WOODSTOCK – Woodstock Community Unit School District 200 parents and other Woodstock-area residents are concerned more about educational programming than other facility uses as officials consider school consolidation, according to recently released Facility Review survey results.
District 200 officials have been pondering school consolidations in an effort to better use district space and resources. A formal option to close schools hasn't been placed before the school board as of yet, but a facilities committee has focused on the potential plan, and multiple public meetings have been held to discuss the topic at length.
The majority of the 1,459 survey respondents were district parents, with district employees and community members being the next two largest demographics.
Ninety-three percent of people strongly agreed or agreed that the district facilities should be used in a manner that provides a high-quality program that meets the needs of students. Only 51 percent strongly agreed or agreed that the district should consolidate facilities and programs to provide cost savings while maintaining quality education.
Respondents answered questions on multiple issues about the district facilities, including the potential of partnership opportunities, public use and programming.
“This gives you a couple different data points to look at and community feedback, which is what the committee wanted,” Superintendent Mike Moan said. “This is a data point that is clearly giving us an opinion moving forward.”
Future surveys might be on the way as this process moves forward.
“I think [the results] offer little guidance,” said Susan Handelsman, a member of the Facilities Review Committee. “It was written in a nonspecific way.
“I am hoping any future surveys will be much more specific and have actionable results.”
The committee will meet at 5:30 p.m. Thursday in room D187 at Woodstock North High School. Full survey results are available on the district's website.