At the July Board of Education meeting Mr. Damien Schlitt from BLDD Architects presented the results of the Arthur CUSD #305 Future Facilities Planning Study. The study began near the beginning of the 2019-2020 school year and included a multi-tiered approach to begin the discussions and explorations of building needs as they relate to a 21st century learning environment for the students and communities that make up Arthur CUSD #305. This study, acts as an important first step in the creation of a long term comprehensive facility master plan, to act as a road map for the district’s facility efforts moving forward.
The process began with a physical walk through of all the facilities which helped develop a baseline for understanding the physical needs of the buildings as well as beginning to understand the functional needs of the facilities as they relate to the delivery of a 21st education to our students. Once the physical walkthroughs were completed and data was collected, the process shifted into the completion of a Functional Evaluation through use of an Educational Adequacy Survey.
The survey, originally developed by the Council of Educatonal Facility Planners International (now A4LE), consists of 6 total sections: the school site, structural, electrical and mechanical systems, plant maintainability, building safety and security, educational adequacy, and finally the educational environment. These surveys were completed as a group including: the district admin team, members of the board’s facilities committee, the building principals, and the district's architect. Once the surveys were completed it allowed the committee to understand the “grades” that were attached to each of the buildings. These scores now act as a baseline against which the benefits of all future plans can be compared.
The committee then explored a variety of scenarios that worked to find a way to best align dollars spent, with enhancement for long term service, and support of student and faculty needs in delivery of education today, and for years to come.
Please see the link to the final presentation of the facilities study. This study provides the district with initial information which can be utilized to develop a process for future discussions as they relate to our district’s facility needs. As mentioned above, this work is only a first step in the process and our communities will continue to be updated and included in the journey. We look forward to further discussions, involving the community as a whole, in order to create the strongest vision for our facilities and their ability to support our students and staff moving forward.