Facilities Committee Review of Budget Committee Request and Recommendations to: the Acton/Agua Dulce Unified School District, Board of Trustees. Presented at the May 26, 2005 Regular Board Meeting
On April 29, 2005 the Budget Advisory Committee sent the Facilities Committee a memo requesting that our committee look into the impact and feasibility of certain district reconfiguration proposals. This is the Facilities Committee’s response to that request.
Moving the modular buildings as originally discussed with K-5 at Meadowlark, 6-8 at High Desert, 9-12 at Vasquez and the District Office at the Acton Site.
Pros
Provides relief of the overcrowding of the Meadowlark site due to the closing of the Acton site
Savings generated by eliminating the administrative and common area utility costs for the Acton School
If enrollment remains static or declines further and the elementary boundaries stay the same, this option could service the district’s needs
The Acton site is available for reuse on a standby basis
The District Office and the Success Academy remains at Acton
Cons
Minimal room for expansion (one classroom’s worth). Expansion of elementary facilities may be needed if housing development generates additional elementary students. If the district wishes to restore class size reduction in grades K and/or 3, or if Meadowlark wishes to convert from half-day kindergarten to full-day no space is available and more modulars will have to be moved.
If new housing development does generate additional K-5 students, then additional modulars will be required at Meadowlark at additional expense
Acton students that are within two miles of Meadowlark are being bused to Agua Dulce. Elementary students should be sent to their neighborhood elementary school. For some students shipped to Agua Dulce, this is a difference of ten miles in their transportation. This cost may not be much of a district financial cost, but is a real emotional cost for the Acton students affected and their families.
A vacant Acton Campus deteriorates over time. The longer the Acton site remains closed, the more expensive it will be to reopen.
The Acton Campus consists of 14 permanent classrooms. Only High Desert has more permanent classrooms. The statement this sends to our community is that permanent space is not important.
It is inevitable that development will require more facility requirements in the future.
New park is located directly across the street from Acton School. This site was chosen primarily because of its proximity of this elementary school.
The costs and impacts of Phase II of this plan address the overcrowding and lack of facilities at Vasquez High are ignored. Phase II of this plan consists of:
Moving the Acton multi-purpose room to Vasquez for use as a lunch facility/common area
Moving the double relocatable building from Acton to Vasquez for use as a library
Moving two classroom relocatable buildings from Acton to Vasquez for classroom expansion due to increasing high school enrollment.
What this portion of the plan does not take into account is:
The MRP room is too small to adequately house lunch at Vasquez. It has a seating capacity of 120-130 students and there are between 560 and 600 students at Vasquez.
The MRP room is a difficult and expensive structure to move
The entire Vasquez site never has been DSA approved; moving additional buildings to Vasquez would not only require DSA approval for these prior projects, but also DSA approval for the five buildings proposed to be moved. Just moving these five buildings would require an estimated $500-600K expense. We know that to bring the prior projects up to DSA standards would require addressing handicap access issues and may involve additional toilet facility requirements. This could easily add another half-million dollars to these project plans. The gym is not even being mentioned here, because it is not known if that project is even doable and if so what the cost will be.
Of any age group, the 9-12 age group is the most likely group to increase in enrollment over the next five years. Adding two relocatable classrooms may be insufficient over those five years.
Moving the District Office (and presumably the Success Academy) to Meadowlark, moving K-5 to Acton campus, having 6-8 at High Desert and 9-12 at Vasquez.
Pros
No modulars need to be moved
Meadowlark is available on a standby basis when needed
The Acton campus has 31 classrooms and has ample expansion for CSR, all day kindergarten and a significant amount of enrollment growth
Room exists to return Acton elementary students (about 100) from Agua Dulce back to Acton
Frees up space on the Agua Dulce campus for enrollment expansion and/or program growth or even to run the school as a grade K-8 school, if the residents of Agua Dulce so chose.
Cons
Playground equipment upgrades needed at Acton (est. $80,000)
Upgrade needed for kitchen facilities at Acton – note: this expense can be derived from the deferred maintenance fund and thus will truly have no impact upon the general fund. These upgrades were required prior to the closing of the Acton campus. Note that a cooking kitchen is not needed, just a reheating kitchen.
Mixing of elementary students with the high school "Success Academy" students is perceived as a negative by many community members, so Success Academy would best be housed at Meadowlark.
Does not address the additional facility needs of the temporary Vasquez campus (library, eating facilities, additional classrooms).
– Holding K-2 at Meadowlark, 3-5 at Acton with the District Office remaining at Acton. No change in grades 6-12.
Pros
No modulars need to be moved
Playground is adequate for grades 3-5
Room exists to return about 100 Acton elementary students from Agua Dulce like option 2
Frees up space on the Agua Dulce campus for enrollment expansion and/or program growth like option 2
Provides indirect help to Vasquez by freeing up modular moving funds for use to improve Vasquez; Note that additional costs could be saved if the new restroom is not installed at Meadowlark now and sold (or moved elsewhere).
Cons
Same kitchen concerns at Acton as option 2
Provides no direct help for Vasquez facility needs and Vasquez overcrowding like option 2
Administrative and common area costs to run a fifth school
Success Academy would be on the same campus as grade 3-5 students
Converting Vasquez to grades 10-12; High Desert grades 7-9; Acton grades 4-6; Meadowlark grades K-3.
Pros
No modulars need to be moved
The Acton campus has 31 classrooms and has ample expansion for CSR, all day kindergarten and a significant amount of enrollment growth
Room exists to return about 100 Acton elementary students from Agua Dulce like option 2
Frees up space on the Agua Dulce campus for enrollment expansion and/or program growth like option 2
Eliminates Vasquez overcrowding by reducing the Vasquez student population to fewer than 450 students
Frees up classroom space at Vasquez for use as a library and dedicated indoor eating space
Success Academy could be moved to Vasquez, operated in a less isolation than currently, yet with adequate isolation from the main student body. This has the added benefit of Success Academy students being able to use the athletic facilities at Vasquez when not in use by the mainstream. Note that Quartz Hill shares athletic facilities with their Success Academy on the same campus.
The Success Academy would have a Principal onsite – the Vasquez Principal
With grades 7-9 at High Desert potential exists to retain some of the grade nine students that tend to go to high school elsewhere. High Desert is thought of in a more positive light that Vasquez. Each year our district loses about 50 eighth grade students to other schools, because of the perceptions of Vasquez.
If the gym remains closed next year, then ninth grade students are already at High Desert and do not need to be transported from Vasquez to the High Desert MRP for athletic practice and other events that utilize the High Desert MRP after school.
Cons
Same kitchen concerns at Acton as option 2
Administrative and common area costs to run a fifth school
The Facilities Committee has visited Agua Dulce, Vasquez and Acton, but has not yet visited High Desert or Meadowlark. In general all the facilities we have visited need repairs. The most common problems are damaged ceiling tiles, flooring that needs to be replaced and painting that is needed. The roof leaks in the MRP room at Agua Dulce thus needs replacement and there are some skirting issues with some of the modulars there as well. All schools are functional and usable to house students.
Facilities Committee
Acton Agua Dulce School District
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