WPS Master Planning FAQ

It is the regular practice of the Wyoming City Schools Board of Education to conduct a survey with a randomized representative sample of Wyoming residents prior to taking action on a ballot measure. A full-service public opinion research and polling firm was hired to conduct a survey of adult residents of the Wyoming City School District who are 18 years of age or older in March 2024. The results of the survey have been used to determine next steps.

Though not statistically representative, all the feedback received prior to the survey (through listening sessions, studies, community forums, online forms, etc.) was integral to the direction and actions taken over the last several years to get us to the option being considered at this time.

Updated primary school facilities would positively impact the student experience in many ways:

• Improved Safety, Security and Accessibility: New primary schools will include improved accessibility and updated safety and security features (such as controlled access points, surveillance systems, intercom systems, and more) creating a safer and more accessible environment for students, staff, and visitors.
• Increased Space: New primary schools will provide spaces that allow teachers to better address individual student needs and interests. Some examples of improvements that would come with increased space include:
  • Dedicated spaces for specials (art, music, and Spanish)
  • Classroom spaces for intervention services 
  • Classroom spaces for gifted education services
  • A dedicated stage at each school
• Innovative Educational Programs: New primary facilities will provide our staff with the flexibility to implement innovative educational programs and teaching approaches that align with educational best practices and provide students with more opportunities for personalized learning that aligns with their individual strengths, needs, and interests.
• Enhanced Technology Integration: New primary schools will provide staff and students better access to the benefits of technology with features (such as whiteboards and digital learning resources) seamlessly integrated in the learning environment, enriching instructional practices and engaging students in active learning to better prepare them for their futures.
• Modern Facilities: New primary schools will bring updated classrooms, libraries, gymnasiums, and play areas with improved environmental amenities (lighting, ventilation, acoustics, heating and cooling, etc.) that have significant effects on pupil and teacher well-being.

The traffic analysis completed in September 2023 found that due to our small school sites and the limits of our public roadways and sidewalks, none of our school sites can accommodate a large increase in enrollment without extensive and expensive changes to the current school sites and traffic infrastructure.

The ongoing geotechnical study which began in August 2023 has confirmed that Hilltop is a suitable site for future building with standard construction practices. Though the Hilltop School site has "plastic" soil which expands and contracts notably with moisture levels causing cracks in the current buildings, there is not an active landslide event at the site.

Lastly, no other sites within the city limits offer viable options for a new school building or buildings.

Building on the work of the Citizens Advisory Committee during the 2021-2022 school year and Primary Facilities Committee during the 2022-2023 school year, the Wyoming Primary Schools Facilities Steering Committee was formed. To develop the 8 original options considered in the Fall of 2023, the Wyoming Primary Schools Facilities Steering Committee, Superintendent Facilities Committee, and Board of Education worked with our planning partner, Ruetschle Architects, to review the:

• Phase 1 Planning Work
• Feedback from September Community Conversation Listening Sessions
• Budget Information
• Traffic Analysis
• Geotechnical Report

After the eight options were shared in the fall of 2023, feedback was gathered at a Community Forum and through the use of an online form. Based on their analysis of the feedback, the Wyoming Primary Schools Facilities Steering Committee, Superintendent Facilities Committee, and Board of Education narrowed the options to two. Those two options were shared with the community in the spring of 2024. Based upon the feedback received during a statistically-representative survey conducted in spring of 2024, the final direction was determined.

The mission and vision of Wyoming City Schools is centered on our values of academic excellence, character and integrity, belonging and community, and the whole child. In 2022, in partnership with families and community, Wyoming City Schools developed a strategic plan focused on these values and focused on the core pillars of Teaching & Learning, Climate & Culture, Communication & Partnership, Social & Emotional Well-Being, and Financial Stewardship. Additionally, the district identified critical attributes of a learner that are the crucial competencies necessary for success in 21st-century life, work, and society. New primary school facilities would support the long-term goals of the district through:

• Safety and Accessibility: Modern facilities are designed with safety and accessibility in mind. Safe, accessible environments are crucial for an inclusive education where all students, regardless of physical ability, can learn effectively. This includes ramps and accessible restrooms, as well as updated safety measures like secure entry systems, emergency preparedness features, and more.
• Designated Spaces for the Arts: Unique spaces for music and visual art will enhance the long-standing, extraordinary arts education offered in Wyoming City Schools and support our values of educating the whole child.
• Flexible Learning Spaces: Updated facilities can include flexible, adaptable learning spaces. These spaces can be reconfigured for different learning activities, promoting collaboration, creativity, and critical thinking. They can accommodate group projects, individual study, and hands-on learning experiences, adapting to various learning styles and needs.
• Health and Well-Being: Updated facilities can better support the health and well-being of students and staff through items such as improved ventilation systems, more natural lighting, spaces for physical activity and mental health support, and more. A healthy learning environment contributes to better focus, reduced stress, and overall better academic outcomes.
• Technology Integration: Modern facilities would provide equitable access for all students to technology tools that are seamlessly integrated into the learning environment (such as whiteboards and digital learning resources). This technology can facilitate innovative teaching methods, maximize student engagement, and provide students with essential skills like coding, data analysis, and digital literacy.
• Sustainability and Environmental Education: Facilities built with sustainability in mind can serve as a living laboratory for environmental education and features like energy-efficient systems reduce the school's carbon footprint.

