The Prescott School Board would like to know the thoughts of school district residents on some much-needed projects to get done, and as such it is in the final stages of developing a survey entitled School Perceptions, to be finalized at the next regular board meeting on September 23 and mailed to resident mail boxes on October 1. The paper survey approach together with an online option is meant to reach the broadest number of people possible. Board Vice President Steve Sizemore filled in the details at the August 20 school board meeting.

“We have four buildings in our portfolio, and we are committed to maintaining all four buildings,” Sizemore said of the idea behind the 8-page survey response the district is sending out. Residents of the district are essentially being asked to choose between two pathways, he said.

“Do we go left, or do we go right?” In order to make the survey user-friendly, the district had removed a lot of the technical language like “galvanized pipes” in its most recent work session August 11 from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. Households with more than one person who wishes to answer the survey can request an extra copy of it.

Chief among the present project questions are more secure entryways at the Malone Elementary and Intermediate Schools, but others were just as pertinent. The Elementary School roof was currently beyond its life expectancy, and the

See SURVEY, Page 8 repair costs to right things could cost $1 million, a generational expense. Tanya Holub said it was an opportunity to teach the public about what the district wants to do, but Board Clerk Pat Block had his own two cents.

“I don’t dispute that,” he said to Holub’s idea, but there was a potential mixed message to clear up: was the district asking residents for money, or how to spend the money?

“I’m with Pat on this one,” Holub shared of her opinion on the matter. The elementary roof wasn’t an option or a choice, but instead a need, which in turn needed community support to get completed, if residents so chose. Block chimed in next.

“We’re committed to having a roof that works,” he said of the elementary school top side. Meanwhile, another contributor introduced a new vocabulary word to the mix: disaggregation.

“If you look at the responses and the disaggregation…” he started out. “Disaggregation” relates literally to not (dis) gather (aggregate). More colloquially it refers to breaking down survey respondent answers to make good financial decisions about district needs. The future of Prescott Schools, after all, depends on making wise choices.