Join the Conversation!
 |
Announcements:
On Wednesday, June 27, at the Grandview Heights Schools Board of Education meeting, Superintendent Andy Culp made his final Facility Plan recommendation to the Board of Education after which, Board of Education unanimously voted to place a combined bond and operating levy on the November 6, 2018, ballot.
The proposed ballot issue includes a $55.25 million bond levy to fund safety and security upgrades to all school buildings, build a new 4-8 building, comprehensively renovate Grandview Heights High School, and address only essential repairs at Stevenson Elementary at this time, including Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance requirements and school safety upgrades to the building. The bond will be combined with a 1.0 mill operating levy, which will maintain current day-to-day operations. The combination levy would cost homeowners an additional $239 per $100,000 of property valuation annually.
“The ballot request reflects nearly three years of collaboration with our community to develop a plan to address our aging school buildings and to protect the great work happening in our schools,” stated Board President Jesse Truett. “Thank you to everyone who participated in the process by taking a survey, participating in a community meeting or a neighborhood coffee, attending a building tour, or volunteering on a committee. In all, these efforts represent over 3600 touchpoints with our community. Thanks to your guidance, this is the community’s plan for the future of our schools.”
Treasurer/CFO Beth Collier will now submit the request to the Franklin County Auditor’s Office. Once approved by the auditor, the board will vote a final time in July to place the issue on the November 6, 2018, ballot.
Financial Advisory Committee - Initial Findings Report Presentation
Please join us for an important community-wide meeting in the Facilities Planning Process. On Tuesday, May 29, 2018, at 6:30 p.m., the Financial Advisory Committee (FAC) will present their initial findings on the funding, phasing, and the scope of the facilities plan, as well as, the district's needs for operating funding. The presentation will be in the Grandview Heights High School Auditorium located at 1587 West Third Avenue.
The FAC will present an overview of their initial findings and then facilitate conversations with attendees to gather additional information that will aid and inform the FAC members before they make their final recommendations to the superintendent.
Immediately following the presentation and conversations, an online survey will be available on the district website at www.ghcsd.org so that all Grandview Heights Schools residents can provide feedback.
Join the Conversation! Mark your calendars for Tuesday, May 29, at 6:30 p.m. Childcare will be available. For more information, email [email protected] or call (614) 485-4015.
Take a Building Tour
A behind-the-scenes building tour is a great way to see and learn first-hand about the conditions, challenges, and limitations of our school buildings. Email Director of Facilities Brett Bradley at [email protected] to reserve your place on the following tours. Tours are offered at 2 p.m. and meet in the building offices on the following days:
Grandview Heights High School
- Wednesday, March 7, 2018
- Tuesday, April 10, 2018
- Tuesday, May 1, 2018
Edison Intermediate/Larson Middle School
- Tuesday, March 13, 2018
- Tuesday, April 17, 2018
- Tuesday, May 8, 2018
Stevenson Elementary
- Tuesday, March 20, 2018
- Tuesday, April 24, 2018
- Tuesday, May 15, 2018
Facility Planning Process Enters Decisions Phase
After over two years of research, 48 community meetings, 2,600 community touchpoints, and multiple surveys that gathered resident feedback, we are now in the Decisions Phase of the Facility Planning Process.
To give you an update, last September I presented recommendations to the Board of Education regarding a Master Facilities Plan that was carefully crafted based on community feedback. The recommendations would renovate Stevenson Elementary and Grandview Heights High School and building a new school for students in grades 4-8, located on or near the same site where Edison Intermediate/Larson Middle School currently sits, at a potential cost of $45-50 million. The plan also includes an additional $2 million in recommended renovations to current K-12 community and district athletic facilities north of Grandview Heights High School. These estimated amounts could change based on the selection of materials and inflation.
As part of the Decisions Phase, we have established an independent Financial Advisory Committee (FAC) comprised of community members with high level business and financial backgrounds who are proven leaders. The FAC will meet from January through March to make final recommendations to the superintendent regarding the following: both funding the facility plan and a possible operating levy; whether to engage in the entire recommendation or components of the recommendation; how the plan will be phased-in; how to address classroom swing space during construction; and the evaluation of our existing Permanent Improvement levy. Based on the FAC’s recommendations to the superintendent, the Board of Education will consider whether or not to place a levy on the November 2018 ballot.
