Facility Planning
In January 2015, the School Board embarked on a strategic planning process that involved stakeholders from various perspectives from throughout the Burlington community. One of the outcomes of this strategic planning was a commitment to facilities. To be successful, the District seeks to provide and maintain a quality learning environment. This has taken the District down a path to consider its highest facility planning priorities.
Following the strategic plan, the District enlisted the construction management services to develop a list of needed facility repairs and enhancements. Plunkett Raysich Architects and Scherrer Construction completed this facility study. See the right side for some of the study documents.
The District is responsible for nine buildings. There are seven schools, the annex near Karcher Middle School and the District office. The District also owns the house where the Project Active Citizen meet.
The oldest school is Karcher Middle School which opened in 1924. It has served the Burlington community for nearly 100 years and has had several additions over its history. Though the building has been well maintained by Building & Grounds staff, there are issues the District is aware of that may not be visible to the public. There are old mechanical systems that need to be addressed, such as a boiler installed in 1956 that is beyond its useful life. The District also seeks to address security in this building as the entrances are not visible by the office. The school board is considering options to address the needs at Karcher.
Two other buildings, Waller Elementary and Cooper Elementary, serve grades 4K-4th grade. They were built about six decades ago. These buildings have also been well maintained - Waller recently had several windows replaced which brightened the interior - but there are issues in these buildings that need attention. First, for security, it would be better to have the office near the main entrance. The buildings are crowded with some services being offered in spaces not intended for instruction. And, they need some significant maintenance such as more windows, doors, and casework. Dyer Intermediate School opened in 1964 and also has some maintenance needs.
Three schools - Lyons Center Elementary, Winkler Elementary and Burlington High School - were part of the last round of facility upgrades. For the most part, these schools are in great shape. However, at 18 years old, they too have some needs that won't be able to be delayed until a future facility plan.
The District has a budget of approximately $500,000 a year for building operations. This covers routine maintenance and some of the heavier repairs. As the debt from the 1999 referendum will be paid down in April 2019, the School Board is now looking to the future to determine how best to maintain its facilities to provide a quality learning environment for its students and staff.
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