The committee was tasked with developing LISD’s 10-year plan in January 2022, designing how facilities and campuses are utilized as LISD addresses changes to its population over time.
Now, the long-range planning committee will serve in an advisory role to guide the district as officials make decisions on rezoning attendance areas, repurposing facilities, and setting timelines for construction of future schools and buildings.
The LRPC currently includes three trustees—Place 1 Trustee Trish Bode, Place 4 Trustee Anna Smith and Place 3 Trustee Christine Mauer—in addition campus principals, districtwide administrators, and staff from the business and finance department.
An additional 20 members will be selected, including parents, community members, district staff, board trustees and trustee-nominated members. Also, the district will seek 10 students to become part of the group.
“There will be a blind review process,” said Melody Maples, Stiles Middle School principal and current committee member. “We want to make sure we have a good representation from each of the feeder patterns in each of the areas as well.”
The district will form three subcommittees, each reviewing school of choice policies, repurposing facilities, and ideas for shared learning and community workshops.
As part of the May bond election, several projects to receive funding would go to repurposing district facilities. LISD originally presented a plan in which it could repurpose schools within the central and southern portions of the district turning them into early childhood centers, a professional learning or new high school.
The district has since changed its plan and will partner with the community to prioritize keeping neighborhood schools open and determine the best use of all its facilities.
Chief of Schools Sarah Grissom said work in the Repurposing and Facility Optimization subcommittee has just begun.
“We wanted to start operationally defining what does it mean to repurpose or have facility optimization,” she said. “What does that actually mean and then what are the considerations that we need to look at when we’re in conversations around that? Also, what would trigger that particular conversation?”
The application window to apply for the long-range planning committee for the 2023-24 school year will be open from April 28-May 19. Students, parents and community members may send in an application on the LISD website.
