Facilities, Safety and Security Needs

In 2011, the district completed a comprehensive district-wide facility study.  The study identified facility needs across our district.  From 2011 to 2015, the district completed $10 million in facility and technology work, addressing the major needs identified in the district-facility study and leaving only large-scale mechanical and remodeling needs at the high school.

With the aforementioned work completed, the district turned its attention to the educational-facility needs of the high-school campus and safety-and-securing needs across the school district.  During the 2014-2015 school year, the district completed a comprehensive educational-needs assessment of the high-school campus and a district-wide safety-and-security assessment of all district buildings.  Both assessments were completed and significant needs were identified.

The high-school campus has significant mechanical, safety, security, and heating-and-cooling needs.  The 1958 campus was not designed for the modern teaching-and-learning demands of today’s students and teachers and does not reflect 2015 safety-and-security requirements for schools.  The other eight schools in our district do not reflect post Columbine and Sandy Hook safety-and-security structural requirements either. Specifically, the entrances to all nine buildings need to be remodeled to meet 2015 safety requirements.  

The facility needs we are focusing on are not routine-maintenance needs.  Meeting the maintenance needs of our buildings has been and will continue to be a  budget priority  for the school district.  Our buildings-and-grounds team has done an exceptional job maintaining building infrastructures and mechanical systems that are well past their life expectancy.

So where is the school district headed regarding our current facility-and-safety needs?  We will spend the next eight months sharing specific information about our needs with staff and community members and listening to feedback regarding what actions we should or should not take.  We will distribute a community survey in late April asking specific questions regarding our facility-and-safety needs.  The school board will make a decision in August 2016 regarding what path we will take to address the needs we have.  The feedback the school board receives from our staff and community will drive the school board’s decision.  

There are two web links at the bottom of this post.  The first link will direct you to a summary of our facilities journey from 2011 to the present.  The second link will navigate to a communication calendar articulating opportunities for staff and community to give input prior to the board making a decision in August 2016.

How can you stay informed and share thoughts and ideas?  We will meet with staff and community representatives to discuss these topics throughout the next eight months.  Representatives from the school board and administration will talk with staff from all buildings at faculty meetings in late winter and early spring.  By December 1, our website will hold all facility information in one place and will provide an area for written feedback. Our communication calendar articulates the current opportunities we have planned for sharing information and gathering feedback from the community.  
As always, please contact me anytime you have any questions or ideas.

Web Link to Communication Calendar

Web Link to Facilities, Safety and Security Work Summary