Springs School Facilities Committee To Present Findings To School Board; New Gym A Priority

Members of the Springs School Facilities Committee regrouped for a last discussion before presenting their analysis of the school’s infrastructure to the Board of Education on October 5.

The group was originally formed to explore the possible expansion of the school's facilities, which have been strained over the last few years by a surge in enrollment. While previous meetings were led by architect Roger Smith of BBS Architects and Engineers, the parents, teachers and community members on the committee met last Tuesday, September 22, for the first time without outside consultation.

Committee member Susan Harder said it was a useful meeting where priorities for potential school renovations were discussed. Ms. Harder, along with first grade teacher Jodie Hallman, were chosen to put together the School Board presentation. She said she and Ms. Hallman would meet again this week to analyze key points of the findings and discussions.

“We’re going to be trying to meet immediate needs and trying to phase in changes to lessen the impact on taxpayers,” said Ms. Harder.

Jeff Miller, committee member and School Board trustee, said the meeting was productive and gave the board an opportunity to go through the committee’s poll thoroughly. The poll, conducted two weeks ago, asked members about their opinions about specific space problems for each grade level, as well as preferences on potential renovations. Twelve out of 13 of the members polled said they believed there is a space problem within the Springs School District. Their recent meeting gave them a chance to specify their ideas and concerns.

“[The] group decided that expansion is really a must and just decided how extensive the scope should be. [The] gym was [an] item that was highly agreed upon [as] an item of utmost importance,” Mr. Miller said.

Moving forward, the group discussed potentially staying assembled to help with the School Board in the future, said Ms. Harder. She said the members, made up of mostly parents and teachers, are the ones with the “greatest interest.” However, she said they also need more expert advice—specifically from an impartial advisor.

“[Mr. Smith] has financial interest in the outcome,” Ms. Harder said. “It would be more useful to pay someone as an advisor who didn’t have that financial interest.”

Ms. Harder suggested consulting the Town Planning Department, which she said “understands the concerns of the community.”