Schools survey to be released soon
By Kenneth Hart
Ontario 8C School Facilities Task Force co-chair
Monday, March 24, 2008 10:19 AM PDT
As of late February, nearly 800 of the Ontario 8C School Facilities Task Force community surveys had been completed and returned. This is a fantastic response that shows the citizens of Ontario are taking the time to give us their input to this important process! Thank you to everyone who has given input.
In February, the Facilities Task Force heard a presentation from Richard Higgens of the DLR Group. Mr. Higgens was one of the team leaders that participated in the Council of Educational Facility Planners conference in October of 2007, which worked with task force members and school officials to develop options for a long-range facility master plan for the 8C School District. The goals and guiding principles that came out of the planning session were based on the need to maintain high learning standards, restore community pride in our schools, celebrate community connections and community use, create effective learning environments and develop a better relationship with community and involve them in the planning process. The task force, in part through the community survey, is working to accomplish these goals.
One of the most interesting parts of Mr. Higgens’ presentation was the budgeting tool his firm has developed to assist communities in estimating costs for facilities upgrades and construction.
This tool allows planners to input virtually every aspect of a proposed project including the square footage of a building and its various rooms, the type and quality of roof, siding, flooring, windows, lighting, the facility’s technological capabilities, as well as any land costs, permits, legal and architectural fees. The tool also allows planners to project cost increases based on when each phase of a long-range plan would be implemented, e.g., one, five or even 20 years.
The results of the current community survey will, hopefully, provide important input information for this budgeting tool and assist the task force in the analysis of possible facilities configurations.
Finally, the Economic Outlook Breakfast occurred at the Four Rivers Cultural Center in late February. It was noted among the top criteria companies look for in deciding to relocate or build in a given area are the educational institutions. It is critical that we as a community are doing all that we can to ensure that our educational institutions have an excellent reputation and the educational facilities to allow us to compete with other communities that are vying for these same businesses. The economic health of our community depends on it.
We will be releasing the results of the community survey on our Web site as soon as they are all compiled. The task force Web site is located at http://8ctaskforce.edublogs.org. We will also be updating you through the Argus — so stay tuned.
Kenneth Hart is a co-chairman of the 8C School Facilities Task Force
