D99 Board Plans Retreat to Work Through Issues

In response to a fairly contentious Fall semester that saw of public in-fighting, the board discussed a self-evaluation retreat at its April 30 special workshop meeting.

During the meeting's informal discussion of the matter, it seemed likely the roughly four hour long retreat would take place this summer.

Superintendent Mark McDonald said the purpose of the retreat would be to "promote the growth and development of the board of education as a group" and one of his primary concerns with the retreat is making sure it's properly facilitated properly.

To that end, the district may end up hiring two consultants to facilitate the retreat, with a potentially minimal cost impact. McDonald wasn't sure exactly how much it would cost to hire the consultants, but felt it may be closer to $1,000 than $5,000.

The next step for the board will be to meet with and possibly interview the two consultants before settling on whether to hire both, one or either. Both facilitators come highly recommended, but board members Keith Matune and Mike Davenport stressed a desire to make sure the board got a chance to interview the two facilitators before making a decision.

"I wouldn't object to interviewing the facilitators prior to doing this," Davenport said. "It's important everyone is comfortable going into this."