Long-Range Facilities Planning Process Work Group

Here is the text of their group charter straight from the School District of Hudson. Note that it is labeled as a Draft. Why haven’t they posted the final draft? Do I have to assume this is it? After reading through, I have some questions.

Hudson Facilities Planning Task Force

Purpose: The purpose of the task force is to evaluate the current Hudson School District’s facilities to determine what, if any, changes are needed in order to meet the evolving needs of the Hudson community in maintaining our commitment to provide a quality education to our students.

Projection: The task force should focus its attention on the short term or 3-7 year facilities needs of the District, reserving a more in depth long term analysis for a subsequent facilities planning phase. Nevertheless, this task force in its short term facilities evaluation process may identify certain facilities or needs that it believes should be evaluated or studied further in a subsequent facilities planning process or phase.

Membership: The task force will be co-chaired by one school board member and one community member. The co-chairs and task force members will be selected by the school board. The composition of the task force will consist of no more than twenty-three members. There shall be a parent representative from each of the seven schools, one central administrator, three teachers, two principals (one primary, one secondary), two school board members, and eight at-large appointments. The task force should also include diverse community representation through its at-large appointments. Except for potential school district staff appointments, members of the task force are to be residents of the Hudson school district. Qualities of an effective task force member include objectivity, articulate, positive, open-minded, respectful, and team-worker. The overall objective shall be to appoint task force members who share a commitment to making a positive contribution towards a better community and school district. The school board will publicize and invite applications to serve on the task force from school district employees and the community.

Meetings: Task force members should expect 1-2 meetings per month until completion of its work in December 2004. Each meeting will last approximately 2 hours. Individuals will volunteer their services except for mileage, travel expenses and direct expense reimbursement related to planned or approved task force member activities. Task force co-chairs and a professional facilitator hired by the board will develop a progression outline or flowchart for organizational purposes and keeping the task force focused on its mission. In addition, the co-chairs will present the task force with appropriate meeting and discussion rules, such as Roberts Rules of Order, that will govern the conduct of each and every meeting or event of the task force.

Resources: The task force will have access to past and current reports, data, studies, research and actions of the Hudson School District, as well as any other information and data identified and available to the task force. The objective shall be to obtain, review, evaluate, discuss and make decisions on the best available information and data. It is expected that the task force will review population trends and projections, school enrollment history and projections, space utilization, health and safety issues, evaluate buildings condition, maintenance and capacity of current facilities. Site visits of all Hudson schools and possibly schools outside the Hudson school district may be necessary. The facilitator will be expected to help the task force make constructive progress towards its final recommendation and December target date.

Budget: The Finance Committee will recommend to the school board a reasonable budget for the task force and facilities planning process that takes into account the costs of information gathering, meetings, and other anticipated expenditures associated with this process. Any increases to the budget or unanticipated expenditures must be justified and presented to the board’s Finance Committee and approved by the board.

Public Input: The facilities planning process will be an open process that allows members of the public and school district to have meaningful opportunities to offer input into the planning process. The task force will identify and make public these various opportunities. Focus groups, interviews, surveys, public hearings or forums are activities that the task force may use in gathering public input. Members of the task force will also be made public and they can be contacted individually by the public or by the constituency he/she may represent.

Timeline: The final written report of the task force shall be presented to the board no later than December 1, 2004. Throughout the process the school board and community will be informed of and have access to the task force’s progress, meeting minutes and reports.

Recommendation: The final work product, report and recommendation of the task force shall be one that has been forged through thoughtful and open deliberations, based on solid research and data, utilizing cost-benefit principles, focused primarily on shortterm facility needs, represents the best possible option, consistent with the district’s strategic planning goals, and centered on a prevailing commitment to delivering quality
education in the Hudson community.

Board Action: After careful study and deliberation of the task force’s recommendation, the board will act upon the task force’s recommendation. The board may ask the task force to present additional information or explanation relating to its report and recommendation. The board may also ask the task force to respond to a specific question or ask it to research a specific issue and report back to the board. The board possesses the final decision-making authority associated with the recommendation received from the task force.

