Delaware City Schools is conducting a facilities survey and is seeking input from the community as it prepares to reform the Facilities Committee next year to address growth in the district.
The district shared the survey earlier this month and encouraged residents to respond to the questionnaire about the state of the district’s facilities. Superintendent Heidi Kegley said the goal of the survey is to gather “high level feedback from a wide range of stakeholders.”
“As our community evolves and grows, it is important that we understand the desires of the community as they relate to the schools,” Kegley said. “… It has been approximately 10 years since the district has done a thorough review and update of the facilities plan. Just as we plan for academic improvement, student success and financial stability, we also need to plan for the future enhancements to our district’s facilities to ensure we are prepared to meet the needs of our students for many years to come. We know it is important to keep an open dialogue with our community so they can understand the opportunities and challenges we have as a school district to provide the best education for our students.”
Kegley said it’s important for the district to know what is most important to its stakeholders as it plans the future of the schools.
“The information that we gather will allow us to identify those key areas to explore further,” she said.
The survey asks how residents feel about the current school configuration as well as hypothetical scenarios, including a new elementary, middle, or high school building.
“We wanted to ask a wide variety of questions to see how people perceive our current facilities and which options the community would like us to consider as the Facilities Committee looks to the future,” said Director of Facilities and Transportation Jason Sherman. “We tried to present questions that would allow our residents to weigh in on the many different ways school districts can manage facilities and growth as well as ask open-ended questions for more extended input.”
Sherman said when the Facilities Committee is reformed next year, it will review enrollment projections and future planned housing developments and consider the impact on school enrollment.
“They will also tour the school facilities, review the survey information, and solicit input from constituent groups,” he said. “Ultimately, the committee will make recommendations to the Board of Education for enhancements to the school facilities to ensure we can meet the needs of our students in the short term and for many years to come while being mindful of the impacts to our tax paying residents.”
The survey link can be found on the main page of the district’s website at https://www.dcs.k12.oh.us/, and all community members are encouraged to participate by Dec. 13, Kegley said.
“This survey is an important first step in our process, and it will provide important guidance for our facilities committee,” Kegley said. “However, we do expect to host meetings and utilize additional surveys to ensure we have a full understanding of the items most important to the community.”
Glenn Battishill can be reached at 740-413-0903.
