The Sulphur Springs Union School District Governing Board is expected to adopt its Facilities Assessment and Implementation Plan Wednesday, which assess the facility needs throughout the district and describes improvements at the district’s nine school sites.
Developed by Caldwell Flores Winter, Inc. and district staff, the plan was first shared with board members during a meeting July 25.
The plan guides facility and classroom improvements for the next 10 years and details a financing program to meet the needs of students and staff.
As a “blueprint for future initiatives,” the plan lists four key recommendations that include: improving existing school sites, constructing new permanent classrooms to replace relocatables, leveraging state aid to minimize impact on taxpayers and creating 21st century learning environments to equalize school sites.
The plan, which took one year to complete, details how the district can prepare for future enrollment growth, maintain and improve existing school facilities, and finance the cost of improvements.
“The need to extend usage of additional school site capacity, combined with the need to replace aging facilities, presents an opportunity for the District to provide long-term permanent improvement to several of its campuses, concurrent with additional modernization to improve site functionality,” the plan read.
Following district objectives set in its Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP), the plan aims to create learning spaces that “promote collaboration, creativity, ability to easily communicate, engage in problem solving and develop creative solutions to complex problems.”
It also aims to create smaller school environments to increase school connectedness and increase student participation and success, with a focus on technology, the Next Generation Science Standards, coding instruction, robotics, art and music.
Potential improvements to school sites include: 21st century standard updates, construction of permanent classrooms, pouring new asphalt and concrete in parking lots and around schools, adding new roofing, adding ADA ramps, placing natural turf on playgrounds and fields, and replacing HVAC systems.
The approval of the plan does not create a direct fiscal obligation on the district, as the Governing Board will approve each project and action as it comes to the board for approval.
District staff anticipates that the estimated $120 million plan will be funded through Measure CK/GO Bonds, Developer Fees, State Facilities Funding and CFD Funds.
During Wednesday’s meeting, the Governing Board will also recognize the success of the district’s month-long Summer Accelerated Reading (AR) program.
Before the school ended, parents returned interests forms to their students’ teachers who created a reading goal for students to complete over the summer.
Through a partnership with the Jo Anne Darcy Library, students worked with Instructional Services Staff to find AR books and complete AR tests on district iPads and library computers.
Overall, 1,797 students from all nine schools participated in the program and 695 met their goals.
Additional Agenda Items
- Hear information from Caldwell Flores Winters, Inc. about the process to call a school bond election for possible future consideration at a future date
- Approve resolution for the Unaudited Actuals Financial Report as of June 30, 2017
- Approve 2017-18 STAR Deputy Program for Leona Cox Community School for 4th, 5th and 6th grade students
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