The Sioux City School Board may hire a professional outside facilitator to guide the upcoming committee process of determining if the three aging public high schools should be modernized.
Four facilitators have contacted Sioux City School District officials to potentially carry out that work. School Board President Treyla Lee and Vice President Earl Miller during the Monday board meeting said the committee could use a facilitator to improve and focus deliberations.
The West, North and East high schools were opened in 1972, and are showing their age.
The School Building Advisory Committee has 19 members, and is expected in September to have the first of 10 meetings that will run into 2027.
The possible cost for hiring a facilitator could range from $10,000 to $70,000, meeting participants said. A decision will come at a future board meeting.
School board member Bob Michaelson said he prefers selecting an internal district employee to serve as the committee facilitator. Lee said an outside facilitator is preferable.
Earlier this month Interim Superintendent Jim Vanderloo told Siouxland Public Media News that he expects the committee discussions will be broad.
“Quite frankly, every option you can think of is on the table,” Vanderloo said.
“...Do we remodel, do we rebuild, do we consolidate, what is it? Maybe there are many other options out there that people will think of. We just know that (the schools) need some attention.”
