The District is working hard to maintain and improve district facilities through operating budget funds and energy efficiency projects, with over $4,000,000 in local spending from 2013-2019 to maintain District facilities. A summary of key projects are below:
From 2013-2019
- $1.83 million in capital projects were completed including HVAC, flooring/abatement, concrete/asphalt, roofing, window replacements, gym flooring and wireless projects.
From 2017-2019,
- $2.2 million in energy efficiency projects were completed which targeted replacement of aging and inefficient boilers, air handlers, and adding LED lighting.
In order to maintain facilities at a high level, the District developed a 10-year facility plan in 2016 to prioritize future projects. Attached is an updated copy of the current long-range plan with completed priority projects highlighted.
Enrollment Changes
K-8 Resident enrollment decreased 17% from 2013-2017 and the buildings are now operating well below capacity. City birth rates and independent community analysis conducted through the facility study added evidence that enrollment trends are expected to continue over the next 5-10 years.
Before the District committed to all the facility projects within the plan at Willow Glen and Deer Creek over the next 10 years, the Board decided to gather input on how all buildings could be restructured with fewer students.
Facilities Study Committee
To give feedback and provide direction, the Board appointed a Facilities Study Committee in July 2017. This group, consisting of more than 15 parents, business leaders, community members and District staff, met for over 12 months to review the budget forecast, enrollment history, and long-range maintenance plan.
Information from Facility Study Committee
Through this work, the committee developed four potential solutions to present to the community through a survey.
- Close a school;
- Close Deer Creek Recreational Center and/or swimming pool;
- Reduce programs and services;
- Secure additional funding through a voter-approved referendum.
Link to Results of the Community Survey
The option with the most support in the survey results was to consider closing a 4K-8 school. The committee agreed with the survey input. The committee considered configurations at Willow Glen, Deer Creek, and the High School. It was determined that no reconfiguration should combine middle and high school grades at this time. The Deer Creek Site is challenging for a K-8 reconfiguration due to several reasons:
- Narrow corridors and limited accessibility throughout the site and the gymnasium building is separate from the educational building. To make Deer Creek a 21st century learning space, the total cost would be in excess of $10 million.
- There are approximately $1,000,000 in HVAC updates still needed for long-term operability.
- There is a lower concentration of resident students in the neighborhood surrounding the school and the site limitations make it difficult to redesign for parking and traffic flow.
- There is an unused wing of the building, but this renovation alone would cost approximately $3 million of the $10 million total budget. The renovation of that space would not resolve any of the issues in numbers 1-3 above.
The Willow Glen site does not have the issues as outlined above and could be renovated at a lower overall cost, $7.25 million. Willow Glen was recommended as the site for a potential K-8 consolidation. Below is a site map of potential renovations.
Work of the Facility Study Committee can be found here. This includes meeting notes and research information
