FACILITIES TASK FORCE REPORT TAKES LONG-RANGE VIEW OF WICOMICO SCHOOL SYSTEM BUILDING NEEDS; PUBLIC INPUT WELCOME

The Wicomico County Board of Education accepted the Facilities Task Force Long-Range Planning Report in July after months of study by the task force team. The Board and school system staff are now taking public input and making presentations on the report, whose recommendations address school facilities plans for the next 50 years.

The report recommends the school system take a comprehensive, integrated approach to maintaining and improving its school facilities, including replacing some school buildings, changing some grade configurations, and relocating some programs to more effectively serve students. By carefully planning this integrated approach, the school system can save money, prevent crisis situations caused by failing facilities, and improve student services.

“In recent years, we have had to wait five years between major projects because we can only build or replace a school when we have state and county funding to do it. On that schedule, addressing the facility needs of our school system one building at a time won’t work,” said Dr. John Fredericksen, Superintendent of Schools. “This report provides a possible blueprint for meeting the many facility needs while making some program adjustments that would allow us to redirect our limited resources into the classroom. We anticipate changes to the overall plan as we move forward as specialized funding becomes available or as components fail prematurely. This plan helps us adjust the interrelated parts to minimize costs and maximize benefits.”

The Facilities Task Force Report is posted on the Board’s website at www.wcboe.org; click on the Facilities Task Force Report button on the home page. The report is lengthy, and includes many overarching recommendations, such as:

• Reduce the overall number of school buildings so that there is less to maintain and manage in the future, and lower management overhead costs.
• Build new schools with larger capacity to take advantage of economy of scale and maximize state participation (which currently stands at --% of eligible construction costs for Wicomico school projects).
• Set maximum sizes for elementary (Prek-Grade 5) schools at 650, middle schools at 1,200, and high schools at 1,600.
• Create a redistricting task force and work with a third-party consultant to evaluate existing redistricting guidelines and recommend revisions.

The Proposed Future Long Range Plan Outline lists a series of connected, multi-year and multi-part steps in line with the recommendations above. These steps would address facility and program needs at every Wicomico school as well as the Central Office.

• Unpair Willards Elementary (Prek-Grade 3) and Pittsville Elementary and Middle (Grades 4-8), with Willards becoming a Prek-Grade 5 elementary school and Pittsville becoming a Grade 6-8 middle school.
• Open the new Bennett Middle and demolish the old Bennett Middle, then complete the Phase 3 site work for James M. Bennett High.
• Plan and construct the replacement West Salisbury Elementary as a Prek-Grade 5 elementary school.
• Relocate Choices to leased space.
• After adjusting middle school boundaries to assign Wicomico Middle students to other Wicomico County middle schools, use the Wicomico Middle building as a swing space to facilitate school replacement projects.
• Make North Salisbury Elementary (currently paired with West Salisbury Elementary) a Prek-5 school once the replacement West Salisbury opens.
• Repurpose Charles H. Chipman Elementary as an early intervention center with full-day Prekindergarten, Judy Center, and Birth to Five programs.
• Make Glen Avenue Elementary a Prek-Grade 5 school, and build a replacement Glen Avenue on the site.
• Do a limited renovation of Delmar Elementary, and adjust attendance boundaries as needed based upon future parameters of the Bi-State Agreement.
• Unpair Beaver Run Elementary and East Salisbury Elementary, and build a new Prek-Grade 5 Beaver Run Elementary at the site of the current school.
• Adjust boundaries as needed when new Prek-Grade 5 schools come on line. (Note: Pemberton Elementary and Prince Street Elementary are not mentioned here, but are already Prek-Grade 5 schools.)
• Repurpose East Salisbury Elementary as a Central Office facility, combining the existing Central Office and the annexes.
• Do a limited renovation of original Parkside High, including an assessment of class sizes at the high schools to determine if additions are needed.
• Do a major renovation of Mardela Middle and High, which would continue to operate as a Grade 6-12 middle and high school.
• Unpair Fruitland Primary and Fruitland Intermediate to make two Prek-Grade 5 schools, perhaps called Fruitland East and Fruitland West.
• Replace Wicomico High School, and address outstanding issues at Wicomico County Stadium.
• Evaluate Prek-Grade 5 enrollments and facility indicators countywide to determine whether Pinehurst Elementary should be replaced, renovated, repurposed or closed.
• Make Westside Intermediate (currently Grades 2-5) a Prek-Grade 5 elementary school.
• Close Westside Primary (Wicomico’s oldest school) and adjust attendance boundaries.
• Review countywide enrollments and facility indicators to determine whether Northwestern should be replaced or expanded.

Presentations on the Facilities Task Force Report have already been made for a number of community and school system groups, including towns, PTAs, principals and teachers. The Superintendent and his staff will be glad to present the plan to other groups on request.

Comments on the plan are welcome through any of the following methods:

Email: comments@wcboe.org

Public Input Line: 410-677-5251

Superintendent’s Open Door Session: The next one is scheduled for 4-6 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 15 at the Board Office. These 15-minute times with the Superintendent are first-come, first-served and may be on any topic.

Public Comment time during a Board of Education meeting: The next Board meeting is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 14 at the Board Office. People wishing to speak during Public Comment must sign in at the front desk prior to the start of the meeting.

Mail: Public Input, Wicomico County Board of Education, PO Box 1538, Salisbury MD 21802