School Board Praises Strategic Plan

School board members collectively praised an updated draft of a strategic plan for the district on Tuesday, giving every indication that the document will be adopted at a future meeting.

The board briefly discussed the plan, with several members saying that it will be great for the future SAU 95.

"I am one that believes in the strategic plan and I think you need to know which way you're heading," said board member Vice Chair Michelle Farrell. "I greatly appreciate this and think it's super important, especially when we're hiring a new superintendent."

Board member Michael Joanis, who was part of the team that originally worked on the plan, was pleased to see that the core value statements have remained intact in the new iteration.

Superintendent Dr. Henry LaBranche said that he does not see a need for the district to add any professional development resources in order to accomplish items in the plan.

Board member Stephanie Wimmer praised the strategic action portion of the plan, saying that in her work experience plans have failed without having a section dedicated to how strategies are going to be accomplished.

Following a question about the money items posed by Chair Bruce Anderson, Joanis clarified that the realization was that the document would never commit the district to funding.

The plan has always sat on the shelf in draft form, but LaBranche went through it with other staff this summer up to a dozen times.

"I am an individual who believes in a strategic plan," he said. "I believe in a need for us to have some clear vision."

The board did not reference too many specifics from the draft, but the plan will be placed on a future agenda for adoption. Next week will likely not feature that adoption, given an already crowded agenda.