For the third straight year, the Wright City R-II School District has scheduled monthly town hall meetings to help gather input from the community. The first gathering for the school year will be Monday, Sept. 12, on college readiness. The meeting will begin at 5:30 p.m. at Wright City West Elementary. Other town hall meetings and topics that are scheduled are: Tuesday, Oct. 11, four-day weeks, Wright City Middle School; Tuesday, Nov. 29, finance/budget development, Wright City High School; Tuesday, Dec. 13, PAWS plan, Wright City West Elementary; Tuesday, Jan. 24, finance/budget development, Wright City Middle School; and Tuesday, Feb. 28, finance/budget development, Wright West Elementary School. The starting times have yet to be set for the others with the exception of next week’s town hall meeting. Superintendent Dr. Chris Gaines said hosting regular town hall meetings has been beneficial for district officials and administrators. In the past, parents offered assistance when the district was forced to make budget cuts and provided comments on attracting and retaining quality teachers. “For us, it’s been an avenue to get input and feedback that before we weren’t getting,” Gaines said. “It’s also an opportunity to share information to a broader audience.” Each town hall meeting follows a similar structure. A 20- to 30-minute presentation on that evening’s topic is made and then attendees meet in groups to answer specific questions. An opportunity is then provided for the groups and individuals to share their feedback and offer input at the end of each meeting. From there, district staff gathers the meeting content for future review. Next week’s meeting on college readiness is designed to help parents learn what that exactly means. Gaines said most students and parents begin preparing for college in high school, but said that the mindset needs to change to the kindergarten level. “We had survey data showing 90 percent of parents say they want their kids to go to college,” he said. “But we don’t have that many of our kids going to be college. We want to communicate what it means to be college ready.” With three meetings on the district’s finances, the topic is viewed as a priority since it’s unknown how much state funding the district will receive next school year. “We think finances could be a big issue,” Gaines said. “We got a significant swing in what we could receive in state revenue. We want to be prepared.” Past attendance at the town hall meetings has varied, but Gaines encourages parents and patrons to get involved. He said an e-mail will soon be sent out to parents reminding them of the upcoming meetings. “We would like to have more than what we’ve had,” he noted. “We hope people come out.”