STRATEGIC PLANNING PROPOSAL

Before the Jacksonville Independent School District Board of Trustees asks the taxpayers to approve a new capital bond, wouldn’t it be nice to see a long-term Educational Master Plan addressing phased construction, community forums and input, a technology assessment (and growth plan), and questions about how to make the tasks of improving our schools more economically and environmentally friendly?
While there appears to be a general consensus that the public use buildings of JISD are in need of repairs and, in some cases, replacement, there is little consensus on the best methods for meeting the district’s needs. The previous bond attempt was based on a concept that included redesign, repurposing, renovation and new construction, using conventional materials and labor sources. While many of the goals of the bond were acceptable, the means and expenditures were not acceptable to the majority of Jacksonville voters.
Following the untimely death of James Farmer, it was widely proposed that the building trades program at Jacksonville High School be reinstated. The building trades program, in years past, was responsible for completing one home per year in the city of Jacksonville. The homes were well built and the student participants came away from the experience with a sense of accomplishment and a valuable life-long skill set for future employment.
Several citizens have discussed the possibility of renewing this program with an eye toward students building for students – a building trades program that would contribute toward the renovation and new construction of space needed by JISD. In addition, the program could be expanded to include students at the Compass Campus and perhaps even Middle School. Student involvement in construction would give the students a sense of "ownership", and possibly lead to encouraging a sense of stewardship among the student body on the various campuses, resulting in proactive reporting of problems, such as inadvertent mishaps, and limiting intentional vandalism.
In addition, it has been suggested that the district research using environmentally sustainable building materials in new construction, to eliminate or, at the least, mitigate, the environmental and public health impacts of traditional construction materials. Other environmental concerns could also be considered, such as the use of high-density building materials such as straw bale to create super-insulated buildings that require significantly less energy to heat and cool, the use of solar energy to supplement traditional energy sources, and even water recycling options. One use for the JISD owned land adjoining the high school could be for the JHS agricultural students to grow either a wheat or oat type crop to supply straw for straw bale construction, or for growing grasses used in alternative construction as straw substitutes.
Finally, a proposal to integrate community participation with JISD goals has been suggested. The proposal is for volunteer community participation through partnerships with area churches, community groups and corporate entities, similar to Habitat for Humanity, to be garnered as a means of reducing overall expenditures. Civic participants would have the opportunity to either volunteer labor and/or sponsor material resources.
Many of the trustees and administrators seem to lean toward using Whitehouse or Round Rock as models for JISD. A worthwhile question for all to consider is, do the people of Jacksonville want their school district to be a clone of another town’s? Or do we want to put the "independent" back in "Jacksonville Independent School District"? The best route to the latter is to open the floor to a serious discussion of meeting our challenges with innovation, creativity and "out of the box" thinking.