What is a master facilities plan and how was it developed?

In March 2014, the Chippewa Falls Area Unified School District issued a request for proposal to solicit responses for assistance to the school district in formulating a long-range facilities master plan.  Our proposal called for the development of a plan that would assist the District in:

• Analyzing building enrollment capacity in light of a demographic study to be conducted by the District
• Projecting major capital improvement needs in each building
• Assessing aggregate as well as disaggregated maintenance costs for the District
• Determining the useable life for each District building
• Developing a comprehensive 25-year facility repair/betterment and/or replacement timeline

The District further requested that the facilities Master Plan should recognize and take into consideration its newly created Strategic Plan when considering proposed changes to its facilities.

What is the purpose of the committee?

The purpose of the CFAUSD facilities planning committee is to review all information that has been developed and approved by the CFAUSD Board of Education related to the current conditions of its facilities and make recommendations to ensure those facilities support 21st century learning.

The process will involve participation by members of the community facilities committee in five meetings that will take place over a period of 10-12 weeks.  It will also be inclusive in nature; recognizing the importance of both individual thought and the development of consensus through small and large group conversations.

How was the committee formed?

Dr. Eliopoulos, Superintendent of Schools at the time, as well as the Board of Education and Administrative Team have sought out a variety of different stakeholder groups (Parents, Students, Community Members at Large, Elected Officials, Retirees, Health Care, Business, etc.) to ensure the community as a whole has a voice in the facilities process.  It was also determined that the committee would have equal representation from all levels (4K-12) as well as equal representation from each building.

October 27, 2015 Facilities Committee Meeting Overview

The Community Facilities Committee came together for their second of five meetings at the Chippewa Falls Senior High School.

In this second committee meeting, the group reflected on what they learned and took away with them after the first committee meeting held on October 12, 2015 at Stillson Elementary.  They also discussed the history of education.  The committee was asked to describe what they would want to see when they look five years into the future in the Chippewa Falls Area Unified School District and what steps would need to be taken to get there.  Finally, there was discussion of the overall process the committee would be taking in future committee meetings to begin determining the priorities of the master facilities plan for the Chippewa Falls Area Unified School District.

Important Links

October 27, 2015 Committee Meeting PowerPoint Presentation

October 27, 2015 Facilities Committee Meeting Minutes

November 17, 2015 Facilities Committee Meeting Overview

The Community Facilities Committee met for a third time at Southview Elementary.

The committee received an update from Chad Trowbridge, Business Manager, on financial planning, revenue sources, how general fund dollars are spent, the history of operations and maintenance expenses and historical and projected levy rates.

ATS&R then provided the committee with a brief history on the original design of schools and classrooms and how design is changing to meet the current needs of 21st century learning environments (agile and flexible learning spaces, variety of learning spaces and facilities being used as communication tools).  

The committee was asked to share their thoughts and priorities related to all district facilities (elementary, middle school, high school and administration buildings) prior to this third committee meeting.  ATS&R shared the results of this survey.  The committee then broke up into small groups to discuss the results of the survey further and put those results into an action plan.  What would our district facilities need to look like in order to provide our students with the best possible learning environment (reconfiguring grade levels, building renovations, building expansions, new buildings, etc.)? 

Important Links

November 17, 2015 Committee Meeting PowerPoint Presentation

November 17, 2015 Facilities Committee Meeting Minutes

November 30, 2015 Facilities Committee Meeting Overview

The Community Facilities Committee met for their fourth meeting at the Chippewa Falls Middle School.

In this meeting, the committee members were able to begin seeing the fruits of their brainstorming labor.  ATS&R provided the group with a list of facilities options based on the feedback given by the committee members, and they were also able to detail out what was all involved in those options as well as the total dollars associated with each option.  After the options were presented to the committee, they were asked to eliminate any options they felt would not work and to provide positives and negatives for all other options remaining.

Important Links

November 30, 2015 Committee Meeting PowerPoint Presentation
November 30, 2015 Committee Meeting Minutes
Master Facilities Plan Options 11-30-2015

December 14, 2015 Facilities Committee Meeting Overview

The Community Facilities Committee met for their fifth and final meeting in the Hillcrest Elementary library.

Prior to this meeting, the committee members were asked to complete a survey related to the options the group had come up with during the fourth committee meeting.  The survey also asked the committee members to rank what they felt the greatest priorities of the district were and what they felt the community might be willing to support. 

The committee meeting began with ATS&R presenting the results of the survey.  The group then broke into three groups to analyze the top three options determined by the committee, and the committee came to a consensus on what they would recommend to the Board of Education.

Important Links

December 14, 2015 Committee Meeting PowerPoint Presentation
December 14, 2015 Committee Meeting Minutes
Funding Information Packet
Final Report from the Facility Planning Committee

January 5, 2016 - The Committee Presents Their Recommendation to the Board of Education

Podcast - Community Facilities Committee Recommendation

On January 5th, 2016, the Community Facilities Committee presented their recommendation to the CFAUSD Board of Education.  The details of this recommendation are explained in detail in the above podcast from Dr. Eliopoulos.

On January 18th, 2016 at 6:30 pm in the Chippewa Falls Senior High School cafeteria, the Board of Education will meet to consider the recommendation of the committee and the next steps for district facilities.  This meeting will begin with a public forum, which will give community members an opportunity to provide their feedback on the committee's recommendation.  Anyone interested in addressing the Board at this special meeting, should sign in upon their arrival.  You can find the agenda for this meeting within BoardDocs by following this link.