The City of Cape Coral Charter School Governing Board on Tuesday authorized staff to begin collecting information to address enrollment and the municipal schools system’s waiting list.

Superintendent Jacquelin Collins recommended that the initial committee core group be herself, the facility manager, finance manager, and city liaison. She said each of the roles would bring a specialized expertise for such areas as expansion planning, debt structure, infrastructure, and long-term operational impact.

Board chair Kristifer Jackson said time is of the essence to form the committee.

“We have to start getting some of this in order now,” he said, as many will be long-term solutions will take a long time to implement. “We do need the content knowledge experts to get the groundwork going for us. It is prudent to have these experts to get this footwork going first, get the numbers rolling and get ideas going. To get the committee formed with the ground already underneath them.”

Jackson said the purpose of the committee is to establish, research, evaluate and recommend strategic options for increasing enrollment and addressing the waiting list of families wanting to get their children into the system.

Topics to be addressed include looking at the infrastructure for possible expansion, policy adjustments, reutilizing the space in the schools, and thinking outside of the box, Jackson said.

“I would like to limit that group to gather the research – they are the experts. Once all the basic information is collected, that is the time we expand to a real standing committee,” Collins said.

Updates will be provided to the board on a continuous basis.

To reach MEGHAN BRADBURY, please email news@breezenewspapers.com