Wamego’s USD 320 Board of Education held a special meeting to further study the District’s facility needs. At Monday’s meeting, Superintendent Denise O’Dea opened the meeting with a review of the Facilities Brainstorming Information compiled by the administrators and school department heads in October 2013. Bowman, Bowman and Novick Architects (BBN), and their associates were present for the round-table discussions. BBN’s Brent Bowman said his team toured all the facilities after the preliminary study and found all the facilities are maxed out not only in classroom space, but overall infrastructure (gyms/auditoriums/office).
Board member Mark Bettencourt started the discussions stating he was more interested in looking at the District’s global needs. He added he’d rather do the right thing, rather than rush the decision, especially with the new board members taking office soon.
After Superintendent Denise O’Dea’s review of the different options developed by a brainstorming session, and discussions by the different board members, the Bowman, Bowman & Novick Architect (BBN) firm was given a new direction.
After discussions, the Board determined they would like to see the construction of an Early Childhood Development Center (Pre-K, Kindergarten, Early Learning, Parents as Teachers, and Infant-Toddler) on the church property campus. They want to look at 1st and 2nd grades at Central Elementary, 3rd and 4th at West Elementary, 5th and 6th in a new building on the Middle School Campus, 7th and 8th grade at the Middle School, with 9th through 12th remaining at the High School.
Special Ed, the District offices and possibly the Tech Center would also located on the Church property. There were also discussions of a new gym at the High School and a free-standing Central kitchen facility.
BBN’s Brent Bowman summarized the suggestions and will create a master plan for all the facilities based on the suggestions. He said there will also be a site-plan study of the playgrounds, bus traffic and parking around the High School. This will include a site-plan development for the Middle School and the expansion possibilities for the property. The Sports Complex needs, outlined at an earlier meeting, will be included in the study.
