The LFC plan maintains the current grade configuration of K–5 in elementary school buildings and 6–8 grades in middle schools. It maintains five of the current seven elementary buildings and closes one of three middle schools. The Board will now decide whether or not to put a bond issue for Phase 1 on the November 2013 ballot. Phase 1 includes renovating the high school and Monticello and Roxboro Middle Schools.

1 LFC Final Report for BoE

At its Oct. 2, 2012 meeting, the CH-UH Board of Education discussed the charge they’re giving the Lay Facilities Committee. Broadly, the committee’s task is to come up with recommendations on a plan that is educationally sound (relying on the expertise and input of our district’s instructional leaders) and fiscally responsible and can enjoy broad community support. The goal is to place a facilities bond issue on the November 2013 ballot.

The committee understands that Plan C, which the board accepted last year, is open for revision.

The committee’s goals include the need to engage the community to build consensus around several aspects of a plan, including

- Confirm need for master facilities plan.

- Identify key community values that should drive the process.

- Determine what the community will embrace and support regarding several aspects of the plan, including:

– Which buildings are kept open or are closed.

– What is an acceptable price tag for the project, which will drive millage of a bond issue?

– What mix of funding sources will pay for the project?

– What is the best timeline and sequence of any phasing of the project?

For the Board of Education to place a bond issue on the November 2013 ballot, they will need to act next July. Board members asked that the committee provide its report no later than early May, 2013.

An organizational meeting of the lay facilities committee was held Oct. 3 at Heights High.

The next meeting of the committee will be Wednesday, Oct. 24, at 7pm at Gearity Professional Development School, 2323 Wrenford Road in University Heights. This and all committee meetings are open to the public.

The committee’s blog can be found at chuhfacilities.org

And those challenges are significant. The first things the Citizen Facilities Committee learned included a few critical facts:

• CH-UH hasn’t substantially renovated or improved our facilities in 40 years.
• Every one of our schools is in need of major repairs. The complete cost of repairing the district’s facilities is more than $40 million.
• Classrooms of the past can’t provide students with the education they need to be successful in today’s increasingly technology-driven world. If we only repair what needs to be fixed, we do our children a disservice. They need classrooms that allow them to learn 21^st Century skills.
• We have fewer students now than in the past, and as a result we have a lot of space that is going unused. Heating, cooling and cleaning this extra space is an unnecessary expense and these funds could be better used elsewhere.  If we create new, efficient buildings and demolishing buildings that aren’t environmentally or pocketbook friendly, we can better serve our students, community and environment.

The results of all this information led the Citizens Facilities Committee to determine that the CH-UH School District need a comprehensive facilities plan, one that envisioned buildings that meet the needs of today’s education and tomorrow’s students. This plan would mean that we wouldn’t continue to throw good money after bad, wasting the community’s money on costly Band-Aids, but instead tackle the issues at the source. Just as importantly, it would have to take into consideration a realistic assessment of what this community can afford.

Following the recommendation of the Citizens Facilities Committee, the District spent a year and a half talking with members of the community about what it would like – and not like – to see in the new facilities. It convened large-scale community Master Facilities Planning meetings and smaller community conversation at local libraries and coffee shops. We took the most popular and practical ideas from these meetings and worked with our architects to create Plan C, the Community Plan.

Compromises have been made to the Plan along the way, but in order to do this right and address all of this community’s needs, the plan had to be comprehensive. Every comprehensive plan comes with a price tag. This is the least expensive plan that still does what the community has been asking for.  The Plan would use renovation in some places and new construction in others to create school facilities that address our needs in a way we can afford.

The need is immediate and great.  At the moment, we don’t have one science lab in the entire District that meets current state standards.  A recent leak at Roxboro Elementary caused more than $150,000 in damages. The lighting and temperatures in our classrooms, our air quality, and our building acoustics are unsafe, outdated or inefficient. These are just a few of our serious problems.

Plan C calls for some renovation and some new construction, and new construction will require demolition.  No one likes replacing school buildings that have rich histories and hold fond memories for so many CH-UH alumni and parents, but it is a necessary step to make our district more cost-efficient and more effective. The smaller space will be less expensive to heat, cool and maintain and will save our District more than $3 million in operating savings every year.

Plan C will allow us to be consistent with the new state model curriculum and the designations for grade levels for teacher licensure. It will also eliminate staffing problems and allow our teachers to teach a variety of classes without switching buildings.

Plan C will allow us to support our teachers. Our current buildings are not designed for collaboration. They’re conducive to lectures; one-way learning does not engage students in meaningful ways, prompt curiosity or encourage questions.

