OXFORD — More than 150 members of the community are expected to turn out Wednesday night to help plan the direction of the Oxford Hills School District.

The Strategic Planning Team will hold a public meeting from 6 to 8 p.m. Dec. 4 at the Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School Forum to discuss what the public has in mind for SAD 17’s future.

“This is all about going to the public first,” committee Chairman Jared Cash of Norway told fellow directors at Monday night’s board meeting.

The Strategic Planning Team, representing longtime community members, alumni, parents of students, former teachers, SAD 17 board members, current teachers and administration, has been engaged in launching a strategic planning process for the next five to 10 years.

They have been meeting with committee facilitator Duke Albanese, senior policy adviser at Great Plains Partnership and state education commissioner during Gov. Angus King’s term, since July to work on the plan.

Cash said the meeting will begin with an open discussion, then members will form small groups of 10 people or so, each with a facilitator.

This is the first step the group is taking before it begins drafting a strategic plan.

The Strategic Planning Team will put the ideas, suggestions and feedback from the public forum into the working draft of the plan, which will ultimately go to the School Board for approval and adoption.

The idea for the group began back in July 2012 when Superintendent Rick Colpitts told the board of directors it would be part of a districtwide effort to develop a vision for students, providing them with what could be a vastly different educational environment than the one they see now.

Several schools in Maine, including Auburn, Portland and Winthrop, completed their plans, which were tailored toward their district’s needs, and have been implementing their plans over the past year.

Cash said the students at the high school have been assisting in preparations by organizing child care, food and other items for the event.

There will be free pizza. Child care for ages 5 to 10 will be offered in the gymnasium. The snow date is Thursday, Dec. 5.

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