KENNEBUNK — Suggestions and reflections flowed freely Monday night during a community forum hosted by Regional School Unit 21, at the Middle School of the Kennebunks.

More than 175 people attended the forum, which was intended to gain community input for the strategic plan of the newly formed RSU. By state mandate, the new district combined Arundel with Kennebunk and Kennebunkport, formerly SAD 71, beginning this school year.

“It’s awfully encouraging to see so many people coming out here tonight to support our schools,” said Leia Lowery, an RSU board member from Arundel, addressing the crowd. “We have a really unique opportunity ”“ we’re a new board, a new school district and have a new superintendent. It’s important to us to chart a path forward.

“We really want to know what you guys think we should be doing.”

The Strategic Planning Team, a combination of school board and community members, was formed earlier this school year to focus on development of a mission statement, goals and performance indicators for the district.

The group began the evening with a showing of the video “Did You Know?” which shows statistics regarding technology and the United States’ place among other countries. Superintendent Andrew Dolloff then shared some statistics from the district’s schools, showing how local performance compares to that of the state, country and international community.

In group discussions, which took up the rest of the evening, participants shared their thoughts on various issues concerning RSU 21, from the use of technology to how students are assessed.

“Dialogue like this is great because we don’t hear from the citizens,” said Kennebunk Selectman Dave Spofford, who participated in a group. “It’s up to us to prioritize and focus on what we want.”

Discussions ranged widely, with some groups suggesting that the district recognize more students for the gifted and talented programs; improve school experience for average performers; or maintain sports, art and music programs.

Others touched on technology, noting that the middle school students participate in the statewide laptop program. High school student David Ryan said that laptops and SmartBoards aren’t necessary in most classes, though a few parents in his group disagreed, saying the technology is important.

RSU board member John Sharood, who led a different group, said his participants concluded that “it takes more than technology to make a good school district. We want kids to know how to learn.”

Asking the community for more support ”“ both financial and participatory ”“ came to forefront in some groups. Several of the participants said that the school board should increase the budget, even if it impacts taxes, and should also look to private funding sources.

RSU board member Jack Reetz said his group was clear: “Don’t be shy about asking the community for money.”

Others thought the district should simply focus on hiring and retaining inspiring teachers.

“All of this is about people,” said participant Frank Drigotas, of Kennebunk. “Everyone has had a teacher who changed their lives.”

Those comments were only a few from the 10 groups’ hour-long discussions around questions posed by the RSU Strategic Planning Team. Participants also filled out surveys with their ideas, to be submitted to the team for review.

RSU board members planned to gather input from school administrators as well, and discuss the findings with the Great Schools Partnership, a Portland-based non-profit with which the district has contracted to develop its strategic plan.

A report on the community forum was planned for the Jan. 25 school board meeting, but the response was too great, said Dolloff Monday night. A summary will be given at that meeting, but all of the results of the forum are not expected to be compiled by then.

The turnout, he said, was “absolutely amazing. It really speaks to the passion and interest of people in this community to our schools.”

The final strategic plan is set to be adopted in June, with several public hearings along the way, said Dolloff. The slideshow presentation given Monday night, as well as an online version of the survey, can be found at www.rsu21.net.

— City Editor Kristen Schulze Muszynski can be contacted at 282-1535, Ext. 322 or kristenm@journaltribune.com.