Bayfield School District officials are seeking residents’ input on how the district will address the long-term needs of multiple aging buildings.
As part of its master facilities plan, the district is looking for 30 to 40 residents to participate in three workshops to help plan what will happen next with updating and maintaining facilities.
“It is really important to the district’s leaders that this is driven by the community, and what community members need and want for their schools,” Assistant Superintendent Bill Hesford said in a news release on the district’s website.
The master facilities plan entails identifying long-term needs for the Bayfield Middle School building, along with addressing some aging systems at the Bayfield High School building. The district is also looking into a facility that was built in 1923 and featured a historic gymnasium, as well as a facility built in 1950 that was used as one of the district’s original buildings and is the current Wolverine Academy alternative school building.
The district on April 8 chose Grand Junction-based Chamberlin Architects to develop the master plan. Chamberlin Architects, which performed assessments on the district’s buildings and has met with the district’s planning team to lay the groundwork, has helped the district with past projects including the Bayfield Primary School remodeling, the release said.
“Those projects were done on time and under budget,” Hesford said in the release.
The three workshops will allow planners to share and analyze information with stakeholders and discuss options to address any deficiencies that have been identified in district facilities, the release said.
The district started reaching out to parents, business owners, elected officials, police and fire department representatives, and others to encourage participation in this phase.
“We have targeted parents in the younger grades to some extent because they have more at stake with kids coming into the middle school, and may be more invested in participating in these workshops,” Hesford said in the release.
The first workshop will be held Sept. 4 at Bayfield Intermediate School, and the second workshop is slated for Sept. 29 at Bayfield Middle School. The third workshop will take place Oct. 29 at BIS.
Each workshop will be held from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. District officials are asking those interested to attend all three workshops.
For more information about the workshops, people are asked to email Hesford at bhesford@bayfield.k12.co.us or to call the district office at 884-2496.
mhollinshead@durangoherald.com
