GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (GRPS) -- The Grand Rapids Board of Education will hold a Public Hearing on the initial recommendations for the district’s Facilities Master Plan.
GRPS leaders have spent the last three months engaging with the community. Utilizing feedback garnered from thousands of survey participants, hundreds of town hall and community lunch attendees, and others who have connected individually, the district is looking to move forward with the following recommendations.
READ: Facilities Master Planning Moves Forward
Once finalized and approved by the Board of Education, these recommendations will guide the next phase of creating the Facilities Master Plan which will include identifying properties that will be repurposed and programs that will be consolidated.
The proposed recommendations are as follows:
1. Ensure sustainability and align with the Strategic Plan by aiming for average 75% utilization across the district, with an emphasis on elementary and middle school grade levels by 2032.
2. Enrollments and utilization rates are to be assessed annually to ensure Facilities Master Plan, Strategic Plan, and Academic Plan. implementations are improving measurable strategic outcomes.
3. Relocation of scholars and staff will be implemented to preserve programs, prioritize equitable access, and improve learning environments of our schools.
4. Be responsive and transparent with our community by producing a Facilities Master Plan calendar that includes continual stakeholder engagement and communication milestones on a regular basis.
5. Provide continuation of funding for the implementation of the Facilities Master Plan through a capital program initiated in November 2023.
6. Use district assets for community benefit by seeking out partnership opportunities for vacated schools and sites once program replacements are identified. In these partnerships, GRPS would prioritize property ownership with future asset decisions.
7. Reduce current operating costs and resource inefficiencies by leveling Kensington and reducing financial responsibility for Alexander during fiscal year 2023. The primary reduction strategy will be establishing an agreement that absolves the District of property maintenance costs but maintains property ownership with future asset decisions.
The Board of Education will discuss these recommendations and hear comments from the public at a special meeting at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, November 21 at the district administration building located at 1331 Martin Luther King, Jr. Street SE.
More Information: https://grps.org/our-district/strategic-plan/facilities-master-plan/
Original source can be found here.
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