Plan C will create “Learning Communities,” spaces that foster collaboration among teachers and students. A 2011 study, “The Missing Link in School Reform” shows students are more successful when teachers and students think together.  A 2011 report in the American Educational Research Journal, “Problem-Based Learning in K-12 Education,” also echoes that sentiment. It found a 200 – 400% improvement in in learning outcomes with authentically student-driven, enquiry-based learning, which we will be able to achieve through Plan C’s Learning Communities. And our teachers agree. You can hear their thoughts here: http://www.chuh.org/multimedia/videos/detail/oxford-facilities-pilot

We understand Plan C comes with a price tag, and we see this as an investment in our students and communities. The District is doing everything it can to make our ideal schools financially feasible.

We are tapping into private funding to absorb major parts of cost for a swimming pool, a performing arts center, our Learning Community configurations at the elementary level, career tech learning spaces and a new stadium.

We all have the best interests of our students and our neighborhoods at heart. We ask you please continue to work with us and support Plan C, “The Community Plan,” our community’s plan.  Together, we can have schools that teach today and tomorrow’s students the 21^st Century skills they need at a price we can afford.

Next steps:

The first formal vote to put a bond issue on the November ballot is expected at the board’s meeting Tuesday, July 3. This meeting will be streamed live on our website at www.chuh.org.

At the July 3, meeting the board will vote on three resolutions:

1)   A resolution determining the district is a special needs district.

2)   A resolution authorizing the auditor to determine a millage based on the budget and to craft the ballot language.

3)    A resolution to adopt the comprehensive plan in order for the district to qualify for funding from the Ohio School Facilities Commission.

If the Board votes yes to the three resolutions, then at the July 17 board meeting, they would vote on a final resolution to approve the millage and final ballot language.

Sun Press article on Plan C

http://www.coe.uga.edu/sdpl/articlesandpapers/lyons.html

http://www2.ed.gov/offices/OESE/archives/inits/construction/impact2.html

http://www.ecoliteracy.org/essays/when-building-teacher

At its meeting on Monday night, the board requested the planning team to study construction of the high school ahead of the middle schools, and elementary schools.  We are reviewing and revising phasing of both concepts and do not as of yet have an updated phasing schedule.  The original phasing statements made by the District still stand “Children attending school in buildings that are closing will only move once, to their new building.”  These students will not be moved from their classrooms into modular classrooms as was indicated on the phasing board at the public meeting.

  I.                  Welcome and Opening Remarks (5 minutes)

II.                  Information Sessions (40 minutes)

Nine stations will be set up throughout the room each focused on a particular aspect of the Facilities Master Plan.  Representatives from the District and the Master Planning team will be at each station to answer questions or take comments.

1. Superintendent – Talk with the Superintendent about the vision of the District
2. Idea C – Learn about the current idea for aligning the facilities with the educational program
3. Partnerships – Discuss ideas for partnering and community resources
4. Infrastructure – Learn about the existing facilities
5. Education – Talk with the Assistant Superintendent about education in CH-UH
6. Phasing – Learn how Idea C can be constructed and phased
7. Cost Projection – Discuss the estimated costs for Plan C
8. Pilots – Learn about the pilot student base learning centers that will be constructed this summer
9. Athletics – See how the Stadium and Pool at the High School can be transformed to better serve students and community members

III.                  Presentation (30 minutes)

A presentation about Idea C

IV.                  Open Mic Q&A (45 minutes)
 

• Idea “C” includes the re-purposing of three elementary schools — Fairfax, Noble, and Gearity.

• Idea “C” would transform the high school into a state-of- the-art facility, create three comprehensive intermediate schools (grades four through eight) on the existing middle school sites — Wiley, Monticello, and Roxboro — and locate four primary schools (grades PK through three) on the remaining elementary school sites of  Roxboro, Canterbury, Oxford, and Boulevard.
• Idea “C” is the result of considerable community input, which came from numerous meetings and forums.

• Although Gearity will no longer be used as a school, Idea “C” does include many positive aspects for the City of University Heights.

1. A Cleveland Heights-University Heights school is maintained in University Heights.  The Wiley building will be fully renovated (an $18.5 million investment that will provide an estimated $225,000 in tax revenue to the city) and transformed into a state-of- the-art intermediate school that will include grades four through eight.  This building will educate more children than are currently being educated in University Heights.
2. Currently, 170 school-age children attend Gearity from the City of University Heights.  Under plan “C,” the 107 University Heights fourth andfifth graders from Gearity will attend Wiley Intermediate School.
3. The Board of Education offices and the Transportation and Maintenance Department operations will remain on the Wiley site, thereby preserving significant tax revenue for the City.
4. The John Carroll University Partnership will continue and expand to the new Canterbury Primary School and Wiley Intermediate School.
5. A solid plan to repurpose Gearity with a use that is compatible with, and supportive of, the surrounding neighborhood will be in place before voters are asked to approve funding for Idea “C.”

• It is well understood that families have a passion and pride in their schools and that any school closing is fraught with concerns and unknowns.  We believe that constructing state of the art facilities at Wiley and Canterbury, maintaining Gearity as a vital community hub, and continuing to build a strong educational reputation for the District will offset any potential negative impact to homeowners and the City of University Heights.