Going on retreat was the best path forward for La Conner schools officials last week.

School board members spent their three-hour retreat May 21 applying the finishing touches to the district’s new strategic plan, a process that has been two years in the making. They worked on next year’s budget and discussed capital improvements and naming two new student reps.

That set the stage for formal action at its May 24 meeting.

Members unanimously adopted a strategic plan designed to create a learning environment in which the academic and social emotional skills of students are nurtured to ass...