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[NOTE: To read about Board Presentation #1, Saturday, March 10, 2007, please click here.]
To review the powerpoint (in pdf format) presented at the board meeting on June 13th, 2007, please click here for Part I, here for Part II, and here for Part III. [NOTE: Please be aware that Part II is a somewhat large sized pdf files and may take some time to download.]
The Preliminary Draft of the Facilities Master Plan (FMP), released to the Board of Education and the public on June 8, 2007, was developed to implement the seven initiatives in the 2002 Strategic Education Plan. The Board of Education has scheduled several June, 2007 meetings to discuss the Preliminary Draft Facilities Master Plan (FMP) and the first phase implementation of FMP recommendations with the help of the Measure BB funds for school improvement.
On Wednesday night, June 13th, the Board held a special meeting in the District Office at 5:30 p.m. for public presentation and discussion of the Preliminary Draft FMP and to authorize initiating the plan’s environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). (The link above will allow you to download the powerpoint presented at this meeting in pdf format.)
As highlighted in the powerpoint presentation, the FMP lays out projects for major new construction and renovation at the eighteen campuses and administrative offices. While not all projects will be undertaken with Measure BB funds, the proposals fall into two basic categories: 1) district-wide renovations, such as the removal of all “relocatable” classrooms; 2) major impact projects that address the particular needs at specific schools with such projects as new libraries.
Calling out four funding phases, the FMP projects one phase to occur approximately every five years, with the specific amount to be raised in each round depending upon cost escalation factors. John Dale, a Principal for Harley Ellis Devereaux’s K-12 Design Studio, noted, “Typically, costs have inflated at approximately 3-5% annually, but we have recently seen rates of 10%.” The FMP makes recommendations for prioritization of construction during a first phase, but many of the projects will require a series of “chess moves” to achieve the desired results while allowing the District’s children to continue in school.
Among the major projects recommended for Phase I implementation are several at Samohi and Malibu High School. At Samohi, the FMP recommends eliminating vehicular traffic at the center of the campus and construction of a 45,000 sf Applied Instruction Building containing classrooms, a new main library and media center, and art studios. The current Business Building will be demolished, resulting in a new courtyard or commons. There are also plans for additional parking and upgrading athletic facilities.
Malibu High School will also benefit from a new library and media center, with the existing administration offices moving to renovated spaces within the old library. A new, two-story classroom building would be constructed and when the existing three relocatable classrooms are removed, an expanded quad will result. Upgraded athletic facilities will also be in the offing for the Sharks.
The Olympic High School site is scheduled for modest changes in the short term, with more ambitious plans for the future. In this first phase, relocatables will be removed to create more outdoor space. Meanwhile, renovation at the Washington West campus will accommodate additional Preschool and Childcare needs. This would then allow Olympic High’s campus to be renovated in the future without displacing Preschool facilities.
Additional major new projects would be implemented at Middle Schools as well. John Adams will receive a new, state-of-the-art science wing with nine laboratories and a reconfigured entrance and drop off area to improve safety. Lincoln will receive a new, two-story wing with improved art and music facilities, a library, and additional classrooms.
Significant elementary school projects are led by a completely new facility to replace the Edison Language Academy. Additional study of the project may result in a 650 student K-8 school emphasizing its language immersion tradition. Other school improvements will address needs from increasing enrollment, with substantial new classrooms and a potential joint-use library at McKinley Elementary. Other elementary schools would receive everything from new classroom wings to libraries to solar and wind-powered demonstration projects. Preschool facilities will be expanded and improved District-wide. Classrooms will also be made larger in many cases and more flexible for innovative teaching capability. Special Education facilities will be enhanced and dispersed at several sites.
One of the most exciting courses of action called for by the FMP incorporates key concepts of Superintendent Talarico’s recently released “Vision 2025 Plan.” Wireless capability will be instituted throughout the District, with improved networking capabilities and back-office efficiencies. Depending upon additional policy decisions, these innovations could affect the size and design of classrooms, and the use of computers, media centers, and libraries by teachers and students.
The FMP states, “The goal of Sustainability should… be an underlying force in the implementation of this plan.” An entire section of the FMP is dedicated to Sustainable best practices and an additional section lays out specific steps for implementation, including requiring that all architecture, engineering, and landscaping firms hired have experience in and commitment toward sustainable improvements. Joint-use opportunities are identified in the Master Plan as well. The FMP recommends that the District explore benefits of partnering with other public and private entities to expand and improve shared facilities.
While the FMP policies and proposals range from concepts based upon nationwide best practices to specific recommendations on how to implement changes, these recommended improvements are not set in stone. “It is important to keep in mind,” the FMP states, “that this is intended to be a flexible, ‘living’ document that should continue to be evaluated and updated as projects are selected and implemented.” As such, the FMP encourages “ongoing community participation with the implementation process.”
Following a six-month hiatus, marked by the appointment of a new Superintendent and the passage of Measure BB to allow a $268 million bond issuance, SMMUSD Superintendent Dianne Talarico requested a special session for the school board to discuss design concepts and policy issues related to the Facilities Master Plan. This first presentation of the Draft Facilities Master Plan took place on Saturday, March 10th, 2007, from 9 a.m. until noon, in the cafeteria at Santa Monica High School.
During the course of the FMP process, begun over a year ago, the Project Team has gathered a wide array of information. An interim report by the Project Team to the Board last July provided an assessment of the condition of district facilities and a list of potential repairs and upgrades which prompted the board to put the Measure BB bond on the November ballot.
Recently an agenda of the board session was finalized to include overview of the facilities needs and community input received in 2006. The Project Team will also ask SMMUSD District officials and board members to provide guidance on a set of policy issues. Key planning topics will be discussed with a focus on the Strategic Plan for the District, which is an educational plan adopted in 2002 that called for seven strategic initiatives (see Strategic Initiatives). These initiatives formed the philosophical basis for the Facilities Master Plan process and they include such areas as providing abundant resources for our schools, a focus on curriculum issues, allowing differentiated instructional opportunities appropriate for each student, assuring equity and equality of educational opportunity, viewing our schools as centers for the entire community, instituting optimal class size at each level of instruction, and providing universal access to quality early childhood education, family support programs, and after-school care.
Examples of alternatives for optimal class size could include planning for future changes in enrollment, reducing the size of the largest schools and providing “schools within schools” or smaller learning communities. Consideration of curriculum issues may involve updating facilities for new teaching methods and technology. Also guided by this policy discussion could be transportation issues affecting our children as they go to and from school. An additional policy topic may explore community partnerships that could enable expanded access to programs and facilities.
Most importantly, the presentation will illustrate the connection between these policies and potential facility improvements on school campuses. Rather than review detailed proposals for every site, as the community workshops did last spring with small group discussions, this meeting is likely to emphasize the district’s overall goals and show options for responding to facility needs in order to address the educational objectives from the Strategic Plan.
Members of the public will be invited to comment on the presentation, and there will be a discussion by board members of the policy issues and facility options. The input received will be used by the district staff and the Project Team to prepare the Draft Facilities Master Plan for public presentation and board adoption later in the school year.Para leer los archivos PDF necesitará una copia de Acrobat Reader (gratuito). Haga clic en el logo a continuación para ir al sito Web de Adobe y descargar el software.
