A former Fredonia teacher wants to lead a series of meetings between the Board of Education and other community groups about putting together a long-term strategic plan for the district.

Randy Brown, who now teaches at the School of Business at Penn State’s Erie campus but still lives in the area, gave a presentation to the board at its Tuesday meeting at the invitation of Superintendent Jeff Sortisio. He said he has also worked as a planner for businesses and colleges for more than 30 years.

“You’re going to create your own strategic plan, I’m just kind of going to be the architect,” said Brown, who envisions a detailed look at the district’s mission, vision and goals for the next few years. There would also be a detailed analysis of external threats to the school system, he added.

He said he would do an exercise with meeting attendees built around the question, “What would this school system look like if there were no resource constraints?” “It brings you back to reality but it’s kind of fun to think about it, and some of these things could be done without millions of dollars,” he said.

Brown said there would be 10 to 15 meetings which would not have to be attended by all group members at all times. Responding to a question from Board Vice President Cristina Gegenschatz, he said the group should meet at least twice a month. “Once you get the momentum going, it’s important to keep going,” he said. If started now, the process could come to an end in February, he added.

Board President Michael Bobseine mentioned the district has many stakeholders, including local colleges and governments in addition to students, staff and administrators. Brown said the very first thing to do in the strategic plan process would be to identify the stakeholders.

Board member Tom Hawk said strategic planning for the district is part of the job of Business Administrator John Forbes. On Brown’s proposal, he commented, “It’s quite an investment in time and I would be concerned about anybody missing any sessions. It’s that important.” Saying that it is harder to change schools than businesses, he wondered if it would be worth the district’s time.

Hawk asked Brown if he had worked on any school district planning. Brown said no but that issues at colleges, which he has worked with, are just as tough. Hawk then asked Sortisio if he could look into what resources statewide organizations such as the New York State School Boards association offered for districts looking into strategic plans. He promised to try and have a report done by the board’s next meeting, on Oct. 23.

The superintendent added the district had a need to update its vision statement, last changed in 1993, and think about a long-term plan for students. He said that he could lead such a process if the board wished, but that in his research, people from outside the schools always led similar initiatives.

Bobseine promised to distribute Brown’s proposal to board members, for possible consideration at the next meeting. “I really think this is a necessary process,” he said. “It’s important to the board and the district.” The board president added that he is concerned people sent by statewide groups would not know the district as well as someone like Brown.

In other business at Monday’s meeting:

¯ The board formalized a contract with School Safety Advisor Tim Kachelmeyer, whom they hired at their last meeting. The one-year contract was effective Oct. 1 and runs through June 30, 2019. The board also approved a resolution authorizing Kachelmeyer to carry a firearm.

Sortisio said Kachelmeyer has already visited many classrooms across the district and has also chatted with students at their lunch break. He has begun work on a safety plan for the district, the superintendent added.

¯ Bobseine announced the board would attend the induction of former Superintendent Paul DiFonzo into the district’s Wall of Fame prior to its Oct. 23 meeting, at 6 p.m.