Public meetings scheduled for June 1 and 2
The Fayetteville-Manlius School District is continuing forward in developing a long-term plan to enhance school facilities and is looking for community input.
The plan will address the district’s facility needs and ensure students are learning in instructional spaces designed to best prepare students with the skills and knowledge needed for 21st century learning.
Earlier in May, representatives from School Leadership, LLC, an educational consulting firm that includes long-range planning in its specialties, spent three days in the district interviewing school leadership and staff members as well as touring district facilities.
Through their observations and review of district documents, such as reports compiled by the district’s architects and engineers, they have identified what they consider the preliminary long-term needs of each of the district’s six school buildings, as well as the district’s overall facility needs.
The consultants will be back at F-M June 1 and 2 to refine their preliminary conclusions by conducting focus groups with identified stakeholders, including the F-M Board of Education, elected officials from the town and villages, and groups such as the F-M Education Foundation and each school’s Home and School Association.
The district encourages community members to learn about the challenges facing the district’s facilities and to take part in the discussion. Residents will have the opportunity to do so during two community forums, which will be held:
• June 1, 7 p.m., Wellwood Middle School auditorium, 700 S. Manlius St., Fayetteville.
• June 2, 7 p.m., F-M High School auditorium, 8201 E. Seneca Turnpike, Manlius.
Members of the media are welcome to attend either community forum. The on-site contact at each event will be F-M Superintendent Craig J. Tice. Each forum is expected to last about one hour.
District residents who are unable to attend either community forum will have the opportunity to provide feedback through an online survey. The survey, which is currently being developed by School Leadership officials, will be posted on the district website, fmschools.org. In addition, a section of the district website will be devoted to updating the community about the facilities planning process (fmschools.org/facilities).
“We are excited about moving forward and really taking a critical look at the spaces we educate our students in and whether those spaces are structured in a manner that provides the types of educational experiences that will best prepare our students to succeed in life,” Tice said. “We hope that the community will partner with us as we think about the future success of our district, which goes hand-in-hand with the future success of our community.”
