PONDERAY — Strategic planning helps drive future decisions by outlining needs and goals of businesses over the short- and long-term.

The Lake Pend Oreille School District has begun the process of creating a long-range plan as Superintendent Shawn Woodward outlined a plan model during Tuesday's Board of Trustees meeting.

"The goal for us would be to have a strategic plan, a long-range plan, that would help us make really good decisions when it comes to our resources over the next five years," Woodward said. "And also helps us identify five or six priorities for our school district that are some of the most important levers that can be integrated and incorporated into all of our district activities to improve student learning — because that is what it all boils down to."

The plan will identify five or six priorities for the district that will improve student learning. The first step is to form a steering committee, Woodward said. The committee will be made up primarily of people who have the responsibility of carrying out the plan, he said. Therefore, the committee would be made up primarily of staff members and a couple of parents.

Woodward asked Geraldine Lewis, LPOSD board chair, to serve as board chair for the committee as well. The committee will be formed by Oct. 15, Woodward said.

The next step, between Oct. 15 and Jan. 15, would be to conduct a needs assessment. That will consist of a process of gathering quantitative and qualitative data regarding the district, as well as getting input from stakeholders through interviews and focus groups. From there, the steering committee will use the information gathered to begin the process of outlining the district's strategic goals.

The strategic plan will be up for approval and adoption by the school board in April, Woodward said.

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Also of note from Tuesday's meeting, Matt Brass, the district's directory of technology, received approval by the Aboard to seek bids for wireless equipment in the three LPOSD high schools — Clark Fork, Lake Pend Oreille and Sandpoint.

The wireless equipment in all of the elementary schools and Sandpoint Middle School is owned by the district. That equipment can, for the most part, be controlled remotely by the technology department if there is an issue, Brass said. The three high schools, however, are currently under contract through the Idaho Department of Education for wireless equipment. By opting out of the state's contract, Brass said the district will receive up to $21 per high school student from the state to set it up.

Though he has not received the bids, Brass estimated the cost of equipment and installation $106,622. He based the estimate on recent upgrades to three elementary schools and the middle school. Along with the $21 per student, it would run through the E-Rate program as well, Brass said, which would cover 80 percent of the cost. E-Rate is a Federal Communication Commission program that finances connectivity for schools and libraries.

As per Brass' estimate, E-Rate would cover approximately $85,297 and with 1,195 students in the high schools, the state would cover $25,095, leaving approximately $3,770 in extra funds.

"We would actually have a little extra money for overages," Brass said, adding there are "always overages that come with projects."

Brass said he also set aside some money in the department's budget for any other overage costs that may occur. 

After garnering bids, Brass will again come before the board for a final decision on the equipment.

Mary Malone can be reached by email at [email protected] and follow her on Twitter @MaryDailyBee.