Facility planners look at potential for expansion at community school

Special funding district for Crested Butte?

by Olivia Lueckemeyer

Continued student population growth at the Crested Butte Community School has motivated RE1J superintendent Doug Tredway to consider a possible facility expansion, and last week he met with facility planners to further evaluate this need.

A walkthrough of CBCS with a representative from the Dolinka Group, a company that helps school districts with facility planning and capacity analyses, resulted in a scope of work report, and if Tredway decides to move forward with the group, the next step is to negotiate pricing.

“We are thoughtfully moving forward,” Tredway reported to the school board on Monday, May 23. “I am happy with them and this approach. They aren’t coming in with a can of formula.”

Based on the initial findings, the Dolinka Group representative identified several tasks that would need to take place in order to develop both a school facilities action plan and a funding action plan. Those tasks include studying enrollment projections, performing capacity analyses, and formulating a committee of 12 community members to determine facility needs.

Tredway also referenced legislation in California that has allowed the Dolinka Group to create “special districts” within greater school districts to help with bonding/funding issues. If RE1J could place Crested Butte into its own special district, this might help when it comes to voting on facility expansion.

“It’s hard to build in just Crested Butte and have the whole district vote on it,” Tredway said. “Building on one end or another might make it difficult to pass something.”

Tredway said he wanted the board to be informed before he and business manager Stephanie Juneau move forward with the group. To fund the endeavor, Juneau explained that $50,000 had been allocated toward “facilities planning” within the first draft of the ‘16-’17 budget; however, this figure is expected to change once a contract is drawn up.