Master Planning Purpose and Process

*February 2020 Update*

The Board of Education and the Core Team engaged in discussions about the Building Our Future Together process in early 2021. Highlights from the discussion:

Since the 1980s, the District has engaged in eight facilities commissions which resulted in road maps for new construction, renovations, and other capital projects. There has not been a master plan for more than ten years for the district, the longest streak in recent history, so the Building Our Future Together planning process was initiated in April 2019. 

While the other facilities commissions were focused on growth and the need for additional facilities, this commission has a unique focus. Both the Board of Education and the Core Team have renewed their commitment to take action to improve the district’s facilities. The rationale included 

    • Teacher practice and the need for flexibility in our spaces require us to reenvision the facilities. 
    • The district has greatly expanded programs that we are able to offer students over the past 10 years. An example is special education programs that previously were not offered within our district. Now that students have been brought back to the district, the spaces do not match the programming needs. 
    • Deferred maintenance is not a long term strategy. The capital projects committee is in need of a long term plan so they can determine how to approach upcoming maintenance needs. 
    • Buildings do not all have spaces that are easily accessible to community groups outside of the school day. 
    • Safety, security, and accessibility standards have evolved over time, and some schools are not meeting the newer expectations. 

What is Building our Future Together and Why is the District Engaging in this?

In the fall of 2018, a Facilities Committee presented a report to the Board of Education which included their analysis and recommended next steps for developing a master facility plan for 2020 and beyond. To fully consider their recommendations and continue the development of an Educational Master Facility Plan, the Board issued a request for qualifications (RFQ) for architectural and engineering services. This Educational Master Facilities Plan will address the areas in need of remediation as well as a plan to modernize and maintain aging facilities.

The Board of Education selected DLR Group to help carry the plan forward and engage the entire BPS101 Community in the process of Building Our Future Together. DLR Group is an integrated design firm delivering architecture, engineering, interiors, planning, and building optimization for new construction, renovation, and adaptive reuse. Their brand promise is to elevate the human experience through design. This promise inspires sustainable design for a diverse group of public and private sector clients; local communities; and our planet. Additionally, DLR Group has worked with numerous districts of varying sizes, both locally and across the country, to develop educational master facility plans unique to each.

DLR Group also employs design researchers, planners, and former educators who bring subject-matter expertise to the District and throughout any planning and design process. Every school is different; DLR Group can provide evidence-based answers based on generalizable studies, with the most accurate results coming from representative samples within the District.

Phases 1 (Deeper Understanding) and 2 (Discover + Explore) took place from April 2019 through January 2020. Phase 3 (Program), with District data in hand and the goals of the Educational Master Facility Plan established, examined how the needs and program goals affect the District’s space via visual diagrams showing options for demolition, redevelopment/repurposing, renovations, additions, and/or new construction.

Working with stakeholders from the Core Team in Phases 4 (Conceptualize) and 5 (Game Plan), conceptual design options are discussed in conjunction with orders of magnitude cost models. The goal of these phases is to focus on developed options that meet the goals of the plan and are ready for community input. Based on meetings with the community, the Core Team will refine the options into a single Education Master Facility Plan for the Core Team and Administrative Leadership Team to present to the Board of Education for discussion and approval. The tentative timeline is April 2021 for stakeholder input and May 2021 for the Board presentation of the Core Team’s recommendation.