Fayetteville-Manlius School District residents who were unable to attend either community forum held in June that focused on the district’s facility needs will have the opportunity to provide feedback through an online survey.
The district is offering the survey (surveymonkey.com/r/f-m) to gather more public input to assist in developing priorities for F-M’s long-term facilities plan. The plan will address facility needs district wide and ensure students are learning in instructional spaces designed to best prepare students with the skills and knowledge needed for 21st century learning.
“During meetings held within the district and the community, we heard from many residents and district stakeholders, including various parent groups, staff members and local government officials, about what they like and don’t like about the district’s existing facilities,” said Superintendent Craig J. Tice. “This online survey is one more tool we are using to ensure that we are providing opportunities for as many residents and staff members to weigh in as possible.”
The district’s 2015 state-required building condition survey report highlighted the need for extensive work at three district buildings. If all of the identified maintenance work were completed at Wellwood Middle School and Enders Road Elementary School, the cost would be close to — or exceed — the cost of building new schools, according to the report. The cost estimates for projects identified in the report for F-M High School approximate more than a third of that building’s replacement value.
The F-M Board of Education had been wrestling with whether to renovate Wellwood Middle School or build a new school, but the building condition survey findings have prompted the board to review all of the district’s facilities so that a comprehensive, cohesive plan supported by the community could be developed. The board is working with School Leadership LLC, an educational consulting firm that includes long-range planning in its specialties, to conduct the review.
The district encourages community members to learn about the challenges facing the district’s facilities and to take part in the discussion. A section of the district website (fmschools.org/facilities) is devoted to updating the community about the facilities planning process and includes numerous news articles, videos and fact sheets about each of the district’s six school buildings.
Prior to completing the survey, individuals are encouraged to review the materials on the website, including the Online Facilities Survey Summary Information. The survey will be available through Sept. 23.
