A long range planning process meant to generate a 10-year plan for D21 facilities netted a 15-year plan instead, one that calls for a new high school first, followed by replacing the three elementaries, starting with Colonel Wright.
A detailed assessment of 15 buildings in School District 21 found many are in poor shape and warrant replacement, and most of the rest will move into that category in a few years. The high school had the worst ratings, with all three buildings on campus rated too poor to warrant repair.
A compactly designed proposed high school, centered around a courtyard allowing natural light into classrooms, was unveiled to the final meeting of a master planning committee May 3. Architects were also able to fit all the requested sports fields on the 29-acre property at West 10th and Chenowith Loop.
A new high school could have the same square footage as the current one, but with more efficient usage of space, would accommodate 25 percent more students, a consultant said last Thursday. At the first of four meetings of the high school master planning committee, architect and consultant Richard Higgins with BLRB Architects said better use of space would mean a new high school could accommodate 1,035 students, up from the 800 housed at the current high school.
Replacing the high school is by far the top priority of a facilities committee studying replacing nearly all the schools in the district. Its second priority is replacing Chenowith Elementary.
In the next five years, $22.4 million needs to be spent just to keep systems at the six District 21 buildings in their current poor condition, according to an assessment of the buildings.
