SHAWNEE TOWNSHIP — Officials at the Shawnee Local School District are in the process of formulating a plan for the district’s future, notably how to deal with aging schools and facilities.
On Tuesday night, consultants from SHP, an architectural firm from Cincinnati, gave a detailed presentation to SLSD board members and Superintendent Jude Meyers. SHP is leading the effort to address the issues within the district.
Charlie Jahnigen, a representative from SHP, was at Tuesday’s meeting and he shared what he called, ‘educational visioning.’
The term refers to a process that helps establish what the learning experience could be like in a school district. It is a four-step process that SHP will lead officials from the district through when determining what education models in the district might look like in the future.
The process involves a Community Advisory Team (CAT) comprised of a broad range of residents in the district. Ideally, the CAT group should include district or building administrators, parents, community members, teachers, students as well as members from higher education and business sectors.
Jahnigen explained that the beginning of the process, consultants will examine the district to determine whether there are areas that officials may want to change and areas that should remain the same. Areas of focus include curriculum, finances and state and federal requirements. Then the CAT team will visualize the varied learning environments that support the district values.
In the end, a final plan will be developed that best responds to the future need and desires of district officials, teachers, parents and students.
After the presentation Meyers said it is critical the community know the future of their schools.
“We are committing to putting a plan together. And I think it’s going to be very important because people want to know what’s the vision, whats the future? Where are we going,” Meyers added. “What’s it going to look like. And then ultimately, the community is going to have to decide what they want for the district.”
An early part of the process was the evaluation of facilities by the state of Ohio School Facilities Commission.
The Elmwood Primary School was built in 1973 and had an addition constructed in 2008. It is the newest of all district buildings.
There were a number of infrastructure issues discovered within the building, and officials reported the internal space does not have adequate daylight. The classrooms are undersized according to current state standards. The electrical system for the building was deemed inadequate. The school is also not equipped with a compliant security system.
Additionally, the school’s ventilation system is inadequate to meet the needs of the users. The building has an automatic fire alarm system that is non-compliant with state standards.
And, the report stated, the school’s fire suppression system contains asbestos. While the exterior appearance is good and the buildings have been well-maintained, there are some aging infrastructure problems that need addressed, according to the report.
In regard to repairs, the state would only pay 29 percent of the estimated costs needed to to replace all buildings. However, when using state monies, the district is required to build according to state standards. That means the state will dictate the sizes of everything from gymnasiums to offices and classrooms, Meyers noted.
“I think one of the things we talked about that regardless of whether we would go on the ballot or not, whether we want to move forward with new buildings, we still want to make sure we execute the plan and have a plan in place. A lot of this is really to do the planning,” Meyers said.
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