The Facility Advisory Committee community members include: Ricky Day, Principal, Day Companies; Katie Matney, Chief Philanthropy Officer, The Women's Fund of Central Ohio; Jack Kukura, Chief Investment Officer, Ohio Capital Corporation for Housing; Mike Morosky, Partner, Lazear Capital; Clarence Simmons, President/CEO, SIMCO Real Estate Development & Construction; Melanie Mueller, Senior Analyst, Grange Insurance; Mike Curtin, Retired Vice Chairman & COO, The Dispatch Printing Company, and former State Representative; Teri Alexander, President, Alexander Financial Planning; Jennifer Voit, Director of Primary Care Network, Nationwide Children's Hospital; Doug Daughters, Director of C & I Sales, IGS Energy; David Ward, VP of Finance and Asset Management, The Daimler Group; and Steve Papineau, Owner/CEO, Shelby Management. Ex-officio members are Ray DeGraw, Mayor, City of Grandview Heights, and Kent Studebaker, Mayor, Village of Marble Cliff.
Please know that no final decisions have been made regarding the amount, scope of work, or exact costs of any potential levy.
The most important part of this process is your involvement. Grandview Heights Schools will continue to engage our community so that we can shape the plan together and determine what is best for the short and long term financial sustainability of our school district. Residents will have more opportunities to offer input to the Financial Advisory Committee’s findings by attending a community meeting, taking a survey, and attending community coffees.
We welcome any community member to host a coffee so that we can continue to inform and answer questions about the Facility Planning Process. Being able to share information with residents in this way is very helpful and we are looking forward to more opportunities for residents to join the conversation. Please contact Hayley Head at [email protected] to schedule a coffee.
Superintendent Andy Culp to Make Final Recommendation
At the Tuesday, September 19, 2017, Board of Education regular meeting, Superintendent Andy Culp will make a presentation to the Board of Education regarding the Facility Planning Process and his final recommendation. The meeting will begin at 7 p.m. in the Brotherhood of Rooks Media Center located in the Grandview Heights High School, not at 6:30 p.m. as previously stated on the Community Engagement Calendar.
Read the Research - Community Survey #2 Results Now Available
At the conclusion of the June 8, 2017, Community Engagement Meetings, students, staff, and residents were invited to take a second online survey based on the three draft options that were presented regarding the Facilities Planning Process. More than 400 individuals participated in the second online survey. The results are attached below.
Read the Research - Community Survey #1 and Focus Group Results Now Available
At the conclusion of the May 1, 2017, Community Engagement Meeting, students, staff, and residents were invited to take an online survey based on the seven draft options that were presented regarding the Facilities Planning Process. Between 550 and 600 individuals participated in the online survey. The results, along with results from an empty nester focus group, were used to guide revisions for the draft options that were presented at the June 8, 2017, Community Engagement Meeting. The survey and focus group results attachments can be accessed below.
Take a Building Tour
A behind-the-scenes building tour is a great way to see and learn first-hand about the conditions and limitations of our buildings. Email Director of Facilities Brett Bradley at [email protected] to reserve your place with your requested date and time. Tours are offered at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. and meet in the building offices on the following days:
- Stevenson Elementary - Wednesday, July 19, 2017
- Grandview Heights High School - Thursday, July 27, 2017
- Edison Intermediate/Larson Middle School - Wednesday, August 9, 2017
Community Engagement Opportunities
Please plan to attend the following Community Engagement opportunities. Community Engagement Meetings are held in the John Glenn Community Center - EI/LMS Commons at 6:30 p.m.
Wednesday, February 15, 2017 - Edison Intermediate/Larson Middle School Building Tour
Wednesday, February 22, 2017 - Community Engagement Meeting #4
Tuesday, March 14, 2017 - Grandview Heights High School Building Tour - 6 p.m.
