How We Got To This Point

On April 7 voters in the ROCORI School District will be asked to approve a 20 year bond proposal of no more than $29,990,000 to build a new ROCORI Middle School.  Voters will have the opportunity to make a single yes or no vote on the referendum ballot.  This is the second in a series of articles designed to help voters as they study the issues in support of making an informed decision to vote yes.
As our communities begin to focus on the issues surrounding involved with the April 7 referendum, it is useful to review some history and consider the background which led the school board to place the referendum before voters.

For several years, it has been evident that that at some point the district needs to make some improvements and/or additions to our school facilities. We’d suggest most everyone can also agree that the old middle school has seen it better days.  These unsolved issues have served as a distraction to the ongoing education efforts of our school district for six years. It is time to finally solve these facility problems and the modest yet substantial building proposal being put before voters is rock solid and an outstanding value for the taxpayers.

In the summer of 2007 the school district undertook a series of listening sessions for the community to express views concerning district facility issues. Eight listening sessions were held, and considerable community input was gained on several topics, including facility life cycle, building security, deferred maintenance, health and safety, energy efficiency, educational programming, location, replacement costs,  and grade level configurations.

Following the listening sessions, the school board established a citizen task force from a cross-section of school district residents. The purpose of the task force was to outline options and cost impact of renovating, making additions to, or new construction of district facilities with a focus on the middle school facility. There were no constraints placed on the task force by the school board.

Task force members were provided with the documentation from several previous studies commissioned by the district, including reports on organizational analysis study and recommendations, deferred maintenance reports, as well as the results from the listening sessions.  Using the studies, reports, listening sessions and individual task force meetings, the group was requested to formulate a recommendation regarding the current middle school facility to the school board.

The task force, comprised of 26 individuals from all communities in the district, started its work in September 2007, and over the next year met together 11 times.  Required information was provided to the task force by the district staff and an architectural firm retained by the district to assist with design and cost estimation.

The task force engaged in lots of background discussions, gleaning information from the previous studies as well as reviewing the three previous failed referendums. The task force established several key criteria (see Table) to guide them as they developed numerous concepts to solve the middle school facility problem. 

Table: Concept Evaluation Criteria—The task force developed these criteria to guide their search for solutions.

• Grades 6-8 Configuration: This configuration allows for a smoother transition fro sixth grade students. Creating a three grade building would promote a stronger relationship between students, teacher and counselors in preparation for high school. This configuration also frees up classroom space in the existing elementary buildings allowing opportunity for greater flexibility, new programming and potentially smaller class sizes in those buildings.
• Safety:  Safety is a top priority that the district needs to address within this process and with school operations in general.  Safety topics include but are not limited to: fire exiting, door security, mold, asbestos, air quality, handicap accessibility and bus staging. These upgrades are long overdue.
• Current Facility Limitations: The existing middle school facility has educational, programming, and deferred maintenance deficiencies.
• Accessibility: Creating identifiable entrances and ease of entering the facility, including meeting ADA requirements
• Bussing: Drop-off and pick-up, separating bus, car and student traffic.
• Security: Any future building program needs to address the need for a dominant main entrance. The facility should be attractive from the perspective of an individual considering moving into any of the district’s communities.
• Programming/Space: High educational standards need to be maintained and stay within our means regarding future programming of the district’s facilities.

1. Connections with Communities: Any reprogramming of the existing middle school facility should include development of district wide programming if the building remains in the district’s ownership.
2. Senior Center and St. Boniface: Current middle school programming includes use by the senior community and parochial school for federal programs.
3. Flexibility and Long Range Planning:  Any future building program should have inherent flexibility for future use and the facility should address the district’s long range planning.
4. Environmental/Energy Efficiency:  The proposed building solution should be energy and operationally efficient and constructed of long life-cycle and environmentally friendly materials.
5. Cost Efficiency:  Short term fix versus long term practical solution. The district should avoid any quick fixes or “jerry- rigging” at the expense of the lowest first cost approach.
6. Attractive to New Residents:  The district programming and facilities should attract new families and businesses.
7. Technology:  Technology is continuing to change and the district needs to acknowledge how technology influences educational programming.
8. District Wide Focus:  The resulting middle school solution will impact all of the facilities within the district.

Out of this analysis, two key concepts evolved. The first was that the previous referendum attempts simply did not solve the central problem—the middle school-- and the costs associated with the proposals were too high.  Secondly, the task force discovered that a district-wide focus was required. Simply put, the task force felt that attempting to solve the middle school problem in isolation could only lead to an isolated solution, while leaving the remainder of the district’s facility issues unsolved. The task force felt this did not serve the district, the students and the communities to the fullest extent possible nor would it make best use of the communities’ investment. Furthermore, the task force could not ignore the synergies and efficiencies that could only be obtained from a district-wide solution, because any solution would impact all of the facilities across this district because they are all interdependent. This district-wide focus is key to understanding the current proposal. 

The task force literally considered every conceivable solution they could think of to the facility issues facing the district. The task force then fully developed several potential solutions to the middle school and other facility issues facing the district. These included doing nothing, updating the current middle school by fixing all deferred maintenance items, renovations and additions to the middle school at its current site, building a new middle school at another location, or adding a new middle school wing onto the existing high school building.

Initial designs and cost estimates were developed by the architects, and the task force conducted an analysis of each potential solution using the previously developed criteria. Out of this effort two of the concepts were selected for a more detailed examination. These two options were to renovate the existing middle school or to build a middle school addition on the high school building.

After examination the majority of the task force felt that building a middle school addition onto the high school building was the right choice. In broad strokes, this solution was chosen for several reasons.  First and foremost is the fact that our kids get one shot at an education and a lot of things don’t get done or done well in our district because of the facility limitations. The task force did not want facilities to be an obstacle to student achievement, and this solution removed as many of those obstacles as possible.  This alternative fixed the number one facility issue in the district—the middle school. It also allows this district to move to a grade 6-8 configuration for the middle school, a model proven by academic experts throughout the nation as better for our children’s education.

Unlike a simple renovation of the current middle school, the solution reflected a district-wide focus, in that it solves facility needs across the district for the foreseeable future.  It modernizes the high school and makes the building safe and comfortable for the students. It creates additional space in all three elementary schools to better accommodate current needs and future educational flexibility. Creating a central campus for the middle and high schools provides opportunities for efficiencies and real dollar savings in maintenance and operations, setting the conditions for curriculum improvement efforts.  Making additions and renovations to the newer facilities, rather than throwing good money after bad buildings, will extend the lifespan of those buildings (the high school building is 40 years old already) and maximize the return on the community investment. Additionally, expanding the footprint of our newer building—the high school, will enable adaptability and flexibility should needs and requirement change in the future.

After selecting the option of building a new middle school wing on the current high school building, the task force then reviewed the design several times.  Numerous modifications were made to the preliminary design. The point of this review was to ensure that the design would indeed meet the district’s curriculum requirements, while insisting that the design be as frugal as possible. Once satisfied with the review, in September 2008 the task force submitted the recommendation to the school board. Since that time the school board has reviewed the plan several times and has made some adjustments, but the core concepts and recommendations of a group of concerned and involved taxpayers remain in the proposal.

The task force felt good about the recommendation presented to the school board. It is a rock-solid plan in all respects. Current projections are that the ROCORI school district enrollment will remain at current levels for the foreseeable future. The proposal we are voting on in April will, in a single referendum, solve the district’s facility issues now and for the immediate future. If our communities vote yes, our kids, their education, our communities, and our tax dollars will all reap far more than we are asked to sow. 
For more information and to voice your opinion please visit:  www.NewROCORIMiddleSchool.com

The writers are concerned parents of school-age children and co-chairs of the Build a New Middle School Referendum Committee.  Both served on the Middle School Task Force.