Polk County Schools recently began strategic planning with many schools holding staff meetings to discuss system goals for the next five years.

Superintendent Bill Miller said the goal of strategic planning is to formulate a district mission, set of belief statements and board goals.

“Different people providing input about the direction we go in next, allows us a better opportunity to make sure we have schools our communities are happy with, our parents are happy with and our students are happy with,” Miller said. “The more people that can contribute to that the better chance we have of going in the right direction.”

Miller said the system plans to ask staff and community members a series of questions.

Those questions include:

What are your thoughts about our facilities and what safety concerns do you have?

What are your thoughts about the school day and the school year?

How do you feel about course offerings and student achievement?

How should a modern classroom operate and what is the instructional delivery that will be most effective?

Do you have any other issues regarding strategic importance that we didn’t ask you?

Miller said the final question allows participants to think big.

“The last question is basically, ‘If you had a million dollars to spend on Polk County Schools what would you spend it on?’” Miller said.