SISD facility planning committee completes first of two phases

Stephenville HS Campus Feature — The Flash Today file photo

Special to The Flash Today
From Stephenville ISD

Editor’s note: The following article was submitted by Stephenville ISD superintendent Matt Underwood to provide readers an update to the ongoing facility needs assessment being conducted by the distirict’s facility planning committee. Notice, from the end of this article you are one click from an online source for keeping up with the process and even posing questions of your own.

(August 1, 2017) — The SISD Facility Planning Committee completed the first phase of the process on June 20. Forty individuals were divided into groups of five and ranked the facility needs assessment in the following areas of focus: benefit to students, urgency/need, benefit to community, equity and value. A rating scale of one to five was given to each identified need in each category. A project rating total was then computed for each identified need.

This information will be used to conduct a community-wide telephone survey that will aid the committee in developing a recommendation for the Board of Trustees. The survey will be conducted near the end of the summer. This questionnaire will be brief and statistically driven to represent the thoughts and opinions of individuals living within the boundary of SISD.

Security issues were some of the highest-ranking needs identified by the committee. Open areas at Gilbert Intermediate and the addition of a fire sprinkling system at SHS found consensus with most committee members. Renovation of the SHS Career and Technology Education building, renovation and expansion of SHS Fine Arts spaces and a comprehensive redesign of SHS were also near the top.

After survey results are tabulated, the second phase of the process will begin. Bonding capacity, costs and design will still be points for consideration. The administration reiterates this process is continuously open for public participation. We are always searching for new and different points of view. Although this process may seem lengthy and cumbersome, I want to assure the community of Stephenville that we have done our homework before bringing any bond proposal to the table.

The comprehensive needs list being considered by the committee is included below. More information, such as meeting agendas, resources, participants, frequently asked questions and the opportunity to ask your own questions are provided online at StephenvilleFPC.com (Click hyplerlink).

Keep scrolling below ad for comprehensive list.