A strategic planner was hired recently to help the Lafayette Parish School System make long-term decisions about facilities and programs.
The district signed a contract with New Orleans-based Civic Solutions Group on May 21, according to records obtained by The Advocate.
Between now and October, the group will work with district staff and with community input to develop a “multi-year phased approach to address ongoing demographic trends in the district.”
There is little online about the group but documents, including the contract and statement of work, provide more information about what’s expected of the planner and who else applied for the position.
Why did LPSS hire a strategic Planner?
LPSS has seen a decline in enrollment, a trend seen across the United States. That decline, an ending of federal COVID-19 funding and an increase in insurance costs are all contributing to a shrinking budget.
Superintendent Francis Touchet Jr. And school board members who sit on the district’s Long Range Planning Committee said hiring a strategic planner will help the district create a plan that could attract and retain students and staff.
The school board unanimously voted in March to allow Touchet to contract with a strategic planner to “study student enrollment and capacity,” assess the impact of charter and private schools on the district and make recommendations about the most effective use of facilities.
The vote did not include a request that Touchet return to the school board to confirm the terms of the contract, such as the cost or deliverables.
Assistant Superintendent of Administration and Operations Jennifer Gardner wrote in an April 22 memo to Touchet that senior level staff reviewed three bids for the planner and chose Civic Solutions Group.
Although the group was the highest bidder, Gardner said in the memo staff chose CSG because of its “extensive background in education analysis” and because it’s a local company.
The statement of work from CSG said its services would cost $184,500. The district previously said it would work with its philanthropic partners to receive funding for the planner but the district is paying for it in its entirety.
Who is Civic Solutions Group?
CSG, which was formed in 2019, is a “partnership of former education system leaders seeking to support current leaders in improving the responsiveness and quality of public education,” according to a spokesperson.
CSG team members have worked in a consulting capacity and completed similar projects to what it plans to accomplish in Lafayette with other school districts in New Orleans and New York City, the spokesperson said. Recently the team has worked on optimization efforts with San Antonio Independent School District and Aldine Independent School district.
Collectively, the members of the CSG team have more than five decades of experience working within education agencies as employees or consultants, according to a spokesperson.
Paul Pastorek, a partner with CSG, and Gabriela Fighetti, a managing partner with CSG, gave a presentation about what the group will be doing in Lafayette during a June Long Range Planning Committee meeting.
Pastorek was appointed to the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education by Gov. Mike Foster in 1996 and served until 2004. He was then Louisiana Superintendent of Education from 2007 to 2011.
He also served as general counsel for several space and defense organizations, according to his biography in the statement of work. He served on several education boards.
Fighetti spent nearly 20 years working for local education agencies in New York City and New Orleans before joining CSG, according to a biography provided to The Acadiana Advocate.
While working with NYC Public Schools, Fighetti she worked with a division designed to ensure the schools in the district reflected the community’s needs.
In New Orleans, she worked with the Louisiana Recovery School District, managing the creation and implementation of the city’s unified enrollment system. She also served as the Chief of Student Access at NOLA Public Schools working to give students fair and equitable access to public schools.
What companies applied for the position?
LPSS considered bids from three companies: CSG, Louisiana Education Policy Institute and Steady State Impact Strategies.
In its proposal, Lafayette-based Louisiana Education Policy Institute said its services would cost $150,000 to $200,000. Its work would include stakeholder engagement, data gathering and analysis, strategic planning, recommendations development, marketing and communications strategy development, and a partnership approach, according to documents.
Steady State Impact Strategies, based in Dallas-Fort Worth, said in its proposal its services would cost $157,500. It would work with all stakeholders to provide a five- and 10-year plan aligned with LPSS’s goals, support infrastructure needs and inform resource allocation decisions.
The group said it has worked with several other districts including in Kentucky and Wisconsin and schools in Texas. It also said it works with Louisiana schools through the state department of education’s Reimagine Schools Grant.
Touchet and his leadership team interviewed all three prospective vendors and “after careful consideration” chose CSG, a district spokesperson said.
What is the CSG supposed to do?
In its request for a comprehensive facilities planner, LPSS laid out several deliverables.
It wants the planner to work with stakeholders and LPSS to create a community advisory panel, lead and organize community meetings and create online stakeholder surveys.
It also requested the planner assess data related to the district’s demographics, enrollment trends and projections, its magnet programs, campus capacity and conditions, grade-level configuration on campuses, underdeveloped land and transportation issues.
With that information, LPSS wants the planner to provide recommendations on consolidations and closures, and on future expansion and construction needs.
In its proposed scope of work, CSG said it would focus on community engagement; district optimization framework and reports; internal communication, facilitation and project management; and communications narrative and strategy.
Some of the deliverables CSG said it would present include organizing three to five community meetings, analyzing a community survey, creating district optimization reports and developing key messages based on the district optimization framework.
An advisory committee will consist of 15 people. Touchet will appoint six people. Each of the nine school board members submitted two people for consideration. CSG will “evaluate the potential appointees to ensure a diverse council that is representative of the district,” an LPSS spokesperson said. The members should be announced soon.
At the end of July, the group will present the board with the priorities indicated by the community. The board can have final say on those priorities. Civic Solutions Group will then bring back recommendations to the board in November.
How can the public weigh in?
Touchet said “community engagement is a key part” of developing a long-term plan for the district.
CSG is hosting three in-person community feedback sessions. At 6 p.m. July 17, simultaneous sessions will be held at Acadiana High and Northside High. At 6 p.m. July 18 a session will be held at Southside High School.
Stakeholders also can give feedback by completing a survey, which is expected to take less than five minutes to complete. Thoughts and questions also can be emailed to districtplanning@lpssonline.com.
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