The Olentangy Local School District proposed a new vision statement with 63 words fewer than the current version at Thursday’s school board meeting.

Krista Davis, director of communications for the district, said the school’s vision statement adopted in May 2011 is a mouthful.

“This is not a vision statement that you can say in passing,” she said.

Board member Julie Wagner Feasel agreed. “There are too many adjectives,” she said.

The adopted version contains a three-sentence paragraph and six bullet points, while the proposed statement is a single, 21- word sentence: “Be the recognized leader for high performance and efficiency in education while continuously adapting to meet the challenges of the future.”

Davis said it will help district leaders have a concise and articulate answer about its identity.

Board member Mindy Patrick expressed concern that the statement did not mention athletics and other extracurricular activities.

But board president Dave King said the word “education” is not restricted to academics and includes other opportunities offered by the school district. The proposed statement will be reviewed by the school’s policy committee pending the board’s approval.

Davis said the new vision statement is the foundation for a potential re-branding of the district.

In other business, the board:

• Approved to adopt a new policy for the evaluation system of school counselors, required by the state.
• Approved a resolution for travel reimbursements for board members part of the Ohio School Board Association.
• Approved purchase of digital two-way radios from Bender Communications for $148,058. Superintendent Mark T. Raiff said the purchase will update communication devices throughout all the buildings.

The next board meeting is 6 p.m. Sept. 29.