Associates from BG Consultants presented their proposed master plan to the USD 383 Board of Education on Wednesday night.
BG Consultants Associate Bill Hibbs talked about what the plan hopes to accomplish.
“When we look at the district feeder system, one of the things we realized from the information that’s provided, that there is a need for a new elementary school,” said Hibbs, “There is space to accommodate some of this growth within the existing schools, but that’s very little.”
Hibbs was also joined by Howard and Helmer Consultants Senior Principal Robert Faires. Hibbs said most of the schools in the district are near or exceeding capacity, while a few are under capacity. He continued with more on what the plan will propose.
“College Hill and Eugene field will be targeted, or earmarked, as primary early learning campus facilities,” said Hibbs, “The intent behind this is to allow the most focused educational program possible with the current resources.”
Hibbs said these facilities will house parents as teachers, infant and toddler services, and early head start. He also said the building of a new elementary school could help with over capacity.
When it came to costs over the next five, Hibbs said an aggregated value of all potential needs would be around $124 million. He also said many of the components could be packaged as part of capital improvement projects, while others could be part of a bond project and prioritized.
Over the next 20 years Hibbs said the costs will be $242 million dollars, but this includes both implementation and maintenance over the next 20 years.
Both Hibbs and Faires went over each school in the district and showed how the plan will affect and help these schools.
