Case Study: Central Valley School District achieves a community-backed facilities plan with ThoughtExchange

Record engagement helps Central Valley School District create a quality facilities plan

Central Valley School District, serving more than 13,000 students in Spokane Valley, faced severe overcrowding and aging facilities—with 1,500 elementary students projected to be without classrooms by 2018—and struggled to gain meaningful, representative community support for bond funding despite many traditional outreach efforts. Superintendent Ben Small sought a more inclusive, large-scale way to hear community priorities and build consensus.

The district partnered with Thoughtexchange’s online engagement platform to solicit input, drawing 1,900 participants who contributed over 4,000 thoughts and nearly 50,000 stars. The process produced clear priorities (limited tolerance for higher bond taxes, urgent need to address middle/high school overcrowding, and protecting nearby elementary access), united stakeholders, and informed a stronger bond proposal for the February 2015 ballot—while building trust and a repeatable method for future community planning.

Central Valley School District

Rob Curnow

Technology Services Supervisor