Board OKs planning committee

Work on group’s development of five-year plan to begin soon

FAYETTEVILLE — A committee of 29 members will begin working in October on the early stages of developing a five-year plan for the Fayetteville School District.

The School Board voted 7-0 during the its meeting Thursday to approve the members of the Framing Our Future planning committee.

The committee’s work will be subject to School Board approval, Superintendent Paul Hewitt said.

“It will really give us a clear focus of who we are and will really bring the community, parents and faculty together to give us that road map of the future,” Hewitt said.

The board meeting also included changes in School Board members, the election of new officers and discussion of a proposed $1,000 salary increase for all certified staff, including teachers.

Hewitt in July introduced Shay Hopper, a Fayetteville High School teacher, and Holly Smith, district instructional facilitator, as leaders of the planning process. They were trained in an organizational planning model developed by The Cambrian Group, an educational planning firm in Montgomery, Ala.

Hewitt has seen the process work for other school districts, he said. Instead of a plan that’s put in a binder on a shelf, the process leads to a plan constantly reviewed and monitored.

“It becomes your way of doing business,” Hewitt said.

Teachers are leading the effort because Hewitt didn’t want to create the perception it was his plan or the School Board’s plan. Hewitt, 70, has told the School Board he hopes this will be his last school year as superintendent, he said.

The committee will set a handful of goals that will go to task forces and will lead to specific action plans, Hewitt said. He hopes the process involves 500 people.

Anyone interested in participating can send their contact information to futureplanning@fayar.net, Hewitt said. They also can wait to see what goals are set and what task forces are created.

Justin Eichmann, School Board vice president, will represent the School Board on the committee that also includes principals, teachers, parents, students and community members. They will convene for the first time for daylong meetings Oct. 12-14.

For the past eight years, the district has focused attention on rebuilding Fayetteville High School, changes in the grade level configuration of campuses, the implementation of state academic standards for literacy and math and changes

in state testing, Eichmann said.

“It’s time for the next phase,” Eichmann said.

Eichmann said he’s grateful for committee members who are willing to give the time and effort to participate.

“It’s going to be a very lengthy and open process,” Eichmann said. “I think this has the potential to define us for a long time.”

Committee members also are Kim Garrett, representing school district administration; principals Michelle Hayward, Bobby Smith and Lori Linam; faculty members Brooke Buckley, Brady Carman, Lisa Davis, Karyn Francis, Leah Rose, Warren Collier, Ruth Mobley, Chantlee Nash, Dana Troutt and Mona Foster; community members Sarah Brady, Jennifer Irwin, Nancy Allen, Karen Boston, Denise Roark, Missy Joyce, Mary Lynn Mantooth, Michelle Kieklak, Regina Thompson, Teresa Fuller, Dr. Nirmal Kilambi and Eva Diaz; and students Ramil Fitz and Ophelia Duchesne.

Hewitt in October will bring a proposal to the School Board raise the salary schedule by $1,000 for all certified staff, which includes teachers. The estimated cost of the raise is $944,000.

The raise would be in addition to the annual bump in pay provided by the salary schedule for each additional year of experience.

The board accepted the resignation of School Board Vice President Jim Halsell, introduced the newly elected representative for Zone 2 Bob Maranto and elected officers. Tim Hudson will continue as the board’s president for another year. Justin Eichmann is the new vice president. Traci Farrah is the board’s new secretary.

Halsell’s resignation takes effect Monday, the same day he will move to State College, Pa., to join his family, he said. His wife, Michele, began a job in January as director of the Sustainable Communities Collaborative within the Sustainability Institute at Pennsylvania State University.

The decision to move was a difficult, Halsell said. Halsell told board members he’ll miss the newly rebuilt Fayetteville High School, theater performances, the sports programs, the choir’s annual madrigal dinner, the Bulldog band and homecoming.

He acknowledged the work of the staff, especially the teachers.

“You’re what makes the system work,” Halsell said. “You’re the ones that ignite the spark of learning in these kids.”

The School Board has until Oct. 28 to appoint a new at- large representative to fill the remainder of Halsell’s term, which expires in September. Any resident within the Fayetteville School District is eligible for the position. The deadline to submit letters and resumes is Oct. 9.

“It’s going to be a very lengthy and open process. I think this has the potential to define us for a long time.” — Justin Eichmann, Fayetteville School Board vice president