A report shared with Natrona County School District's Compact Issues Committee indicates that district employees have a high level of mistrust, both inside and outside of their buildings.

Mardi Krenek, owner of Krenek Consulting, LLC, said mistrust is common in other districts, but Natrona County stands out.

"I've never heard it to the degree I've heard it in this district," Krenek said.

Krenek was hired by the school district to conduct an organizational assessment for approximately $30,000. Krenek officials asked more than 300 people to rate the school district areas such as leadership, strategic planning and accountability from Sept. 22-26.

Natrona County School District Superintendent Joel Dvorak and Krenek are publicly releasing the results of the assessment in a series of meetings today at the Hilton Garden Inn.

An expanded CIC group, which now includes students, parents and community members, is focusing on how the district can use the assessment to improve.

The group met Monday to begin developing a plan for addressing the improvements suggested in Krenek's report. A sub-group will begin working a district vision, an improvement Krenek's assessment suggested.

The vision, only a few sentences long, will be partially based on goals for the board and superintendent.

The expanded CIC will meet again on Oct. 20 to review the vision and begin framework for a district strategic plan.

"If we don't start to respond to our organizational assessment, and be a little agile, we'll be in serious trouble," Dvorak said. "In my six years, we haven't done this kind of work before."

Reach education reporter Jasa Santos at (307) 266-0593 or at Jasa.Santos@trib.com

News Tracker

Last we knew: The school district hired Krenek, a consulting firm, to perform an organizational assessment. The assessment questioned more than 300 people about the district's leadership, strategic planning, curriculum and teaching, stakeholder engagement, stellar people, effective and efficient processes and accountability.

The latest: Krenek and the district will present the results publicly today, after reviewing them with members of the school board, cabinet members and an expanded Compact Issues Committee.

What's next: A subgroup of the expanded CIC is working on a vision for the district, which will help guide the district's development of a strategic plan. Developing a vision was just one of the opportunities for improvement Krenek's assessment found in Natrona County.

The results are in

Krenek Consulting, LLC and Natrona County School District Superintendent Joel Dvorak will present results of the district's organizational assessment today for the first time publicly.

The 90-minute meetings are scheduled to run all day at the Hilton Garden Inn, located at 1150 N. Poplar. Meeting times are at 8 a.m., 9:30 a.m., 11 a.m., 12:30 p.m., 2 p.m., 3:30 p.m., 5 p.m., 6:30 p.m.