District surveying community as it considers future

The Newbury School District announced it has opened an anonymous survey to gather community input on the district’s future plans.

Residents are encouraged to complete the survey that is available on the district’s website — newburyschools.org — and Facebook page, according to a news release

All parents, staff and residents will have the opportunity to provide anonymous feedback through the survey, which is being administered by an unbiased third party, the release stated.

The results will be analyzed and reported later this month.

The survey arrives as Newbury Schools continues working with the Berkshire and West Geauga districts to collect and analyze financial, educational, and community data.

The district is considering a transition because of continually declining enrollment. From 2009 to 2017, Newbury’s total, year-end student enrollment dropped from 681 to 387, representing a 44 percent decline, the release stated. The district expects the steep decreases to continue.

“Keeping residents and staff informed is only half of communicating, the other half is listening,” Newbury Local Schools Superintendent Jacqueline Hoynes said in the release. “It is critical to capture stakeholder feedback to ensure that our future plans take those thoughts and concerns into consideration.”

Following the online survey, a random sampling of residents will be contacted to participate in a statistically-valid phone survey in late November.

“The results of all of the data will be critical in helping us plan our next transition,” Hoynes said. “We understand that changes can be difficult, and it is our goal to disrupt our students as little as possible.”