Long Range School Use Study

Subcommittees and Studies

 

There are a number of study efforts which must be accomplished as part of the Long-Range School Use Study.  Although a lot of work has already been done by district staff, it needs to go through a rigorous review process while other work still needs to be accomplished.  It is intended to use subcommittees under the purview of the Long Range School Use Task Force to do these reviews and the studies.  The subcommittee work will then feed back into the task force for incorporation into the task forces work.

 

These subcommittees will be made up of task force members and can be augmented with additional participants as needed to accomplish the task.  Each subcommittee will have a chairperson that is a task force member, and will also have a lead D-11 staff link to support the subcommittee.  It is expected that each task force community representative and in-district constituency representative will serve on a subcommittee.  The subcommittee work is very important and will require a meeting schedule separate from the regular task force meetings. 

 

Principle Subcommittees

1.       Capital Renewal Subcommittee -- reviews the district's physical plant condition assessment and its plans to renew these assets for their continued future use, then produces a Capital Renewal Plan.

 

2.       Utilization Subcommittee -- looks at demographics across the district and then compares these with school capacities to produce recommendations (including build, consolidate, attendance area changes, etc.) that are summed up in a Utilization Plan.  The primary study effort is the demographics study and student enrollment projections.  It may also include a review of the capacity model and the Educational Spec.

 

3.       School Capital Improvement Subcommittee -- reviews the district's plans to support the Instructional program out through the foreseeable future, and makes recommendations that are included in a School Capital Improvement Plan.  Study efforts may include: year-round school; major program changes or shifts; school size; smaller high schools (6th high school); electronic classroom/school; neighborhood schools and the School-Community Support programs (includes day-child care; PK, etc.).  Some of these study efforts will need to work in conjunction with the Ed Spec process of the Capacity Model.

 

4.       School Use Master Plan Subcommittee -- summarizes where the district needs to go in light of the Utilization Plan, Capital Renewal Plan, and School Capital Improvement Plan into an integrated plan.

 

5.       Capital Plan Prioritization Subcommittee -- combines the capital needs of the Utilization Plan, the Capital Renewal Plan and the School Capital Improvement Plan into a single prioritized listing of Capital Needs that need to be addressed within the next five years.

 

6.       Funding Options Subcommittee -- looks at funding options for the Capital Plan.

 

 

Studies

a.       Educational Specification (Ed Spec) – provide a definition and description of what the physical attributes of the typical school models the district should have.  Includes all three levels – ES, MS, HS and varying size categories (small, medium and large).  Feeds to School Capacities and the Capital Improvement Plan.  [Primarily the Utilization Subcommittee, but also the School Capital Improvement Subcommittee]

 

b.       School Capacities – develop a capacities calculation model that can be applied to all schools to generate a building capacity that can be used for future new schools planning, capping, permitting, and boundaries (attendance areas).  Feeds into Utilization Study.  [Utilization Subcommittee]

 

c.       Electronic Classroom/School – looks at how the educational program can be delivered via an electronic, non-traditional program like distance learning.  May be incorporated within traditional schools or as separate satellite schools/operations.  Feeds to school models, the Ed Spec and the Master Plan.  [School Capital Improvement Subcommittee]

 

d.       Neighborhood Schools – looks at how district’s schools fit within the community and how they can or might interrelate.  This will address the need for a SE (Cimarron Hills) school, and what to do with underutilized schools that are in close proximity to each other.  Feeds into Utilization Study and Master Plan.  [School Capital Improvement Subcommittee]

 

e.       Year-Round School – looks at whether the district should be moving toward a year-round school concept in part or for the entire district for the purpose of providing a better learning program for student achievement.  This would also address longer school calendars, the summer school program interface, and the need for air conditioning in our schools.  Feeds into School Model and Master Plan.  [School Capital Improvement Subcommittee]

 

f.         School Community Support Programs – looks at how district’s schools fit or interrelate within the community and neighborhoods.  Identifies opportunities for good logical “marriages” of schools and community services that are beneficial to both (e.g., the West Intergenerational Learning Center).  It also looks at the geographic distribution of schools within the community and at the pre-school and day care programs.  Feeds into Utilization Study and Master Plan.  [School Capital Improvement Subcommittee]

 

g.       Demographics – this is a study of the current, and more importantly future long range student projections for sectors or specific neighborhoods of the district.  Although this needs to look across the entire district, it will pay particular attention to those neighborhoods that are growing or declining in enrollment.  It should also look into the issue of how may kids are migrating out of the district on permits, are in private schools and are in home schooling, and the trends and projections especially in light of the voucher bill and proposals.  Feeds into Utilization Study.  [Utilization Subcommittee]

 

h.       Utilization – compares capacity with demographics (specifically current and projected enrollment).  Identifies the conflicts of over or under utilized schools and makes recommendations for addressing these.  Feeds into Master Plan and Capital Plan.  [Utilization Subcommittee]

 

i.        Capital Renewal – looks at the condition of the existing district facilities and what needs to be done to “renew” these assets for their continued future use.  Feeds into Master Plan and Capital Plan.  [Capital Renewal Subcommittee]

 

j.         Capital Improvement – looks at what improvements and modifications need to be made to the existing schools to meet the Ed Spec and support the Instructional program.  Feeds to the Master Plan and the Capital Plan.  [School Capital Improvement Subcommittee]

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