Major Amendments to Master Plan Proposed

Last night, the Master Plan Oversight Committee met at Landry High School to hear about proposed amendments to the School Facilities Master Plan. These amendments have been several months in the making and will have a significant impact on the schools that are built if they are adopted.

The proposed amendments take two forms: amendments to the specifications for the design and construction of buildings and amendments to the list and order of buildings that will be built or renovated.

The recommended changes to the requirements for design and construction of the buildings were developed by three task forces. The task forces were made up of educational leaders and technical experts. The task forces presented recommendations to the administrations of the Orleans Parish School Board (OPSB) and Recovery School District (RSD). The amendments presented last night incorporate some feedback from the districts.

The task forces’ recommendations address the educational specifications for buildings (such as classroom size and number of gyms) and the performance specifications for buildings (such as air conditioning systems and lighting). If adopted, the recommendations will result in buildings that are slightly larger in terms of size and that serve more students than was originally envisioned in the Master Plan. Because of these changes, there will be a need for fewer buildings overall. The recommendations related to performance specifications should reduce both the construction cost and the operating cost of buildings.

With respect to the phases of the plan, the proposed amendments will reduce the total number of phases from six to three. According to the information presented last night, Phases 1 and 2 are fully funded; Phase 3, which consists of 19 schools (four new construction and 15 renovation projects), will need additional funding.

A series of public meetings will occur throughout July to give community members a chance to learn more about the amendments and provide feedback. Information about these meetings is available here. The final amendments, incorporating public comments, will be presented to the OPSB on August 16th and to the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education on August 18th.

The Cowen Institute will continue examining the proposed amendments and will release a more detailed analysis soon.