Community listens to facility options for Wayne school district

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Approximately 65 persons were in attendance to listen to information on the Wayne Community Schools 2019 Master Facility Plan during a special meeting on Tuesday.

Teachers, staff, students and community members were part of the meeting.

Prior to this portion of the meeting, the board approved the hiring of Molly D'Agosta to fill the position of English Language Learner (ELL) teacher. She is a graduate of Wayne High School and has been teaching in the Elkhorn school district.

The board also accepted the resignation of Jean Steen, Special Education Coordinator for the district. The resignation will be effective at the end of her 2021-2022 contract year.

Superintendent Dr. Mark Lenihan then walked those in attendance through the work the district had undertaken in 2019 when a study was conducted to review the district's facilities and anticipated needs.

"However, during the 2020-2021 school year, the well-being of our students was the most important thing for us to focus on and the study was put on hold," Dr. Lenihan said.

Dr. Lenihan said that since the original study, the district has been working with the city of Wayne on an interlocal agreement which would involve renovations and additions at the Community Activity Center that would allow the school to use the gym facilities there for a number of activities.

Bob Soukup, Architect with Carlson, West, Povondra, shared information with those in attendance from the information that was gathered in the 2019 Master Facilities Study.

In January 2020, Carlson West Povondra Architects completed the Master Facility Study, and presented results to the school board. Unfortunately, due to the Covid-19 pandemic that began in March 2020, the school board suspended work on the facility plan. 

In the fall of 2021, the school board engaged in a comprehensive strategic planning process that involved stakeholder feedback from patrons of the community. Through this process, the board identified district resources and facilities as a top priority moving forward. 

In no particular order, the 2021 Strategic Plan priorities included expanded learning opportunities, district resources, engagement ad inclusion, student and staff well-being, personnel effectiveness and board governance.

It was noted that in many areas, the school is at maximum capacity.

Soukup shared information on shortcomings in both the junior-senior high school and elementary school.

At the high school these included the fact that science classrooms are not in the same area, limited space for the art department, the auditorium, more space needed for the Ag/FFA program, parking and the weight room not being in the school.

Concerns at the elementary school include the fact that there is not enough classroom space for kindergarten and first grade students who are required to be on the ground floor, the lack of room for the expansion of the Special Education and English Language Learner programs, lunch room size and the fact there is no off-street parking for pick up and drop off of students.

Soukup presented two possible options the district could pursue, including relocating the Early Learning Center closer to an area south of the high school, adding classrooms and a performing arts area on the south and east side of the high school and renovating several classroom areas for other uses.

A second option, which did not include a site location or definite plan, was to build a new high school.

Estimated cost, using 2020 figures, for the first option were between $19.9 and $22.5 million, which building a new facility would cost between $39.9 and $43.6 million.

During Tuesday's meeting, those in attendance formed small groups for the purpose of discussing these options and offering suggestions.

The small groups there provided feedback on their discussions.

Many of these included funding sources and the need to meet future needs of the district. In addition, group members were appreciative of the fact that the plans focused on the educational aspects, as well as the sports.

The complete copy of the 2019 Facility Study can be found on the school's website. In addition, feedback is being sought on the following questions:

1. What did you like about the 2019 plan:

2. What did you not like about the 2019 plan?

3. What questions do you have about the 2019 plan?

Comments can be emailed to Dr. Lenihan at: malenih1@waynebluedevils.org

The next regular meeting of the Wayne Community Schools Board of Education will be held Monday, April 11 at 5 p.m. at the junior-senior high school library.