Sean C. Morgan
While the new high school building exterior is substantially complete, School District 55 is starting to take a look down the road to figure out what to do about its aging elementary schools.
The district’s building needs won’t stop with the work taking place across the district, funded by an $18.6 million bond and most visible at Sweet Home High School, which represents about $11 million in projects.
The School Board set a goal to develop a long-term facilities plan. Supt. Larry Horton established a 16-member committee of staff and parents to help develop the plan. The group met for the first time on Thursday night.
The committee will, in the short term, develop a course of action to address the futures of Holley and Crawfordsville schools. In the long term, it will decide what to do with Pleasant Valley School and ask the question, “what do we do 15 years from now with all of our elementary schools?”
All of the district’s elementary schools are 50 or more years old.
The junior high and high school facilities should be in good shape for another 20 to 30 years, Supt. Horton said.
The committee, under the facilitation of Greg McKenzie of the Oregon School Board’s Association, broke into several groups to develop information in different areas, including transportation, facilities and equipment, finances, demographics and community.
The groups will gather information in their specific areas.
Everyone knows anecdotal information about the problems facing the district and its facilities, McKenzie said. The groups will develop hard information that can be used in deliberations by the larger committee.
Members of the committee will move into a deliberation and negotiation phase where they will develop recommendations to the superintendent and School Board.
Among the ideas the committe could explore are changing the way grades are organized throughout the district, perhaps creating a middle school, putting first through third grade in one building and fifth through sixth in another, attendance boundary changes or leaving things as they are.
Concepts like these may or may not be explored by the committee as it moves forward developing its plan.
The sub-committees will delve into the city’s Comprehensive Plan, census information, financial data, transportation plans and other sources of information. The committee will also learn about and address community interests.
The question about Holley and Crawfordsville raised a spirited opposition from area residents last year when administration considered restructuring the grades at the two schools.
“There is a strong community sentiment for small schools,” McKenzie said. “You just can’t ignore that.”
The committee must bear in mind the pain that may be associated with changes it recommends but go as far as it is able to make needed changes, McKenzie said.
“Our conclusion should serve that focus ? What’s best for the district. What’s best for the taxpayer,” Transportation Supervisor L.D. Ellison said.
“We can’t just start off segregating everybody, thinking about one school,” Karla Hall said. “We have to think about them all.”
The committee will meet again at 7 p.m. on Jan. 28 in the Central Office board room.
Committee members include Jan Sharp, Elena Barton, Michelle Hatchard, Bessie Lovik, Karla Hall, Michelle Keen, Alesha Dern, Shelly Mabe, Cheryl Thireault, Ken Turner, Bob MacCoone, Brett Bowers, Louis Dix, Ron Andrews, L.D. Ellison and Kevin Strong.