So my questions are:
In the “Purpose” section, the term “quality education” is
1. What is that?
2. What is the concrete definition of “quality education” and how is it measured?
3. If this Task Force is for facilities, what is the direct correlation of “facilities to quality education”?
4. What if any, are the specific traits and characteristics that make a facility conducive to “quality education”? If any, why?
5. Are there other school districts in Wisconsin that fail to have traits and characteristics in question number 4, that fail to have “quality education”. If so, where?
6. Also, are there other districts that do not have the traits and characteristics in question number 4 that still have “quality education”? If so, where?
7. Since there was a referendum last year? Where can I find the document that shows the evaluation mentioned in sentence 1?
8. Is there a plan for an alternative Task Force to study alternatives to what the findings of the Task Force recommends? If so, how can I contact them? If not, why?

In the “Projection” section, they say “To focus attention on the short term or 3-7 year facilities needs”.
9. Why was 3-7 year term chosen?
10. The term “reserve” is also used. Does this mean that the purpose of this Task Force could go till infinitum?
11. What specific actions or consequences determines whether this “Reservation” will continue? How are they measured?
12. The term “Nevertheless” is an adverb meaning “despite anything to the contrary (usually following a concession)”. Does that mean the use of the term “reserve” may not be actually what is planned? What is the contrary thing that the term concedes?
13. What is “subsequent facilities planning process or phase”? What specific characteristics make up a phase? What determines what a phase consists of? Who determines it?
14. The term “believes” is often an extremely vague and subjective term because it usually is tied to an opinion. Why was it used here? What determines these beliefs? What are the specific characteristics of these beliefs?

Under the “Membership”
15. What determined that the task force was to be co-chaired? Who determined it? Why?
16. Why 23 members? How come?
17. What is the definition of “positive contribution”? What determines this? What are the characteristics of “positive contribution”? Who determined this definition?
18. One of the quality’s is “objectivity” meaning judgment based on observable phenomena and uninfluenced by emotions or personal prejudices. What assurances are in place to determine that someone is objective? How? When?
19. How did the school board publicize that they were looking for applicants to serve on the task force? How long to these members serve? Who determined the duration? Where can someone get an application?

In the “Meetings” section.
20. How many meetings have there been? Where can the public read the minutes of the meetings?
21. Where can the public see the flowchart?
22. Who is the professional facilitator? How often were they used? How much did it cost?
23. The co-chairs where to present the task force with rules. Where the Robert’s Rules of Order adopted? If not, what? Why?

In the “Resources” section.
24. Where do the reports, data, studies, research and actions used by the Task Force originate? Does the public have access to this information? What determines whether the reports, data, studies, research and actions are germaine and valid? Who? Can people submit research to the task force?
25. Pertaining to the items for review will be, review population trends and projections, school enrollment history and projections, space utilization, health and safety issues, evaluate buildings condition, maintenance and capacity of current facilities. Is the analysis from multiple sources? Are they from different perspectives? What determines the characteristics that determine which analysis will be used over differing ones? Who makes the determination and why?

In the “Budget” section.
26. What determines a “reasonable” budget? How was it arrived? Who did the determination?
27. What are the “other anticipated expenditures associated with this process”? How much are they? Who determined what they are? Why?

In the “Public Input” section.
28. There are 1000′s of new residents in Hudson since the Task Force began. Where and how do these new residents get “meaningful opportunities to offer input”? Where can the public get a comprehensive list of these “Focus groups, interviews, surveys, public hearings or forums” and the minutes of what was discussed and found?
29. Where can the public find a list of all Task Force members and their contact information?

In the “Timeline” section.
30. Where can the community get the meeting minutes and reports for the Task Force? When was the community informed of the progress of the task force? How?

In the “Recommendation” section.
31. What are the “utilizing cost-benefit principles” methods that you are using? How where they arrived? Who will be the final arbiter as to the method used? Will it be made public as to the decisions used to choose one method over the other?
32. Are there statutory interpretations and regulational interpretations being used in the recommendations? If so, who is doing them? Are there going to be opposing opinions of these interpretations?
33. What specifically are the district’s strategic planning goals? Have we met them?

Overall.
34. Now generally, what steps are being taken to disseminate these types of questions and their answers to the public?

Wow, a few questions there, eh? Actually 84. I think there is no question asked above that either the school board or task force should not answer. My hope is to publicize this letter, along with any newer information that will inform the taxpayers. Only time will see if this Task Force is stacked in the favor of building a new school. I just want them to be intellectually honest with themselves and stop the coverup and secrecy that seems to permeate with the task force and school board in general. If we really do need a new school, let the taxpayers discern for themselves. Please add feedback or comments for any part of this.
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UPDATE (10-07-2004): Look at the new post referencing this post.

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