Planning for Our Future: A Look at Stow-Munroe Falls' Facility Plans
Planning for Our Future: A Look at Stow-Munroe Falls' Facility Plans
During the month of January, the Stow-Munroe Falls City School District held two large community meetings and presented a series of proposed plans to update their aging school facilities. Developed by a building facilities committee over the course of several years, the district wanted to gather feedback from the community on their preference of master plan, school location and any additional locally funded initiatives included in the buildings.
These facility plans are aimed at addressing the district’s small and aging elementary and middle schools, while developing a secure, modern and technologically rich learning environment for students in the district.
Outdated Buildings vs. New Opportunities
With these proposed plans the district sought to overcome a variety of challenges on their buildings that included the rising cost of maintenance on 6 elementary schools and 2 intermediate and middle schools, their limited capacity for growth and aging 1950’s designs that aren’t adequate for modern educational practices.
The facility plans seek to remedy these by modernizing and consolidating district buildings to provide an updated learning environment, modern technology and flexible spaces to promote collaboration and engagement, as well as improved safety and security features.
We want your input on the future of facilities for Stow-Munroe Falls City Schools!
Plan and Site Options
3 different plans were presented that allowed community members to provide feedback on how many elementary schools they felt the district should build moving forward. The key elements of the plans included:
Build 2, 3 or 4 new elementary schools: Replacing the current six with modern facilities tailored to 21st-century learning styles.
Construct a new middle school that consolidates Lakeview Intermediate school and Kimpton Middle School into a single facility.
Demolition of Echo Hills, Fishcreek, Highland, Indian Trail, Riverview, Woodland, Lakeview Intermediate and Kimpton Middle School
In a future “Phase 2” of the project include renovations to Stow Munroe Falls High School
Also the community was polled on which locations throughout Stow-Munroe Falls would best work for the new schools, with nine district owned sites to choose from.The community also weighed in on what additional options they felt were important to include in the overall plans.
An overview of the Stow-Munroe Falls shows the locations of each of the existing elementary schools in the district.
Stow Munroe Falls CSD Community Meeting - Voting Summary.pdfCommunity Input Matters
At the culmination of these two community meetings, which also include results from an online survey, it was clear that most participants felt Plan C, which included the construction of 4 elementary schools and 1 new middle school, was the most favored plan. The majority identified Echo Hills, Fishcreek, Housley, Highland/Lakeview and the Kimpton sites as the preferred locations for the new schools. Additionally, many seemed to think that an auditorium was a priority in the new middle schools.
Next Steps
As next steps, the district will be reconvening with the building facility committee to incorporate these results into the formulation of the district’s master plan. Upcoming steps include finalizing the master plan, looking at financing options and ballot details throughout March, with a potential plan being presented to the Board of Education in April.
The district continues to value your voice and currently has a form for community feedback on the master planning section of their website. If you have comments or questions please reach out!