I wanted to provide you with another update regarding recent discussions about facility needs at South Elementary School. As you are hopefully aware, we are planning two upcoming public Community Facilities Committee meetings on Nov. 28 and Dec. 11. Both meetings will be held from 6:30 to 8 p.m. in the cafeteria at the high school.

The first meeting on Nov. 28 will be to set ground rules for how the committee will work together, and to establish the educational values we want to uphold when evaluating the options that have been presented to address South’s needs. We anticipate breaking participants up into groups to carry out this work. Please register to attend by completing this questionnaire:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/RN6K5DL

Feel free to share this email and the link above with anyone who lives in our district and may not regularly receive our messages.

The next meeting on Dec. 11 will be to review the findings of the master facilities and South feasibility studies being conducted by AEM Architects. In addition to sharing the results of the studies, we will break up into small groups again to further evaluate options based on the new information received and the values established at the November meeting. We will send a separate registration link for the Dec. 11 community meeting in a future email. As a side note, the findings of these studies will also be shared in public at the Dec. 3 School Board work session (which begins at 6:30 in the high school library).

At this time, the options for addressing South’s needs include building a new school, renovating/upgrading the existing building, or closing South and redistricting students in a variety of different ways. No decisions have been made with regard to any of the options, as we are still in information-gathering mode. The results of the master facilities and feasibility studies will be very important in guiding our work and we look forward to receiving that information. The studies, along with these upcoming community meetings, will be helpful in narrowing down our options and determining what the timeline will be moving forward.

I recognize that it is unsettling not to have all the answers right away, but I hope that you can be patient as we are still gathering all the data we need to assist the committee and the School Board in the decision-making process. A decision affecting our entire district is not one that should be rushed or taken lightly. Please know that I am committed to thoroughly investigating all the options to determine what is in the best interest of students and our taxpayers. I look forward to working together to arrive at a solution that will provide our students with safe learning environments and equity of experience, while also maintaining fiscal responsibility and respect for the community that exists at South.

Additionally, as we prepare to embark upon the holiday season, please enjoy the time with family and friends!

Sincerely,