Carmel Unified adopts 'CUSD Forward' strategic plan for 2025–2030

The Carmel Unified School District Board of Education voted unanimously Wednesday to adopt the district's five-year strategic plan, titled CUSD Forward, covering 2025 through 2030.

Superintendent Sharon Ofek presented the plan and described its mission: "It is our collective responsibility to cultivate individual excellence through the power of every connection," language the writing team selected after multi-stakeholder engagement. The plan lays out five core values — compassion, connection, integrity, excellence and resilience — and four focus areas: student achievement and instruction; safety and wellness; engaged families and community partners; and optimized resources.

The board heard a multi-part presentation from cabinet members that summarized objectives and next steps. Deputy Superintendent Dr. Mary Petty outlined the academic focus, including a professional learning plan, stronger literacy alignment and a coherent K–12 counseling approach. Chief Human Resources Officer Craig Chavez framed safety and wellness as foundational conditions for learning. Chief Operations Officer Dan Paul connected family and community engagement to student outcomes and described alignment with facilities planning. Chief Business Official Yvonne Perez emphasized aligning financial, human and operational resources with the plan's goals.

Ofek described the participatory process: roughly 50 participants from certificated and classified staff, administrators, parent leaders, students, community partners and city officials met in multi-day sessions and contributed to a writing team that refined priorities. She said the writing team worked to translate stakeholder input into measurable objectives and that the district will flesh objectives into action steps, metrics and progress monitoring after formal approval.

Board members praised the plan's collaborative development and asked that measurable outcomes and benchmarks accompany implementation. Board member Rita Patel said she wanted to see specific, numeric targets and agreed to review past board goal language for guidance. Several members described the plan as a tool for board oversight and accountability, and expressed interest in participating in implementation briefings.

The board approved the plan after a motion; the record shows a unanimous vote by Board President Jason Remenzi, Board Clerk Jake Odello, and board members Sarah Hines, Matt Glaser and Rita Patel. The record does not identify the motion mover or seconder by name in the transcript.

The superintendent and cabinet said next steps include turning objectives into action plans with metrics, creating public-facing one-pagers and a marketing rollout to share the plan with families and community partners. Cabinet members said updates will be brought periodically to the board as implementation proceeds.

CUSD Forward will guide the district's prioritization and budgeting decisions going forward, and cabinet members told the board they will align LCAP and budget work to the plan during implementation.