master planning

Bond Architect’s MHTN will have cost estimates to the Park City Board of Education by May, or June, at the latest. Moving ninth grade back to the high school remains a top priority for the school district. A multitude of considerations will drive a final school board decision regarding the design, project phasing and how much they’re willing to spend.

The Park City School District selected the firm MHTN as bond architects to take on the next phase of the 18-month master planning effort.

It’s not a forgone conclusion that the school district will issue a general obligation bond to complete the master planning steering committee recommendations. As KPCW has reported, community and education stake holders advocated for grade realignment, which would move 9th grade to the high school, create one or two 6th through 8th grade middle schools and provide district-wide universal pre-k in the elementary schools.

The Park City School Board of Education gave the thumbs up to district administration to hire a bond architectural firm and begin the work of putting price tags on recently approved master planning programs.

Five bond architects responded to Park City School District’s request for proposal. A committee has been selected to choose one firm by the first of the year. Once identified, they will provide detailed costs for each of the initiatives that have come out of the year-long master planning effort.

As the Park City School District winds down the year long master planning efforts, they’re asking for one last push of participation from the public. The Board of Education wants direction on implementation of the final 10 projects that have been identified as critical to the future of learning in the Park City School District.

The Park City School District Board of Education meeting on Tuesday focused master planning efforts which have been underway since last October. Consultants, NV5 and GSBS have compiled some 600 comments and a year’s worth of meeting data into three overarching recommendations.

The Park City School District resumes the master planning efforts they started last fall. The Board recently presented the Park City Council with an update and they are planning a couple of town hall style meetings.

Park City Board of Education President Andrew Caplan says they’ve identified three big decisions the board is facing. One is whether to pursue universal Pre-K for every child. Research shows it is an important component for future academic success and the community, Caplan says has shown initial support.

Park City School District parents who attended the master planning panel discussion on Tuesday, asked questions that included wanting to know how hard it is on kids to transition from one school to another. They asked what best practices should be used to determine school and class size and what kind of data is available. The panel also fielded questions about traffic impacts on school and grade changes.

The Park City School District master planning committee held a question and answer forum on Tuesday evening to get public feedback on the grade alignment options. Four options were presented in the April 16th school board meeting. 

The board’s next meeting is May 21st and they hope to be closer to a decision on what grades will be in which schools.  The planners say there is community wide support to have ninth grade in the high school and to keep seventh and eighth grades together.

Is it time for Park City to have two high schools? Should one be a traditional curriculum, the other more career and technical? Should elementary schools include 6th grade? Or should there be neighborhood kindergarten through 8th grade schools. One thing people seem to agree on is that it is time to move 9th grade back to the high school. Tuesday, April 30th is another opportunity to give input on what the future of the Park City School District should look like.

Park City School District officials, administrators and tax payers will see the results of the eight-month long master planning project during the Board of Education meeting next week. The Hispanic community had an opportunity to give input during the Solomon Fund summer program sign up event last week.

On April 16th, the consultants who are developing a master plan for the Park City School District will present several options to the Board of Education. Then, the public will have at least a month to let the board know what they think about the ideas and the costs to implement them.

A second round of master planning for the Park City School District in the last five years has been underway since last summer. In April, the process will conclude with a presentation to the Board of Education. Taxpayers and community members have the next couple of weeks to weigh in.

The Park City School District completed a strategic plan last year which defined the district’s priorities and goals. The master plan, currently underway, will implement the vision for future education.

The Park City School District Master Plan established a Treasure Mountain Junior High School task force. One of the questions they’re asking is how safe is the school - especially given this year’s snow load?

The Park City School District is holding a Future of  ducation Visioning session at the Richin’s Building on Monday. They’re offering two-one-hour sessions back to back starting at 5:30. They want the community to come and give input. It’s quick and simple and won’t take longer than an hour. Carolyn Murray has this: