Planning & Design

 

 

MASTER PLAN

Educational Facilities Master Plan 2007

FUTURE PLANS

 OVERVIEW

 

These plans have been updated from last year to reflect our progress with regards to the initiation and fulfillment of our capital agenda. Much of the plan is based on the recommendations of last year’s Superintendent’s School Facilities Task Force on Long-Range Planning.   

 

The mission of this Task Force is to map out a comprehensive long-range strategy for the Board of Education that will address the facility related issues in order to meet the building and spacial needs of the school system. They do this by reviewing current projections on growth and development within the commmunity, understanding the student demographic and facility asset data, considering other relative information and influences, listening to the needs of the system stake holders and participating in serious discussion of the issues in order to arrive at a concensus of opinion, direction and priorities.

 

The Task Force meets periodically during the first part of the year and its members consist of a diverse group of participants from the community.  It includes a variety of stake holders made up of parents, teachers, administrators, architects, engineers, public members from the community, local business people, planning personnel, politicians and staff.

 

Initially, much time is spent on educating members on the variety of issues and factors involving school facilities and reviewing with the membership the progress and current status of the Facility Master Plan.  Over the next several months members spend hours becoming familiar with the issues related to school facilities while reviewing and analyzing various facility and program information. Concurrently with this process, the group will hear from various stake holders and engaged in serious dialogue and debate while attempting to identify major issues or areas of concern that they feel should be brought to the attention of the Board.  The outcome of this process is an updated, prioritized list of facility related recommendations for the Superintendent’s consideration. Once accepted, the Superintendent’s final report to the Board becomes the basis for the Future Plans section of the Facility Master Plan.

 

In addition to this prioritized listing, the Task Force has historically assisted in developing and updating a series of “Planning Points”.  Although not facility or project specific these topics are considered to be important planning issues which could have significant influence or impact on future planning initiatives.

 

The Task Force has now become an integral part of the facility planning process in Wicomico County.  The dedication and work of this group helps establish the course and schedule of projects and initiatives our public school facilities should take over the next several years in Wicomico County.

 

In May, the annual report and recommendations of this Task Force were presented to the Superintendent for consideration.  This plan is based on those recommendations.

 

Facilities Master Plan 2007

 

This year’s recommendations are divided into two major sections. The first section deals with areas of concern that have been identified by the Task Force that require additional study or planning in order to adequately address future facility needs for the school community.  The second section identifies school construction projects and/or systemic redevelopment initiatives which should be implemented in priority order.

PLANNING / STUDIES

  1. Resolve the site / location selection process for the planned relocation and redevelopment of Bennett Middle School.  Complete the necessary property acquisitions and begin development of the educational specifications and other pre-design development work.  Final design capacity should be approx. 1000 FTE.

  2. Delmar Elementary School continues to be a facility capacity issue.  Short-term measures have been taken to address immediate overcrowding conditions through the use of numerous portable classrooms.  Limited building capacity, sizable anticipated residential bi-state developments, and growing student enrollments continue to be problematic and will remain difficult to resolve until such time that a long-term plan can be developed.  Recommendation is made to bring to fruition the study of the Delmar/Wicomico agreement and its related issues and develop a final resolution or course of action related to the agreement so that a comprehensive long-term facility plan can be developed.

  3. Maintain the initiative to address the inadequacy of HVAC / mechanical systems in all schools without air-conditioning and establish the necessary timelines, budgets and methods to integrate this initiative with our school replacement and renovation schedules to assure that by 2015 all area schools are air-conditioned.

  4. Continue with the initiative and complete by next year the plan to upgrade the connectivity and technology infrastructure in all of our schools consistent with the objectives of the new WCBOE Technology Plan. Operating and technology resources should continue to be reviewed and adjusted in order to integrate, leverage and upgrade the equipment and services to support such infrastructure.

  5. Continue to address the facility issues at the Alternative Learning Center through space planning and facility alterations to accommodate the new CHOICES program.  Conduct the necessary feasibility studies to examine the potential relocation of CHOICES to the Porta Villa Complex and the future use of the existing WALC complex.

  6. Begin a feasibility study to examine the future use of the Porta Villa Complex once the completed Prince Street Elementary project has been occupied.

  7. Establish a committee and initiate a study to investigate and recommend on the issues related to the continuation of a centralized athletic stadium concept and that of separate school-based stadiums.

  8. Continue to explore available funding sources and examine alternative financing options and project delivery methods for future school construction and systemic renovation projects.

