The Park City School District will host a public forum on Tuesday evening to gather more input on the facilities and grade alignment options that were established through the district’s nine-month master planning efforts. They’re hoping to hear community feedback and explain how they developed the four alternatives known as Options A,B,C and D.
Consulting companies NV 5 and GSBS were hired to lead the project but they’ll soon bow out of the process leaving final facilities planning decisions to the board of education. NV5 Managing Coordinator, Chris Guarino represents the school district facilitating the master planning process. GSBS architects and planners have worked with the district and community representatives on the steering committee to help define educational needs and future planning criteria.
Guarino says he focused on Option A and B because they scored highest. The steering committee met the next day and decided that Option D, a fifth through eighth grade campus should be ranked the highest.
“I, myself, at least was looking two or three steps down the road, considering some potential impacts on districting, redistricting, if we are adding elementary schools, one or two, thinking of the cost implications. So, really just considering all practical aspects of this. I was making some assumptions with a recommendation that evening, but absolutely recognizing that the following day we were going to speak with the steering committee and its led to actually a really good conversation that I’m excited for the public to here at the community forum.”
Guarino says he hesitates to say there was a disconnect between the planning education team, who ranked the options and the steering committee that had helped to develop them.
“Where option D initially fell lower in the scoring, I think was probably the one thing that stood out in conversation consideration, was a transition. It minimized that sense of belonging where a student gets to stay in the building longer. They feel more part of the community. You know, the education planning team, and everyone that was looking at this really felt that was a less desirable option.”
The school board has stated it is ready to take whatever time is needed to bring the public into the conversation.
“That they’ve got an overwhelming majority of your community supporting a really good process and a really good decision. Quite honestly the consultancy process is coming to an end but the board of ed and the Park City process is really just beginning. It's time for really engaging conversation.”
Guarino says this next meeting will allow more time to digest the details of each grade alignment option.
“There’ll be a much further conversation about those four options. There ’ll be pros and cons of both. And then they'll be opportunity for community feedback.
He says his mission is to deliver three things to the school board by May 21st.
“The updated facility assessments, the educational specification, and this master plan package with these major decision trees and recommendations and so forth. So that process here ends May 21st. I think it's really time for the community and the board to just have a great conversation with or without consultants.”
The meeting is April 30th at 6 pm in the lecture hall at the high school. The grade alignment facilities options can be found on the pcschools.us link here on KPCW under the future of learning tab.
