District 303 board to vote next week on $166,500 evaluation
St. Charles Unit District 303 is poised to hire a Palatine-based firm to conduct an analysis of its properties and educational programs.
Ten companies responded to a request for qualifications to complete a long-range educational facility master plan, aimed at better aligning the district's building use with student needs, administrators said. Four finalists were interviewed by a special panel, which then ranked Wold Architects and Engineers at the top of the list.
District and company representatives spent the last week of October negotiating the terms of a final proposal, bringing Wold's undisclosed initial offer down to $166,500 - a price administrators are "very comfortable with," said Seth Chapman, assistant superintendent for business services.
The school board is expected to vote on the deal next week.
The district's boundaries, site use and educational environment have changed significantly since its last facility master plan was completed 11 years ago, administrators said, noting a new study will help them better prepare for the future. Some board members and residents also have been pushing for an updated evaluation amid talks over repurposing the now-shuttered Haines Middle School.
According to its draft proposal, presented to the business services committee Monday, Wold would start the process by touring properties, engaging with staff members, and gathering and fact-checking already completed documents, such as roof and mechanical studies and a 10-year Health/Life Safety study.
"They broke that down into a facility condition assessment, which was very important to us because one of the things it identifies is what's existing," said John Baird, assistant superintendent of operations. "It's the minutiae of the bricks and mortar ... that are going to be able to be plugged into this system that they wouldn't have to do."
Wold would then complete an educational alignment evaluation and a right-sizing survey, which offer perspectives on building equity, use of learning and support environments, assessments on enrollment projections, quality of space within each school, and the alignment of space with curriculum and initiatives, according to the proposal.
The firm also will facilitate a "facility improvement planning process" that includes gathering feedback in the form of community surveys, focus groups and meetings, documents show. The district's recently created Citizen Advisory Committee will have a hand in providing input and engaging the greater community, Superintendent Jason Pearson said.
Meeting with district administrators and school board members to "develop an overall vision and framework" will be a crucial first step in the planning process, architects said. They also plan to survey students, educators and other staff members.
"One of the things they'll try to do ... is provide people with a glimpse of what could be - what kinds of facilities are possible or what some of the newest or latest innovations are, both in architecture and educational programming," Pearson said.
If Wold's proposal is approved, the initial facility assessment and educational alignment would take place starting next month through July 2020. The vision and planning process would then carry through April 2021.