PACT (Planning A Course Together) has entered the next phase of its community engagement process for the St Joseph School District.

This next step is an effort to share information with the community about recommendations made to the Board of Education in June, 2011 and gather input about ways to improve them.

The PACT Facilitating Team recently announced the co-chairs for this step of the process. These co-chairs are Kevin Kirby, Executive Director of the American Red Cross (St. Joseph Chapter), Lori Prussman, immediate past president of the St. Joseph PTA Council, and Lee Sawyer, Chief Operating Officer of NPG Newspapers.

From 2010-11, PACT brought together almost a thousand community volunteers to learn about the challenges facing SJSD and develop a plan for addressing these challenges. In June, 2011, PACT presented a set of 51 statements of recommendation to the Board of Education. These recommendations include a draft Facilities Master Plan and suggested improvements in other areas related to the District, including pre-school/early childhood education, technology, finance, staffing and safety/security. PACT is now taking the recommendations to the community and asking for input on how they can be strengthened.

More details about the recommendations are available at the PACT website. Visitors to the website can also view an informational video and request a speaker for an upcoming meeting or event.