By: Natasha L. Adams, Superintendent
WEST CLERMONT WORDS: PLANNING
Recently, I sent a letter to parents because we have some very important work and planning underway. Here is a bit of what we have ahead of us.
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- Enrollment Increases and School Building Capacity – The good news remains that West Clermont continues to be a district of choice and our enrollment continues to increase. We saw some definite increases this school year with increases at each grade level. The buildings most affected and with the least amount of space are the elementary schools. This is a function of two things: These buildings have attendance boundaries (unlike the high school and middle school), and the building capacity in each elementary school varies. Increased enrollment means that students are unevenly distributed across the district.
- Updating our Master Facilities Plan – We are conducting a complete review of our future enrollment projections based on the new enrollment data with our consultants. Recently, we met with the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission (OFCC) which previously developed our district’s master facilities plan, and who is funding our current school construction projects. We will be able to complete these existing projects without asking our taxpayers for additional revenue due to the funding we are receiving from the OFCC. According to the OFCC standards, our enrollment changes do not warrant developing a new master facilities plan. Therefore, to take advantage of their funding we must move forward with the original plans which include: Opening a larger Summerside and Willowville Elementary, closing of Brantner Elementary, and renovating Clough Elementary during 2019-2020 school year.
- Redrawing of Elementary Attendance Boundaries for the Future – As we look at what future school years will look like in West Clermont, we must also consider that we have several elementary schools under some state of new construction or renovation. Additionally, the building capacity in each school varies and our current enrollment distribution does not provide space for the future growth we expect. This will necessitate some redrawing of the elementary attendance boundaries for the 2019-2020 school year.
- New School Year Start Date – With the new construction projects and new attendance boundaries, we expect to make changes to the school calendar for the 2019-20 school year. We would like to push the August 15th start date later into August to allow us more time to make the transition into the new buildings and to transition the Clough Pike Elementary staff/students to their temporary home at the former Brantner Elementary campus. This new calendar will be voted on at the next Board of Education Meeting on November 5th, 2018.
- Community Engagement – In the month of November, we will engage with families to solicit input about the changes planned for the 2019-2020 school year with the goal of communicating the new attendance boundaries to families before Winter Break. In the meantime, you can view a list of frequently asked questions about our facilities and change the elementary attendance boundaries by clicking here. If you do not see your question listed, please feel free to email us at info@westcler.org.
Each change brings opportunities to do things better. We are seeking ways to make those happen. In the meantime, I simply want you to be informed and to know that we are mindful that families need time to plan ahead. As a parent, I know how important that is.
