Bethel Park School District developing comprehensive plan for future decisions

James Walsh has been Bethel Park School District’s superintendent for less than a semester and is already working with district and community leaders on plans for the next half-decade and beyond.

He, as well as a steering committee of about 30 to 40 people including teachers, parents, students, school board members, administrators and other leaders, will begin crafting a comprehensive plan this month.

“The plan is being developed by all stakeholders,” Walsh said. “The board wants to know what the community thinks Bethel Park should be within the next five years, what our priorities should be.”

The first meeting was scheduled for April 19. Many members were to participate virtually because of covid restrictions.

Subcommittees will be formed to focus on key areas such as budget and finance, curriculum and instruction, human resources, facilities and infrastructure, student experience, diversity, equity and inclusion.

“There’s really six buckets we’re looking to fill with ideas,” Walsh said. “Those buckets will be filtered through a community survey to pick out the critical few goals that will develop into our strategic plan.”

The survey is expected to be sent out toward the end of summer for public input.

Walsh said he hopes to have a plan ready for the board in October and submit it to the state Department of Education for review by November. The plan would be adjusted based on any state comments, and the board may formally adopt it next year.

“This is a really golden opportunity to bring the community together and create a really compelling vision that we all can get excited about, and we all lock arms together and try and achieve,” Walsh said.

Board president Pam Dobos said she is hopeful about the possibilities the committee will come up with.

“This is my eighth year on the board, and we’ve never really planned too much for the future,” she said. “This is our attempt to plan for what’s going to happen in the next five years and hopefully even longer in the district.

“It’s an amazing opportunity for us to look to the future and figure out what we’re going to. We’ve got old buildings that are causing a lot of maintenance issues. How are we going to look at diversity, equity and inclusion? That’s a big issue in today’s world.”

Working on the plan will also be among the last official actions for Dobos as a board member. She and three other incumbents, Connie Ruhl, Ken Nagel and Russ Spicuzza, are not seeking reelection.

Seven candidates have cross-filed seeking Democratic and Republican nods to run for the four 4-year seats.

Look for a preview of this race in an upcoming issue of Bethel Park Journal.