LWSD Long-Term Facilities Planning

Recommendations for lack of classroom capacity

Background: The Task Force reviewed and discussed the district’s methods for projecting enrollment and capacity. Throughout their deliberations, the Task Force returned repeatedly to the issue of how to efficiently and effectively use classrooms and other spaces in district schools. Read full text of the recommendations here.

What is your level of agreement with:

Capacity recommendation-1: Build new schools

• The Task Force recommends the district build new schools to address lack of classroom capacity at the mid-range investment level (including cost reduction measures as detailed in the Reducing Cost section later in the recommendations)

Capacity recommendation-2: Determining needs

• Use the current methodology with some refinements when projecting enrollment
  • The Task Force has confidence in the district’s planning process, but wants the district to apply additional best practices to further refine enrollment projections since these projections are crucial to facilities planning
  • Ensure connections to cities and planning commissions to represent school interests during conversations about growth and development

Capacity recommendation-3: Efficient use of space

• Remove dedicated computer labs from elementary school Standard of Service when determining capacity
• Develop a new methodology for calculating resource room requirements
• Develop and conduct a regular audit of all facility use across the district and across room types
• Report out to the community on audit results and any subsequent adjustments to use of space

Capacity recommendation-4: Strategies

• Before determining the need for building new schools, strongly consider the following strategies:
  • Rent or lease space for preschool to free up capacity for K-12 students
  • Use the Old Redmond Schoolhouse for preschool to free up capacity for K-12 students
  • Offer double-shifting at Choice middle and high schools to increase capacity and make Choice schools available to more students
  • Build additions at the schools that have the ability to accommodate additional classrooms
• These strategies have challenges, but the district should strongly consider them to reduce the need for new schools
• Do not include portables as a long-term strategy to address capacity needs

The Task Force recommends the district strongly consider using the following strategies before determining the need for new schools. For additional information on the strategies, click here. What is your level of agreement with each strategy?

Recommendations for changing conditions

What is your level of agreement with:

Changing conditions recommendation-1: No capital funds

• If the district is unable to raise funds for the Task Force’s recommendation to build new schools, then implement a year-round multi-track schedule
• The Task Force would like to avoid this situation if at all possible, but finds this is the only viable strategy that would completely meet the need for additional classroom capacity without capital funding

Changing conditions recommendation-2: Increase in enrollment

• If the district faces an unexpected or accelerated increase in enrollment use the following temporary strategies (list not prioritized):
  • Change school attendance boundaries
  • Add teacher planning rooms in middle and high schools
  • Limit (or eliminate) All Day Kindergarten classes
  • Increase class size
  • Increase portable classrooms
  • Reduce the allocation of specialized spaces (music, art/science)
  • Move district-wide programs (such as Quest, Special Education Learning Centers, Preschool) to other schools within the district as possible to take advantage of available capacity

What is your level of agreement with:

Changing conditions recommendation-3: Partial funding

• If the district cannot raise the full amount of funding to implement the build new schools recommendation, then use the temporary strategies in Changing Conditions-2 (above)