Facilities Planning Executive Summary

  • 2018.19 Facilities Planning Executive Summary

     

    In August of 2018, Greeley-Evans School District 6 contracted with The Cuningham Group to complete a Facilities Assessment and a Facilities Master Plan for repairs and renovations needed at district sites. The district also contracted with Western Demographics, Inc. to study district and community population shifts and predictions.

     

    Findings from The Cuningham Group and Western Demographics indicate that the Greeley-Evans School District 6 and its associated Charter Schools:

    • are almost 5,000 students over capacity.
    • need almost 600,000 square feet of building space to eliminate temporary classrooms. 
    • have 142 temporary classrooms within the district.
    • have tripled the State of Colorado student growth rate in the last 5 years. 
    • have increased student populations of special education and students receiving free and reduced lunch have increased greater than this average for Colorado. (Sp Ed 20.8% to 12.2% and FRL 21.4% to 6.8%).
    • will grow by over 1,400 students in the next 5-10 years. 
    • is over $300,000,000 behind in maintenance, repairs, and renovations.
    • needs to replace five buildings due to design flaws which have created high maintenance costs, inefficient programming, and undesirable learning environments. (Greeley West High School, Madison Elementary, Bella Romero k-3 Elementary, Brentwood Middle School and Scott Elementary). 
    • lacking in secure vestibules for building entrance and other safety features.
    • need future school sites in Evans and east and west Greeley.

     

    During the Fall of 2018, The Cuningham Group began to work with a community team in a series of workshops to discuss their vision for schools and learning environments in the district. This community team was made up of employees, business leaders, educators, and parents. 

     

    The following were listed as top priorities of both the Community Facilities Master Plan Team and the School District Steering Committee.

    • Safety and Security
    • Adequate space for student learning
      • Reduce the number of temporary classrooms in the district
      • Build space to increase capacity
    • Fund and prioritize maintenance, repairs, and renovations
    • Consider a K-8 model for new buildings and additions
    • Consider new building sizes of:
      • Elementary - 700 students
      • Middle School -750 students
      • K-8 - 900 students
      • High School - 1800 students
    • Consider instructional space for career pathways and workforce development
    • Consider flexible and multi-use innovative space and furniture
    • Increase the number of spaces for adults in supportive roles

     

    In the winter of 2019, the School District Steering Committee and the Community Facilities Master Planning Team agreed to the following long term 10-15 year vision. 

     

    District components of that vision are to: 

    • Develop and follow an annual maintenance plan and a sustainable budget.
    • Have all schools have a welcoming, safe and secure entrance.
    • Have all schools remodeled for site-specific educational programming.
    • When appropriate build additions and renovate to increase capacity.
    • Have zero portables being used for instruction.
    • Replace the five round buildings.
    • Add one additional K-8 building to improve district capacity.

     

    In May, a sub-committee from the Community Facilities Master Planning Team made six recommendations to the District 6 Board of Education. Each of these recommendations was based on the needs of the highest-priority buildings by being over-capacity, having high deferred maintenance needs, future growth projections and program improvements for college, career and workforce training. 

     

    These six proposals ranged from a cost of $325,000,000 to $650,000,000 each with varying percentages of overall repair and renovation needs, program needs, new building, and addition needs. The sub-committee also made a final recommendation in the $475,000,000 to $495,000,000 range. The proposals included the following needs:

    • Replace Greeley West High School
    • Replace Scott or Madison Elementary 
    • Build a new K-8 building
    • Renovate and add additional space to McAuliffe and Chappelow to address capacity. 
    • Provide funding for programmatic needs for career and college readiness.

     

    During the summer of 2019, and after receiving input from various community members and community organizations, it was determined that the district should target a total bond package for $395,000,000. Some projects were eliminated, some allocations were reduced, square footage for additions was examined and compared to construction costs with inflation. 

     

    The Current Bond Proposal for $395,000,000 would include the following with added costs for associated services and inflation:

    • Replace Greeley West, on-site, for 1800 students.
    • Replace Madison Elementary, on-site, for 750-900 students.
    • Build one new K-8 building for 900 students.
    • Renovate McAuliffe K-8 for 900 students.
    • Renovate Chappelow K-8 for 750 students. 
    • Provide funding for immediate repairs and renovations to all buildings.
    • Provide funding for career and college readiness spaces.

     

    The facility planning work completed during the 2018.19 school year has helped the District to prioritize its maintenance needs and create a plan for repairs and replacement for the future. It has also helped determine the need for new buildings and additions to address growing capacity and long term maintenance needs of the district. It has provided our district with the ability to project estimated costs for future maintenance needs. It also has allowed us to create a living maintenance schedule for all District facilities (Table1).