GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) – Parents, staff, students and community members are invited to attend a community engagement session to share their vision for Green Bay Area Public Schools.
“Back in 2016, the district has started on a process to really addressing inequities in our facilities and our enrollment across the district,” said Communications Director Lori Blakeslee. “So we’re really looking to kick off that process. We’ve brought in a firm to do a 10 year facilities master plan.”
Through a 2017 referendum, the District was able to address long-term capacity and safety needs in the District, as well as improve learning spaces to better align with instructional needs in multiple schools.
The firm will develop long-term recommendations to present to the Board of Education. The study will provide recommendations regarding mechanical systems, instructional learning spaces, enrollment and capacities, transportation, safety and security, technology, and future programming needs.
“These community gathering sessions are really that first opportunity now to bring in the community and have them tell us what they would like, and when they think about 2032, what they want the school district to look like,” Blakeslee told WTAQ News. “What kind of programming should be in our district? What are the concerns they have with our facilities?”
Everyone in the community is invited to provide input, because everyone in Green Bay is impacted by the school system in some way.
“People who maybe haven’t had children yet, so theirs will be in school over the next 10 to 20 years, we’re looking to hear from parents who currently have students at school, and grandparents,” Blakeslee said. “People who don’t have children, they also contribute to our school through their property taxes, but they also a benefit from our schools as far as having employees and all sorts of things…We’re really wanting to make sure that everyone has that voice at the table so we really ensure that whatever our final product is, it really is a true reflection of what the community as a whole would like to see it from their school district.”
In-person sessions will be held:
- Monday, February 28, 6-8 p.m., West High School, Library Media Center, 966 Shawano Avenue
- Wednesday, March 2, 6-8 p.m., Edison Middle School, Commons, 442 Alpine Drive
Face coverings will be required, unless the Board’s criteria regarding the removal of face coverings has been met.
Translators will be available for Spanish, Hmong, and Somali for all sessions. An American Sign Language interpreter will also be available.
If you’re unable to make it to one of those sessions, don’t sweat. There will be an online survey starting March 4th.
“We’ll be recording a presentation and placing that on our website, and then there will be a online survey that individuals can take to provide that same information and respond to the same kind of questions,” Blakeslee said.
You can learn more about the session on the district’s website.
