Though it’s not certain what role the public will have, Austin Public School board members decided Monday to include public input in the fifth- and sixth-grade school’s steering committee.

The board’s decision comes after 48 district staff volunteers stepped forward to be part of the committee that will work with architects to design the new school. District officials hope the designs will be done by the board’s special session meeting in January. Architects will work with teachers, administration, food and nutrition workers, and other district employees to draw plans, which the school board must approve before construction can begin.

Board members didn’t come up with a way to include public input, though several members suggested asking former Facilities Task Force members, Vote Yes Committee volunteers and members of parent-teacher committees for help. The board ultimately asked superintendent David Krenz to come up with a public input process.

“If there is a group of parents that would like input, (we should) have a mechanism so they can do that,” said Kathy Green, board member.

Board chairman Aaron Keenan said the public should be involved, but there needs to be limits on what the public could do.

District officials are worried the steering committee will become too large to be useful or expedient, as plans need to come before the board at its Jan. 23 meeting.

“The architects cringed when they heard we had 48 people,” Mark Stotts, director of finance and operations, told the board. “If we get much larger, we’re going to have to sub-divide our committee … and take it from there, and it might extend our deadlines.”

There are several district standards for a school building, from heating and cooling systems to electricity and how many bathrooms need to be included. The steering committee will work on shaping classrooms and other learning spaces according to student and staff needs.

District officials are also trying to figure out how to name the first building. While many noted buildings have been named for famous local residents or Minnesota citizens, the district doesn’t have a naming policy in place, as a new school hasn’t been built in more than 60 years, according to district officials.

There’s other work to do on the new school, too. District officials have to secure the title to the land directly south of Ellis Middle School before construction can begin, and construction bids will be put out this spring. Site development could begin as early as April, and construction would begin next June and tentatively wrap up in May 2013.

A new principal may be hired as soon as this summer, as well. The new principal would develop the school’s curriculum with Educational Services Director John Alberts, and help hire faculty and staff.

In the meantime, district officials are focusing on Woodson’s expansion, which will happen next summer. Bids will be put out on Jan. 18 and accepted by Jan. 23 at the board meeting. Construction could begin as soon as February and wrap up by mid-August.

In other news:

— Board members heard an update from Alberts on the district’s Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment scores. Austin’s Adequate Yearly Progress scores fell this year, in part because of a shift in the state math assessment for elementary and middle school students.

Alberts said district officials hope to improve scores using the Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol, a series of eight guidelines to teaching students that elementary school staff began using this year. In addition, the district hired four math intervention specialists to work with elementary and kindergarten students who need math assistance.

The district was placed under corrective action under federal No Child Left Behind standards this year, which means administrators must create an improvement plan for student learning and set aside as much as 12 percent of its Title 1 funding, about $800,000 in total, for staff development and implementing the plan.

— Board members corrected the next two-year contract with teachers. Austin Education Association teachers will get a 1 percent wage increase next year instead of a 1.5 percent increase, which board members passed earlier this month. The 1.5 percent increase was a typo. Austin teachers won’t get a wage increase this year, but they will have slight changes to their payment categories. Steps, or pay grades based on time in the district, were adjusted by eliminating the first step and adding a top-end step. Teachers took a soft wage freeze in 2009.

— The board finalized its evaluation of Krenz, as well as Krenz’s new contract. Board members are expected to present its evaluation and Krenz’s new contract at the Dec. 12 meeting, which is also when the board’s Truth in Taxation hearing is scheduled.