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| LPC looks at five specific options for district |
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2/17/2017
By Tom Marshall
Senior Advocate writer
The Montgomery County School District’s Local Planning Committee was presented with five options for dealing with future growth during its meeting Feb. 9.
A report made available to members of the LPC by Superintendent Matt Thompson also looks at the pros and cons of each option. Each option included a list of scenarios that might unfold as a result.
Listed as option 1 to be considered is whether to renovate or build a new Early Learning Center, move to another current district location, move students back to their home elementary schools or purchase an existing facility and remodel. Camargo Elementary School already houses its own preschool students.
The estimated cost of renovating the ELC was placed at approximately $4 million to $6 million.
Potential benefits of renovating the facility, according to the report, are having a program focused on early childhood development, a centralized location and maintaining transportation costs.
On the downside, the report notes that the district has limited future bonding (currently $8.5 million with an additional $4 million in two years), cost of renovation vs. new construction, cost of renovation for the number of students served and the size of the rooms.
Option 2 looks at the building of a new ELC with an estimated cost of about the same—$4 million to $6 million.
Among the positives listed are the quality of a new facility vs. old, the money from the sale of the current property and possible improvement in location.
Again, the downside includes the cost and future bonding potential. Also, there is the question of where property might be available in the county to locate the facility. The district has a limited amount of land.
The report examines the purchase of an existing building in the county and modifying it for use as an ELC. The report notes that the district cannot lease and modify a building and a lack of adequate buildings that currently exist in the county.
Among the negatives of such a move, the report says, is the cost of modifications due to preschool regulations and forcing a program into a defined space.
Option 4 looks at moving the preschool to another existing facility within the district.
The downside of such a move, according to the report, is that it does not address long-term growth, the cost of installing a required playground and the loss of teacher collaboration. It notes that such a move would only be a temporary fix and does not address capacity issues at Montgomery County Intermediate School.
The option also explores the possibility of turning MCIS into a fourth elementary school or moving some of the students to McNabb Middle School or Camargo Elementary, where there is space available.
Potential benefits of making MCIS an elementary school, according to the report, would be the savings of $350,000 the first year in transportation costs and savings of $150,000 every year afterward.
The downside, the report says, would be the loss of a successful program, a first-year startup cost estimate of $600,000 for personnel and playgrounds, placing about 1,000 students at McNabb with the return of the sixth grade to the school and cafeteria space issues at McNabb.
In making MCIS an elementary school it would remove one of the transition steps students have to undergo.
Alice Anderson, chair of the Montgomery County Board of Education and an LPC member, said that could be a good thing.
“I think with kids, the less transition is better,” she told her fellow LPC members.
The LPC is tasked with developing a District Facilities Plan every four years. Members will vote on priorities at an upcoming meeting.
LPC member Dan Reeder predicted that that will be difficult.
“There’s not a lot of simple solutions, just a lot of dominoes that have to fall no matter which way we go,” he said.
Thompson has encouraged the LPC to leave as much flexibility as possible in any plan because of the uncertainty of future needs.
“There’s some tough decisions that are in store for this county,” he said.
The LPC was also given a report on student population at each of the schools.
The report shows 187 students currently enrolled at the ELC with a capacity of 425. Camargo Elementary has a total enrollment of 592 with room for 960, Mapleton Elementary has 714 students with capacity of 754, Mt. Sterling Elementary has 615 students with a capacity of 775, McNabb is well under capacity with 686 students and a capacity of 1,044, MCIS and Montgomery County High School are already over capacity with 682 students and a reported capacity of 675 at MCIS and 1,363 students enrolled at MCHS and a listed capacity of 1,320.
The LPC is scheduled to meet again 4 p.m. today (Thursday) at the Clay Community Center. The meeting will be followed by a public forum at 5:30 p.m.
The committee must have its work complete by April.
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