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Survey to hit mailboxes within the next week
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Residents of the Wautoma Area School District (WASD) will soon receive a community survey in their mailboxes in the coming days. WASD Board of Education and District Administrator Jewel Mucklin are seeking feedback from the community in order to help with future planning for facility updates for all schools as well as input on when and how to replace Riverview Elementary School.
The district is currently working with School Perceptions, an independent educational research firm, to conduct the survey to determine community thoughts about investing in the schools and how much they are willing to spend. The information provided to residents in the survey is based on feedback gathered through public forums and research completed by the Community Impact Committee.
Each of the four district schools are aging, with Parkside being the newest building at 30 years old. Due to the age of the buildings, there are significant maintenance needs that need to be addressed. The district is facing a minimum of $16 million in long-term capital maintenance needs, with the total maintenance investment needs for all buildings at $24.75 million, according to a recent CG Schmidt Facility Study of all the schools.
“With the age of the facilities in our district, we face having to make some major repairs to our buildings and grounds. These repairs are the result of the aging buildings, not due to lack of upkeep. Roofs, air handlers, boilers, and parking lots are some of the things that need to be addressed in order to keep our buildings and grounds safe and dependable,” said WASD Building and Grounds Director Andy DeKeyser.
This will be the second survey the Wautoma Area School District has sent out in the past two years. The first was sent in October 2022 to gauge feelings on a possible April 2023 referendum to build a new elementary school, which failed.
“Our hope through our community outreach efforts and survey is to engage the community in the process of developing the referendum question. We take the survey a step further by asking what our community wants for their children; this input will help guide our long-term plans for our current and future students. This data is invaluable,” said Mucklin.
The community surveys are expected to begin arriving next week. Residents are able to complete the survey online or they can complete the paper copy and mail it back to School Perceptions. The survey deadline is July 19, with School Perceptions presenting their data to the Wautoma Area School Board at the Aug. 12 Board Meeting. For more information about WASD Facilities Planning, visit wautomasd.org.
The district is currently working with School Perceptions, an independent educational research firm, to conduct the survey to determine community thoughts about investing in the schools and how much they are willing to spend. The information provided to residents in the survey is based on feedback gathered through public forums and research completed by the Community Impact Committee.
Each of the four district schools are aging, with Parkside being the newest building at 30 years old. Due to the age of the buildings, there are significant maintenance needs that need to be addressed. The district is facing a minimum of $16 million in long-term capital maintenance needs, with the total maintenance investment needs for all buildings at $24.75 million, according to a recent CG Schmidt Facility Study of all the schools.
“With the age of the facilities in our district, we face having to make some major repairs to our buildings and grounds. These repairs are the result of the aging buildings, not due to lack of upkeep. Roofs, air handlers, boilers, and parking lots are some of the things that need to be addressed in order to keep our buildings and grounds safe and dependable,” said WASD Building and Grounds Director Andy DeKeyser.
This will be the second survey the Wautoma Area School District has sent out in the past two years. The first was sent in October 2022 to gauge feelings on a possible April 2023 referendum to build a new elementary school, which failed.
“Our hope through our community outreach efforts and survey is to engage the community in the process of developing the referendum question. We take the survey a step further by asking what our community wants for their children; this input will help guide our long-term plans for our current and future students. This data is invaluable,” said Mucklin.
The community surveys are expected to begin arriving next week. Residents are able to complete the survey online or they can complete the paper copy and mail it back to School Perceptions. The survey deadline is July 19, with School Perceptions presenting their data to the Wautoma Area School Board at the Aug. 12 Board Meeting. For more information about WASD Facilities Planning, visit wautomasd.org.