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On June 28, the School Board heard the first, preliminary report from the Task Force. Three of its members, each a district resident and parent, spoke on behalf the 28-member citizen-staff Facilities Utilization Task Force. The Task Force was formed in January 2005 to visit, study and review all district sites, prioritize the district’s facilities needs, and to make a final report and recommendations to the School Board by November-December 2005.

The Task Force began its work following nearly a one-year study, by architects and engineers, of the district’s mechanical and electrical systems; health, safety, and security; accessibility, technology needs, and academic issues related to facilities.

During the June 28 presentation, one of the members, Dick Morin, spoke about Task Force tours of each facility to judge their condition and needs. Morin had also participated in a facilities study that preceded the district’s 1995 bond referendum. At the time, he said, $60 million in needs were identified, but after “months and months of cutting” the proposal became less than half of the identified needs. It passed, he reminded the School Board, “but the previous needs are now “ten years older, ten years more expensive, and there are now ten more years’ worth of needs.”

Reporting on deferred maintenance needs, Morin said “we need to address these needs as soon as possible. We have 30-50-year-old boilers, old heating and ventilation systems, and under-powered electrical systems. The majority of our buildings still have single-pane windows, there are safety and security needs. And, our driveways, parking lots, and traffic flow needs a lot of attention.”

Now, in 2005, there are again over $60 million in priority maintenance projects alone.

“Let’s not make the same mistake that was made ten years ago, Morin concluded. “This time, let’s fix it, let’s do it right, let’s do it all. The students and their facilities are our responsibility.”

Another parent and Task Force member, John Stroebel, said that after spending months studying deferred maintenance needs, he and others came to the realization that the district’s maintenance staff “does an outstanding job,” but that “our eyes were opened to many urgent needs.”

One of the many things the Task Force has been exposed to, he said, were the Minnesota Department of Education guidelines relating to renovation versus new construction. One such guideline states that “when the estimated costs of renovating or improving a school facility approach 60% of the cost of replacing the facility, a school district needs to replace the facility.”

Other state guidelines address the size, in particular, the number of acres upon which a school sits. Spring Lake Park High School, for example, should be on a site closer to 55-60 acres.

Kenneth Hall Elementary alone, he said, should have about 15 acres unto itself, but instead shares the 40 acres of the “high school complex.”

Making it even tighter, the same site is shared by the district offices, by 250 students attending early childhood programs, and by over 400 students who attend various Learning Alternatives programs. In order to house that many programs, the 40-acre site should be closer to 70 or 80 acres. Because it is well under state guidelines, the Facilities Specialist for the Department of Education has already indicated that he may not approve high school improvements with an elementary school remaining on the site.

The Task Force also strongly agrees that a new elementary school be considered in the new high-growth area of Blaine, with sufficient, state-approved space.

Within the past few weeks, the district has received a verbal commitment for the purchase of property near the northern border of the district’s boundaries. The land would be sufficient for a possible new elementary school. It is approximately 20 acres in size and adjoins another 20 acres that will become a city park near The Lakes development in Blaine.

At this point, the School Board has not made a decision regarding the construction of a new school. The Task Force, which is providing research, advice, and community opinion, will not make its final facilities recommendations until late fall at the earliest. However, it makes good business sense to obtain land that is rapidly becoming unavailable, because the Task Force and School Board are at the very least going to consider a new school, and it is far better than having the need for a school and nowhere to build one.

If purchased, the property would become a district asset, so if a new school in Blaine is a part of a bond referendum, and the referendum is not successful, the School Board could then sell the property.

Jodi Ruch, the third speaker, a parent of four and Task Force member, said when she first saw the cost figure related to deferred maintenance, she had “sticker-shock.” But, she said, “I came to an understanding of the needs and I received good answers to my questions.”

“No one, including me,” she said, “is excited about increasing taxes, but there are glaring deficiencies and worn out, added-on to, patched-together facilities that must be addressed.” We cannot, she added, “continue to put on band-aids. Long-term, we need to consider what is best for taxpayers, we need to take pride in and take care of what we have.”

An additional item of agreement for Task Force members, Ruch said, is additional classrooms at the middle school due to enrollment growth and to better accommodate teaching and learning. Another item of agreement is that “the oldest portions of the high school should be replaced, and the rest of the school reconfigured.”

“After seeing what I’ve seen of the district’s facilities,” Ruch concluded, “I would be excited by the kind of plan that the Task Force is working on. I’d be proud to be a part of it.”

With deferred maintenance as well as new construction projects, it is estimated that it could cost over $90 million to meet all of the priority needs in the preliminary plans of the Task Force. Although that cost is significant, the Task Force stressed that the District should make every effort to plan for and fund the completion of all priority-designated items. The Task Force also believes that funding all priority items should hopefully not cost the average homeowner more than $15-20/ month.

Details of the presentation are available on the district’s web site: www.springlakeparkschools.org. In fact, you can stay current with the District’s progress on the facilities study and eventual plan by regularly returning to this web site address.

Meetings will be scheduled in the fall to share the Task Force’s research and ideas as well as seek public input in helping to shape the emerging plan.