Wednesday, April 26, 2017 - Athletics Facilities Tour (GHHS)
Monday, May 1, 2017 - Community Engagement Meeting #5
Tuesday, May 2, 2017 - Annex Building Tour (EI/LMS)
Thursday, June 8, 2017 - Community Engagement Meeting #6
Thursday, August 3, 2017 - Community Engagement Meeting #7
Tuesday, September 19, 2017 - Final Report: Presentation to the Board of Education
For a downloadable calendar, click on the link:
https://1.cdn.edl.io/rgbeJ3mC021qvGh66SslHkftiaRamlAtBfQ7MkDE36dDW31O.pdf
Updates:
Since the hiring of Frank Locker Educational Planning at the December 20, 2016, Board of Education meeting, we have collaboratively created a new Community Engagement Facility Planning Calendar. This revised calendar is attached and available by clicking on the link above. Please note that the previously established calendar is no longer relevant and that this revised Community Engagement Calendar will serve to guide our process for the coming months. This calendar will also be inserted into our next quarterly district newsletter that is mailed to every Grandview Heights and Marble Cliff residence.
Our partnership with Dr. Locker and the community engagement process will begin on January 14 and 21 with two days of Educational Visioning. Thank you to the 55 plus community members who replied to participate in the Educational Visioning sessions. On January 31, Dr. Locker facilitated a staff only Educational Visioning session. Participation and feedback is vital and valued so please continue to Join the Conversation. Meeting presentations and materials can be found by clicking on the additional tabs. We will post and share any calendar updates with the community.
Help Us Shape the Future of Grandview Heights Schools
Safe, modern, and efficient school buildings are important to student success. In Grandview Heights Schools, we have a proud tradition of excellence in the classroom, however our current facilities are not able to keep our desired ability to provide a 21st Century education in the most economical way for taxpayers. Grandview Heights Schools has embarked on a multi-step process to review the current state of all of our buildings. The goal of this plan is to determine if our school buildings are up to standards when it comes to student learning and safety, ADA compliance, and to also make sure we are spending taxpayer dollars wisely when it comes to maintaining our aging buildings.
Phase One: Assessment
In 2015, the school district hired Kevin Harrison of Harrison Planning Group, to assess what it would cost to maintain our current school buildings over the next 10 years. They completed a comprehensive inventory of all district structures, grounds, and equipment. They found that the yearly costs to maintain and upgrade our current infrastructure and classrooms are significantly higher than the current funds available in our permanent improvement budget.
Knowing this is an urgent matter, Grandview Heights Schools created a Facilities Task Force comprised of community members with a wide variety of backgrounds including many with expertise in the construction and building industry. This advisory group is assisting school leaders in exploring how the district should move forward in upgrading our school buildings.
This group meets regularly and in December 2015 helped the district select Harrison Planning Group (HPG) to facilitate collaboration between the school district and the community. The firm is a frequent visitor to our school campus and is completing a comprehensive facility assessment of our K-12 facilities.
HPG measured and analyzed every square inch of our school buildings. The work was threefold: analyze the operational efficiencies of our current school buildings (23 physical systems including heating, window, foundation, roofing, among others); identify any current Ohio building code deficiencies or requirement; and determine if our current classrooms provide the appropriate learning spaces needed for our students to be successful in the modern world.
Despite the hard work of our maintenance staff, the assessment revealed that many of our building systems are nearing or well beyond their lifespan. In addition, the current classroom setting presents challenges in our ability to deliver a 21st Century education for students.
Phase Two: Community / Student / Staff Engagement
Starting in August 2016 and continuing through May 2017, we will begin a comprehensive community engagement process that will include both district-wide and building-level meetings. We will take what we have learned from the assessment phase and ask for feedback from our community in helping shape a plan for the future of our school buildings. The meetings will include an in-depth conversation with residents about current facility conditions, capacities, and what makes up a 21st Century learning environment, followed by facilitated discussions and exercises with participants to assist them in guiding and shaping options for the future.
Grandview Heights Schools is exploring ALL options for our school buildings and nothing has been determined at this time. The community engagement process will create options for our future, which will be vetted and narrowed down to a preferred option for our future schools. That is why it is so vital that all residents participate in this process and help shape the future of our schools for generations to come.
Join the Conversation
Ensuring that our Grandview Heights Schools students have access to a 21st Century learning environment, one that they will encounter in today’s colleges and the workforce, is vital to their success. We must also ensure we use our facility funds in the most efficient manner possible for taxpayers. As our work continues on planning the future of our school buildings, we will keep you informed. In the meantime if you have any questions, email us at [email protected] or call 614-485-4015.
Please check out our Facility Planning pages: