publishing as I go...
Three district examples: Tiverton, RI; Groton, CT; Waterbury, CT.
Tiverton and Groton on declining enrollment; Waterbury increasing
"identified need to address all facilities"
ability of master plan to go beyond changes in superintendent, board, political leadership
Waterbury went from 16,000 to 23,000 during master planning process
physical inspection, then public boards (building, zoning, police, fire), then extensive public engagement
meetings in the schools (and various schools, so parents got to see what different buildings were like)
meeting in leaking building during a rainstorm: point made to public on building need
interaction with state officials and boards
cooperative environment
redistricting point made by meeting in neighborhood with no parking
working out with state funding: is it a rehab or a reconstruct?
quasi-independent educational and facilities committees in Groton
work on credibility: showing communities why a building cannot be saved
communicate; provide space for all points of view
"the minute you say you're going to close an elementary school, it's suddenly the biggest asset the community ever had"
educational parity: equivalent size, space, access
then allow schools to take on the look of their neighborhoods
"parity model" to make as much efficiency as possible (this from Groton); no longer bus rides, similar educational experience
"visibility of what occurs and the perceived need of the town need to be taken into account"
"always public forums...people knew what we were doing...we weren't hiding anything"
Understanding where we were starting from and the thoughts of the process
Waterbury had a number of master plans that had gathered dust; did a 100 page redacted plan, then a 4 page condensed version
"if you need a police escort to get out of a meeting because of a gunfight in the parking lot, it tells you that the school is not properly located and supported"
"got to the right people...got to the people in that school"
Tiverton: "town council interaction was low...nine months of planning" cut budget by $7 m in thirty seconds
Groton had a standing school building committee: became the recommending body
trusted town admins to lead their departments
plan needed to touch the schools perceived as the need
Waterbury: saying that they would need $1.3 billion to fix their 26 schools in 13 phases
getting to individual parents in the schools: principals didn't pull in their parents to the meetings
Lessons learned
"don't back your detractors into a corner"
talk in language people can understand: don't use insider lingo
do your intelligence; know your stuff up front (politics is a dirty sport)
answer and keep answering questions
communication crucial
don't argue the emotion; argue the facts
inclusion of various sub-efforts into master plan (for a master plan with long life)
important to allow debate to occur; acknowledge shortcomings
maintain consistent communication
important to learn and address what the issues are (and keep addressing them)
discussions may need to be revisited
"look at outside edge of your enrollment projections because it will take that long"
"a master plan needs to function at a number of levels, especially in larger districts"
be careful what you invest in if you plan to replace a building in the five to seven year window; the public has a long memory
"put a billion dollars in front of it and it gets attention"
the politics don't go away; figure out who needs to be doing what
"be an advocate for what you want to do"
"what was important was how it was going to change education" (aka: it isn't about the buildings themselves)
"why is this going to be better for the education?"
Don't have surprises; need public sessions, but also need prep sessions (chairs have to understand how and why things are being presented)
planning for funding has to happen five years in the future: how is funding going to develop and be planned for over time? Critical to bear in mind
"master plan for 2013 needs to be talked about now"
cost for these is in the six figures without even trying
(Waterbury was $500,000 by the time it got done)
"Many late 1800 buildings suit modern needs well: lots of light, lots of space, built often for K-12, built for small group learning"
Hey, Worcester, there's hope!
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