sanders and third-grade teacher Lorelei Livingston hosted a table that focused on Sawtooth Mountain Elementary, and among the questions asked was this one, “What are your thoughts on the academic calendar we are following?”
While the written feedback hadn’t been tabulated as of press time, Superintendent Beth Schwarz said she was impressed with what she heard at the meeting and the written responses her staff had gathered at the tables.
Mostly the school board, teachers and administrators wanted to sit down and talk to the community and find out what they think and how they (school district employees) can best serve the community and the kids.
“The second annual community meeting held on May 28 at the school, provided the district with input from community members on a variety of topics. Thirty-five faculty, employees, administration and school board members were joined with 15-20 community members for the two-hour conversation,” said Schwarz.
“Although attendance was down from the previous year, the comments and suggestions gathered were excellent!
“The district continues to encourage all stakeholders to contact the superintendent via email, phone, facebook, in person or letter to share suggestions or concerns,” Schwarz said.
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