NCSD to reevaluate master plan

The Newton Community School District hopes to find a new way to handle its expenses from funding sources — such as the Physical Plan and Equipment Levy (PPEL) and Secure an Advanced Vision for Education (SAVE) — by way of a new master plan, which was approved Monday, Feb. 22 by the school board.

Newton Superintendent Tom Messinger said a similar 10-year plan had already been put in place to drive PPEL and SAVE fund dollars, but had failed to take into account the pandemic and the derecho from last year. By reevaluating its master plan, the school district can then budget according to its current needs.

“Because we know that they’ve changed a little bit,” Messinger said. “I do believe that it’s necessary for us to make sure that we are planning our expenditures in the most efficient and effective manner possible.”

To determine a master plan, the Newton school district is enlisting the help of Rachelle Hines, a partner of FRK Architects and Engineers. The master planning services are to cost about $32,000-$35,000, paid for using SAVE funds. Included in school board documents was an anticipated timeline of events:

Organize — District objectives (April)

• Engage district administration to define process

• Determine timelines and decision making process

• Identify participants and stakeholders

• Determine big-picture considerations

• Establish communication plan

Assess – Existing conditions (May)

• Review district demographics

• Understand student population, current and future

• Study building capacities (maximum & operational)

• Review educational appropriateness of spaces

• Review structural integrity of facilities

• Review mechanical and electrical systems

• Look at district financial capacity

• Interviews with staff for close look at current issues

Vision — Future goals (June-July)

• Involve the community in determining goals and priorities

• Engage through interviews, forums, surveys, and town hall meetings

• Inclusive, Hands-On Visioning Charrettes to help find solutions

• Set the Vision for Facility Utilization in the future

Design/refine — Evaluate solutions & options (August-September)

• Iterative and comparative review of solutions

• Identify strengths and/or weaknesses of options

• Feedback loop with stakeholders and community

• Cost impacts of solutions

Activate — Action plan (October)

• Synthesize a solution recommendation within committee and board and adjust as necessary

• Determine course of action for implementation with funding alternatives

• Strategize timelines for moving forward

Every master planning process is going to be different, Hines said, so of course the timeline and specific goals are subject to change. She also said RFK could develop a more detailed plan for the Newton district, if needed.

“This plan with the outline schedule and kind of all the items that were included in that original estimate or proposal … we can kind of change this to whatever and more fit what the district needs would be,” Hines said.

School board member Robyn Friedman said it’s always good for the district to have a plan, but the master planning timeline seems like it’s “fairly broad.”

“So I see a lot of importance to that April kind of honing in,” Friedman added. “Broad can sometimes make it more likely to sit on a shelf versus being a utilizable plan, so I look forward to a little bit more of the specifics that comes towards us after more of that conversation happens.”

Even though there isn’t a guarantee the school district will save any money from a reevaluated master plan, school board member Josh Cantu said it’s still something he will be looking for in this process.

“It would be identifying things that would make the list and things that we should be spending money on that would generate savings,” Cantu said. “So while that necessarily doesn’t get called out specifically in the document we got here, that’s one of the expectations I have.”

The school board voted 7-0 to approve the master planning services with RFK.

Contact Christopher Braunschweig at 641-792-3121 ext. 6560 or cbraunschweig@newtondailynews.com