  9. Conduct a facility assessment and feasibility study of Wicomico Middle School and begin the early planning studies of options and issues related to this facility.

  10. Conduct a facility assessment and feasibility study to examine available options related to the central office facility.  The study should include the issues related to the portable annex building complex, the long-term spatial and parking needs for the entire administrative complex and a centralized staff training and instructional development center.

  11. Develop plans, strategies and schedules to implement a redistricting or adjustment to several attendance areas for many of our middle and high schools in order to address changes in enrollments, capacities and changes as a result of upcoming projects.

CONSTRUCTION / DEVELOPMENT

     
  1. Complete the renovation and addition of Prince Street School.

  2. Begin the construction of the J.M.Bennett High School replacement project.

  3. Begin the development of additional permanent classroom space to several area high schools in order to address overcrowding conditions.  The timing and size of this plan is critical in order to hold the size of the J.M. Bennett High School project.  Final locations should be determined on demographics and capacity and the Board must consider adjustments to attendance areas once space becomes available in order to help balance enrollments with seat capacity. Tentative location and schedule are as follows:
    • Parkside High School                  6          2008* (originally 2006)
    • Mardela M/H School                    6          2011
    • Wicomico High School                 4          2012
    • Parkside High School                  4          2013
  4. Conduct systemic renovations on the HVAC and electrical system at Parkside High School.

  5. Plan for a permanent classroom addition to Westside Primary School in order to address projected overcrowding conditions.

  6. Special effort should be made to take advantage of state funding currently available and to begin an initiative to implement a modernization and upgrade program to all of our high school science facilities. Planning effort should be made to coordinate the Parkside science project with the Parkside HVAC renovation project in order to limit and manage the potential disruption to the facility. Although final schedules will need to be resolved according to the availability of funding, the following sequence of project implementation is recommended:
    • Parkside
    • Wicomico High
    • Mardela
    • JMB (the science areas of JMB should be upgraded as part of the construction project)

    7.  
  7. Renovate, modernize and expand West Salisbury School.

  8. Renovate, modernize and expand Glen Avenue School.

  9. Renovate, modernize and expand East Salisbury School.

  10. Continue the systematic replacement, renovation and/or retirement of aging portable classrooms and include the concept of the permanent prototype addition as an alternative where feasible.

  11. Begin efforts in developing a “land bank” of strategically located properties throughout the county in order to help address future school construction needs. Exploration should be made into the feasibility and potential viability of acreage “set-a-sides” or “fees” from area developers as part of the planning process which could be used for future school projects. Property acquisitions should be for the long term and must be consistent with the concepts of smart growth and integrate the needs of Recreation and Parks as might be applicable.

Documents

"Future Plans"  This on-line chapter titled "Future Plans" is but a part of the entire planning document. It is the one of the most important components of the plan since it maps out the facility strategy for the Board over the next several years and establishes the foundation for the Capital Improvement Program. You can view a "pdf" version of this document here (Future Plans.pdf).

Enrollments and Capacities“Capacity” is a term used to describe a school’s size as it relates to total seats or students that it can contain without being considered “over crowded”. View the latest enrollments projection for Wicomico and the current capacityof each facility. (Enrollments, Capacities and Projections.pdf)

Facility Age Report Probably more than any other issue, age has the most significant influence on the adequacy of a facility.  Over time buildings and their systems wear out, programs change, health and safety regulations vary widely, utility and service requirements increase, operation efficiencies and performance characteristics degrade and populations fluctuate.  The ability of a facility to meet these various demands is the measure of a successful building.  Age tends to impose the greatest limitations on a facilities ability to adapt to these ever changing needs. View the (School Age Report.pdf)

"Facility Needs"The "Facility Needs" portion of the document looks at the issues contronting our schools from a facility perspective and provides a basis for the future plans. You can view the entire "Facility Needs" document here in "pdf" format. (Facility Needs.pdf)

Planning PointsThe Task Force has also established 14 planning point or general initiatives of the Master Plan to help guide and direct the course of planning into the future.(14 Planning Points.pdf)

In order to address the problem of master planning for facilities it was important to develop a framework to understand the issues. Although there are a myriad of issues involving the adequacy of Wicomico School’s facilities, they can be categorized into 6 main areas of concern.

    • Facility Age
    • Utilization
    • Community Development
    • Instructional Accommodation
    • Regulatory / Compliance
    • Funding "

 

Last update: 1.16.08 ljfa

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