MAXWELL, CA. (MPG) – The Maxwell Unified School District Board of Trustees wants a little of what Pierce has: modern, safe, and adequate facilities that meet the educational, physical, emotional, and health needs of its students.
The school board has started the process by teaming with Pierce Joint Unified School District’s former facility manager, George Parker, who came out of retirement to help Maxwell aspire to the same goals.
There were no members of the public at Maxwell’s Sept. 13 regular school board meeting, making trustees and school officials hesitant about spending the money necessary to develop a long-range facilities improvement plan or even develop programs that cannot be delivered due to inadequate or obsolete buildings.
If the community wants air conditioning in the gym, a new ag mechanics shop at the high school, or even permanent walls at the elementary school, then the community will need to commit to some level of involvement, officials said.
Parker said the state has changed the dynamic on how the district does business, particularly regarding mandating programs the state doesn’t fund, or by limiting state funding available for capital projects that support basic or necessary programs.
“Take vocational or CTE – career technical education,” Parker said. “They really want to push that, and there is money there. But you have to have your match. How do you carve up a match on a $2 million building? You’ve got to commit.”
The district has a general list of district needs, among them making sure facilities are ADA compliant, providing security for students, meeting program and educational mandates, and allowing for growth and expansion.
Capital improvements they think the community may desire include expanding the kitchen at the high school and creating a multi-purpose/cafeteria area. The district may also consider upgrades to sports facilities, should the community have an interest there.
With community support and buy-in, the district could have attractive schools that provide students with a better education, increase private property values, and make the community and district more competitive with other communities and school districts, Parker said.
“When your students travel to other schools and see other places that have certain things, they come back and wonder why we haven’t had any of this,” Parker told the board. “It’s about putting it all together.”
District Superintendent Summer Shadley said staff and the school board have been brainstorming on how to meet the needs of the students for the past 18 months but said they must do more public outreach at community events to find out what projects spark the most interest. Before the school board can move forward to look at funding solutions, a facility needs assessment will be required, at a cost of about $30,000.
“Without input, I’m just hesitant to put this package together,” Shadley said.
Because a full needs assessment will likely result in projects well beyond reach, district officials said they would prefer to narrow facility improvements to projects that not only leverage the highest amount of funding from the state but those they believe the community will ultimately support.
“We qualify for the new CTE shop,” Shadley said. “We just don’t have the match.”
Air conditioning in the gym is also a “big seller,” said Trustee Kelly Haywood.
“It’s a health issue,” said Haywood, referring to afternoon volleyball during the increasingly hotter summer and fall. “At some point, they are not going to be able to play games.”
Since there was no public input at the meeting, the board decided to have staff compile a short list of desired facilities and improvements first, then put it out to the community in the form of
a survey. H