Results of facility study expected soon
The Aurora 4R School Board could start discussing reports and possible action items, including facility needs, as early as next month stemming from a strategic planning process that began approximately two years ago.
Supt. Jody Phillips advised the board during Monday’s regular monthly meeting that focus areas identified during the strategic planning process are now being discussed in detail and will lead to what he calls an exciting time of review and possible change for Aurora Public Schools.
“We’re going through a facility study right now and what better time to have conversations about academic programming than when we are looking at facilities and educational planning, all of that,” he said. “Some of these conversations have initially started and now it’s just a matter of continuing them and coming up with the end result.”
The board hired BVH, a Lincoln-based architectural firm, in December to begin a detailed study to evaluate the existing condition of facilities throughout the district. That firm completed its on-site visits several months ago and has been working on a report expected to be completed sometime this fall. Phillips said he spoke with the architect Friday and was told that a preliminary report outlining potential projects could be available within the next few weeks.
“Based on whatever it is they give us, I or the administrative team will provide some feedback to them so they can go and tweak that, but then I’m hoping by the November or December board meeting we’re bringing something back to you, the board, for viewing,” he said. “Then we’ll look to see what is our next step regarding that.”
Phillips reported that he plans to post the facilities study to the district’s website soon so that the public can view and study it in detail.
“They’ll be able to see the condition report to see what buildings are like and how they fare,” he said. “Whenever we have something else to communicate they can match what is in potential projects to what the condition report said within that facility study. So, the next month is going to be exciting, I think, when they come back as far as ideas and more suggestions.”
Focus areas
In addition to reviewing the district’s facility needs, the strategic planning process initiated in the fall of 2022 identified key focus areas as student achievement/academic programming, budget and finance, as well as safety and security.
Phillips said he is going to be initiating a lot of conversations in the coming year, all linked to the strategic plan and the goal of helping clarify the district’s mission and objectives.
“Don’t be surprised if at the November and December board meeting some items start popping up either as discussion items or possibly action items based off of some of the conversations that we’re having internally, and also with our parents in our community,” he said. “Just because we’ve done it for 15 or 20 or 90 years doesn’t mean that’s what we have to continue doing. We have to focus on being the best that we can be, and part of being the best we can is constantly looking at what we’re doing, re-evaluating and making changes if we need to. This is not a ‘We’re flipping the whole world upside down conversation,’ but it’s just looking at certain things and making sure we’re pointed in the right direction.”
One example Phillips cited of items to be reviewed is the district calendar, and specifically the early-out Wednesday schedule.
“Why is it we set our calendar up the way that we do and should we be doing something different?” he asked. “We’ve been doing early-out Wednesdays for 10 to 15 years. There was an initial reason as to why we did early-out Wednesdays, but those have morphed and developed and evolved over that time, so I do think it’s worth us revisiting early-out Wednesdays, what we do during that time, how we do it, when we do it, why we do it, and look to see if there is a different way for us to be doing that.
“So, just a heads up to all of you that there is a little bit of anxiousness on the staff’s part,” he continued. “They don’t know what that means, but I do think it’s going to be good for everybody involved having those conversations and for me or any other member of our staff to be able to say why we do what we do and how we do it, the purpose, when, and all that good stuff.”
Phillips noted possible discussion points with each of the strategic plan’s focus areas, beginning with academic programming and student achievement. He reported that the district used the SEED (Supporting Educator Effectiveness through Development) model to develop new instructional guidelines, which defines the five components of expectations of teachers as planning and preparation, classroom environment, instructional strategies, assessment and professionalism.
“Everything that we do moving forward stems or builds off of or falls under those five areas,” he said.
Unintentionally, he added, the district started some conversations about expanding early childhood programming based in part on the unexpected closure of the local Head Start program.
“So we are going to be beginning some conversations regarding early childhood opportunities and how we can expand that and do so in an efficient manner in our district, even possibly for next school year,” he said.
High-ability learning will also be part of the academic programming discussion, he added, at the elementary, middle school and high school levels.
As for budget and finance, Phillips said he will be sending an informational update to parents and community members with regard to the 2024-25 budget in an effort to be totally transparent, explaining how the district reached its current level of tax asking. He also noted that he will be attending a Nebraska Department of Education conference in November focused on safety and security.
“I’m going to learn about that in November and then we are going to embark on some of those activities as a way of just increasing awareness, increasing our capacity with school safety, so I’ll be able to give you more on that as we go,” he said. “The biggest component of this is putting something into place because the strategic plan will guide us and hold us accountable as far as addressing and doing this,” Phillips concluded. “That strategic plan is not just a piece of paper, it’s what is going to drive us. We’ve identified the four focus areas, and now we’re going to go work on those four focus areas.”
Action items
After hearing brief reports from each of the district’s administrators, the board voted to approve a resolution closing option enrollment for the ELL (English Language Learners), Title 1 and Alternative Education programs. Phillips explained that the board took the same action last year, as is allowed by law, based on the district’s limited financial and staff resources in those three areas.
In other action, the board:
* approved the Aurora Education Association as the exclusive bargaining agent for the districts non-supervisory staff for the 2026-27 contract year;
* approved classified staff adjustments for the month of October.