After about six months of learning as much as they could about the district, its buildings and the communities it serves, the Lake Washington School District’s (LWSD) long-term facilities planning task force is now seeking community input.
They are asking people to share their thoughts on strategies and resource levels the district should use in its facilities planning.
A NEEDED CONVERSATION
Kathryn Reith, communications director for LWSD, said they need to have a significant conversation with the community regarding these issues as “kids are still coming” into the district and they need somewhere to put them.
LWSD held a community open house Tuesday evening to gather feedback in person, but people can continue to share their thoughts and concerns at an online open house at tinyurl.com/qzof9km. The open house site, which also includes a survey for people to take, will be open through midnight on June 21.
According to an LWSD press release, the online open house is an ongoing opportunity to be part of the conversation about the district’s facilities challenges. It will continue to be updated at key milestones. The open house will stay online until the task force makes its final recommendation. That recommendation is expected in September.
Reith said feedback is important as it shows the task force what the community values — whether that is saving money up front or building the most modern and innovative facilities that would save the district money in the long run. Once they learn more about these values, she said, the task force can better come up with strategies to recommend to the board of directors for its long-term planning.
In the press release, LWSD Deputy Superintendent Janene Fogard — who has been working with the task force as a liaison between them and the district — said, “The task force is looking at a variety of potential strategies. It’s important for them to understand what the community is comfortable with given the varying resources implications, impacts and tradeoffs of different strategies.”
COMMUNITY CONCERNS
Fogard — who is facilitating the task force alongside an outside, neutral facilitator hired by the district — attended Tuesday’s open house and said it went well. About 30 people attended and she said there were some good questions asked and good conversations between community members and task force members or district staff. She said people mostly wanted to better understand the options the task force is looking at and what they all mean. Another point that was brought up at the open house, she said, was the need for equity among the schools, meaning families from all over the district have access to similar programs and opportunities no matter where they live.
MANY FACTORS
Currently, the potential strategies the task force is looking at range in levels of capital investment from no investment to a high level of investment.
Reith said with the no-investment option — in which the district does not spend any money — strategies that could be used to address overcapacity include double shifting or year-round school as no new buildings would be constructed. On the other end of the spectrum — the high-level investment option — the district would build larger schools with larger common areas such as the cafeteria, gym and library so it could easily add more classrooms to accommodate growth at an even later date than projected. There are also investment options that fall between these two choices, Reith said.
Another factor the task force also has to keep in mind while developing these strategies, she said, is what’s going on in Olympia. Things such as the McCleary Supreme Court ruling requiring the State Legislative to sufficiently fund public schools as well as the recently passed Initiative-1351 call for smaller class sizes to different degrees. If and when these go into effect, the district would need to address them accordingly (smaller class sizes mean more classrooms, which means more square footage to a building).
Reith said the task force’s job is to come up with strategies that are flexible and can adjust to these and can give the board options in moving forward.
“This is the kind of complexity the task force is dealing with,” she said, adding that if the state does provide funding for smaller class sizes, it would be mostly to pay for additional teachers, not for additional physical space. “They’re examining every piece of data the district provides them with a fine-toothed comb.”
DIFFERENT POINTS OF VIEWS
The task force was formed in December 2014 to address the district’s aging school buildings and rapidly growing population.
More than 200 people asked to be part of the task force. That number was narrowed down to 63. Within the group, there is a parent from each school as well as individuals representing the business community and the senior community. In addition, there are teachers, principals and classified staff from throughout the district in the task force.
“We need to have all the points of views represented,” Reith said, adding that in particular, they wanted people who were skeptical of the district’s needs on the task force.
She said what happens at a school district affects everyone in its communities, even those who do not have children attending the schools. For example, a strong school district attracts more families, which could lead to more businesses opening in the community to accommodate the residents.
Since its formation six months ago, the task force has met about five times, but Reith said within the group is a sub-committee of a little more than two dozen people who delve even deeper to learn all there is to know about what the district needs in terms of facilities. That group has been meeting about every two weeks.
“It’s been really good work,” Reith said. “They’re doing a lot for the community.”
While the task force is scheduled to make its recommendations to the school board in September, Reith said, “If it takes them more time, it takes them more time.”
Regardless of when the group will be making these recommendations, Fogard said the community will have the opportunity to view them and comment on them before they go to the board.
