NORTH BRUNSWICK – The township school district is seeking volunteer stakeholders to join the strategic planning process introduced May 1.
Members of the community can join various committees that will evaluate and set the path for a five-year review and analysis of the operations of the district. The first phase of the process will begin now and continue through November.
“We’re not talking about short-term or immediate needs; we’re talking about big picture items and big picture needs,” Superintendent of Schools Brian Zychowski said. “We are a community of servants … and we serve the children, as they are an intregal part of the community. … We need your help. We need to connect to the community and we need to reconnect to the community. … That’s what this process is all about: how we reconnect.”
The process will continue for the next five years, with an annual review because of constant changes in demographics, enrollment, society, economics, and safety and security issues. After an initial compilation of information, a vision and mission statement will be developed and goals will be created to be implemented as action plans over the next few years.
“It’s a way of planning to use your limited financial resources more effectively,” said Gwen Thornton, one of the facilitators from the New Jersey School Boards Association. “By planning effectively, you’re ensuring you’re maximizing the use of all of your talents.”
Members are needed for four strategic planning committees:
The State of the School Committee, chaired by Linwood Middle School Principal Pete Clark and Livingston Park PTA member Lynn Aulenbach, will meet Tuesdays, May 6, 20 and 27, from 7 to 9 p.m. at Linwood. The panel will focus on educational
programming, human resources, facilities, technology, finances and community
relations.
The State of the Community Committee will concentrate more on demographics, funding, community factors and the political environment in the township as a whole. The chairpersons, township Assistant Municipal Clerk MilviWeiner and Linwood nurse Anna Tupe, will begin their series of three meetings Friday at 4 p.m. in the conference room on the first floor of the municipal building at 710 Hermann Road.
The two groups will then come together at a planning conference Friday, June 6, from 6 to 9:30 p.m. and Saturday, June 7, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The joint effort will develop a vision, a mission, beliefs, goals and objectives.
Then, there will be three or four committees of about 10 people who will be part of the action plan process, who will discuss the goals the stakeholders wish to accomplish. They will meet several times in June, September and October to discuss and develop strategies on how to move North Brunswick forward. There should be a more concrete direction known by November.
“You have a chance to talk to each other, you have a chance to listen to each other and you have a chance to voice your opinion,” said fellow School Boards facilitator Joanne Borin.
Thornton also said that residents – from a cross-section of the community and staff, whether or not they have children attending district schools- “can do as little or as much as your time allows,” ranging from an hour or two to attending every meeting. Students from the high school and Linwood will also eventually be involved.
“This is an exciting process and a process [in which] one can really make a difference in the direction of our schools,” Zychowski said.
The services of the School Boards Association were obtained for $6,000.
For more information or to join a committee, contact the board office at (732) 289-3000.