Determining its core beliefs and planning a vision for the future were pretty smooth procedures for the Conejo Valley Unified School District Board of Education this summer.

However, the next step—determining strategic goals for the 2010-11 school year—is proving to be more complicated.

The board called a special meeting Aug. 24 to decide its priorities for the year. They used a list of five goals presented by CVUSD Superintendent Jeff Baarstad as a starting point. However, it quickly became apparent the list offered by Baarstad on behalf of the district’s management team and the one envisioned by the board members who direct it aren’t in harmony.

“I’m not disputing the value of these goals. But the truth is, they’re your goals,” said board member Betsy Connolly. “I want to make sure we address the bullet points (vision statements) and the sorts of things we hope will be on the docket for this year.

“This seems more like an action plan, the stuff you’re going to do to make that happen. We (board members) don’t see that.”

Those comments—echoed by other board members—didn’t seem to faze Baarstad. Instead, they appeared to play into his objective for the meeting: getting the five-member board to come to a consensus on areas it wants to prioritize for the next 10 months and beyond.

“They don’t have to be one document,” Baarstad said.

While the management team has its eye on processes needed to move the district forward in such areas as managing the future budget, improving student learning in language arts and math, and expanding the use of technology to aid learning, the board is understandably concerned with the end results.

Baarstad implored the board to narrow in on three “focus areas” during the 90-minute meeting.

“Nothing needs to be invented in education anymore. We just need to replicate positive practices across the board,” Baarstad said. “But there is power in articulating a focus. If we have a multiyear focus, we can make real, real progress.

“I’d like to see us focus on a few things and make sure we do them really well,” he said.

After much discussion the board ultimately agreed on two areas of emphasis for the year: improving teacher effectiveness and remaining a champion of strong co-curricular programs despite the current statewide budget crunch. The next step is creating subcommittees, including the CVUSD management team and two board members to develop success indicators for each of those focus areas.

“I think we came up with a way that makes the two (lists of goals) come together without either one needing to back away from what they feel needs to be done,” Connolly said.

Baarstad agreed with Connolly’s assessment.

“I feel we’ve made some real headway in our approach to strategic planning in this district,” he said.