Brandon Hufnagel would be the first to admit that the vision of the mid-term future of the Warren County School District he presented Monday night might not be 20-20.
There would certainly be adjustments needed here and there, perhaps some juggling of timetables.
But, at its core, the outline presented by the new superintendent of schools shows great promise and solid compromise.
Ultimately, the goal would be to establish K-12 learning centers at Eisenhower and Sheffield, consolidating early learning with elementary in Warren and moving the Learning Enrichment Center and the district's central offices from the Warren State Hospital grounds into existing and underutilized district-owned facilities.
The tweaking would likely come in some of the short-term solutions. For instance, instead of driving Bear Lake youngsters to Russell, it might be closer to send them to Youngsville. Scandia children would find closer accommodations in Warren than in Sugar Grove.
In his long-term model Hufnagel has struck a balance between consolidation of facilities and maintaining community identity, the latter being the rallying cry among those who would break up the district into smaller pieces, either through charter schools or some other yet-to-be-discovered means.
However, has the Hufnagel vision come too late for this district?
The Eisenhower Charter juggernaut is steaming at full speed for ratification, and would take that facility out of the equation, while leaving the district the task of handling the Sugar Grove and Russell elementary students.
Is there time to fully consider this new blueprint for the Warren County School District, and what do those communities most closely affected by its potential think of it?
He has brought a fresh idea to the table because he has looked at the district from outside the frame while at the same time considering the political ramifications that have created the scene.
The potential of Hufnagel's vision is too important to reject out of hand, and we hope both the school board and the various groups who have been debating the issue of how the district should be configured will give it careful study and consideration.