Warden School District patrons to be surveyed

WARDEN — The Warden School Board is looking for a new board member.

The resignation of board member Seamus McPartland was announced at the regular meeting Thursday. McPartland “would like to seek a teaching position,” said board chair Rick Martin.

McPartland’s was an at-large position, which means any qualifying adult in the district can apply for the seat. Candidates must live within the school district and be registered voters.

In other business, district officials will conduct an online survey of school district residents, designed to find out what residents think about the district and how they want to address issues going forward. The survey comes after series of sometimes-contentious school board meetings where some district patrons and teachers expressed concern with teacher retention and curriculum, among other things.

Board members had considered a community meeting after the suggestion was made at the May 10 board meeting. But they opted for a community survey instead, with the idea that a survey would reach more district patrons, said board member Doug Skone at the May 24 meeting.

The survey will include components for district patrons, teachers and students. An open survey for anybody who wants to participate – district patron, teacher or student – comes first, scheduled for this summer. The information from that will used as part of the teacher and student surveys.

LaBounty said the program, called Thought Exchange, will be $20,000 for one year of unlimited use.

The company recommended waiting to start the survey until fall, but Warden board members wanted to start sooner, LaBounty said. Survey participants see other comments, react to them, and those reactions are incorporated into the next round of questions. A district patron asked if the process was confidential.

LaBounty said some of it could be; the decision was up to the school board. “We talked as a group. We’d like to have it confidential to start, and see what things come up.”

The survey will be available in English and Spanish. It can be taken on a smartphone, LaBounty said, or any computer. District officials will work to provide access for district patrons who don’t own smartphones or computers, he said.

Cheryl Schweizer can be reached via email at education@columbiabasinherald.com.