The first in a series of community dialogues to help design a 10-year facility master plan for the Scottsdale Unified School District is set for 7 p.m., Jan. 17, in the cafeteria at Saguaro High School, 6250 N. 82nd St.

The two-hour interactive meeting is part of a participatory process being facilitated by the Community Action Committee (CAC) and DeJong & Associates, consultants hired by the District to develop the master plan. An identical meeting for the Spanish-speaking community also is being planned for January.

"Everyone is invited to help design SUSD's Blueprint for the Future," said Dr. Bill Johnson, the District's chief of facilities and operations.

The long-range master plan-the Blueprint-will address what major improvements, if any, will be made to each existing facility; what new facilities, if any, will be built; what existing facilities, if any, should be disposed of; what the timeliness will be; and how it will be funded, Dr. Johnson said.

Parents, students, teachers, neighbors, and friends who attend will have the opportunity to fill out questionnaires seeking individual opinions and preferences about such issues as magnet schools, desirable class size, and before- and after-school programs. Small groups will discuss the individual responses, after which, group responses to the questions will be tallied.

The Community Action Committee will review the information and develop options to be presented during a second round of community dialogues, tentatively being planned at various sites throughout the District for late February or early March.

Following the community dialogues, the CAC will develop recommendations for Governing Board action.

The diverse make-up of the CAC includes 20 representatives from all five school District complexes, as well as representatives from the city of Scottsdale and from the county. It is co-chaired by Chris Schild and Mark Villalpando.

Additional information about the community dialogue or future meetings of the CAC may be obtained from the Facilities & Operations Department at 602-952-6143.

The Scottsdale Unified School District has 34 school facilities serving more than 27,000 students. More than 3,000 persons are employed by the district, including 1,829 teachers. The district celebrated its 100th anniversary in 1996. Its boundaries include most, but not all of the city of Scottsdale, all of the town of Paradise Valley, a section of the city of Phoenix, and a section of the city of Tempe.
#