In summary, updated school facilities that are specifically designed for Wyoming primary students would play a vital role in cultivating innovative, student-centered educational programs and opportunities that foster the academic growth and personal development of every child.

The November 2024 ballot issue is estimated to be for 7.98 mills, equaling $279.21 per $100K home value.*

* The community’s actual financial impact is projected to be 4.62 mills or $161.61 annually per $100K of home value. This is due to the proactive work that Wyoming City Schools has done to pay off the 1998 Wyoming High School Bond Issue debt early (reducing the millage paid by Wyoming homeowners by 3.36 mills at the end of 2024).

The $72.5 million project budget was adjusted in early June due to revised information from the State of Ohio. On May 30th, the State of Ohio moved the debt limit from $68.4 million to $73.1 million. Click here for additional information about the budget adjustment from Primary Facilities Steering Committee Member Dale Kleinschmidt and Wyoming City Schools Treasurer Ronda Johnson.

Lower cost options were explored but not chosen for further refinement by the Primary School Facilities Steering Committee and the district, including consolidating to two primary school buildings or limiting the work to renovations to Elm School and Vermont School. Lower cost renovations to Hilltop School were quickly ruled out due to the extensive construction needed to provide accessibility and a secure perimeter at that school.

$73.1 million is the maximum we are allowed to borrow in accordance with Ohio law. This ceiling required us to revisit some of the spaces in our original plans, as the initial plan for three new schools was $75+ million. The projected cost includes estimates per square foot to build new buildings with larger classroom sizes and necessary additional spaces, abatement and demolition of our current schools, and temporary instructional space during construction.

On the November 2023 online feedback form, when asked the single most preferred option for the committee to refine: 

• 54% of staff member respondents chose the option that included two new K-2 schools and one new 3-4 school
• 28% of staff member respondents chose the option that included 3 new K-4 schools
• 18% of staff member responses supported options that are no longer being considered by Spring 2024

A grade banding option was considered until Spring 2024 when the results from the statistically-representative survey took us in the final direction.

Grade banding, also known as grade level grouping or grade span grouping, is a practice in education where students within certain grade levels are grouped together for instruction or other purposes. In Option White (one previously considered option), students would have been grouped with more of their same-age peers: 

• K-2nd grade students would be at Elm & Vermont
• 3rd-4th grade students at Hilltop

Here are some important things to understand when considering grade banding in this scenario:

• Instruction & Support Tailored to Developmental Stage: Children at different ages have varying cognitive, social, emotional, and physical needs. Grade-level grouping positions educators to best prepare for and address these developmental differences to ensure appropriate instruction and support, and buildings with fewer grade levels allow for spaces to be designed with more specific developmental stages in mind.
  • Some Instructional Impacts: Teachers can use data to flexibly group students across more classrooms, allowing greater personalized learning and more student voice and choice in their studies. Additional limits can be placed on the use of technology tools to only those appropriate for the specific developmental stage of students present.
  • Physical Impact: Environment can be further customized so students are surrounded by specialized and age-appropriate library contents, furniture (e.g., more flexible seating options for 3rd and 4th graders that wouldn’t be best for K-2), and spaces (e.g. tinkering maker spaces for K-2 and more true STEAM space for 3-4).
• New Tools to Meet Individual Needs: Having more students of the same age at an individual location can support our staff’s ability to efficiently address the individual needs of students within each grade level, including those with learning disabilities, English language learners, or other special needs by consolidating the resources for each grade band to fewer locations (more opportunities for specialized-interest grouping, small group counseling, developmentally-appropriate sensory or calming rooms, etc.).
• Curriculum - Less Cost and More Alignment: Grade banding can more efficiently support educator alignment from classroom to classroom and from grade level to grade level, and instructional resources - teachers, administrators, specialists and materials - would be available in real time (fewer teachers traveling between buildings, fewer licenses needed for digital resources to cover buildings, fewer materials shared between buildings). 
• Easier to Balance Class Sizes, More Flexibility with Student Placement, Fewer Families Impacted by Lack of Attendance Zones: Currently, when a grade level with a larger population comes through, an additional section (or sections) for that grade is added at Hilltop School where square footage is greatest due to Wyoming Primary Schools’:
  • Priority on small class sizes
  • Proactive management of district resources
  • Small classroom sizes across all schools
  • Limited number of classrooms at all schools
  • Lack of flexible spaces across all schools

With these new buildings and more sections per grade level within each building, it would be easier to balance class sizes within a school building and fewer families would be forced to attend a school that may not be their first choice. Additionally, there would be more opportunities for student placement and regrouping for social reasons.

• Opportunities for More Innovative Instructional Strategies: This could include differentiated instruction, cooperative learning, project-based learning, or other methods tailored to the developmental stage and learning styles of students. 

Because construction would be taking place on existing school sites, students would be housed in temporary schools while construction is underway. Temporary school sites and timeline are shared in the Wyoming Primary Facilities Master Plan.

Addition (Add): Addition constructed adjacent to existing building.

Renovation (Reno): Existing structure and majority of interior walls to remain, replacement or refurbishment of building envelope (roof, windows, masonry walls), new systems (mechanical, electrical, plumbing, technology), new finishes and casework, new furniture.

The best example is the most recent addition and renovation at Wyoming Middle School. When you look at the front of the building, it looks like the existing school but there have been extensive renovations within the building and additions constructed adjacent to the building.

As the district and Primary Facilities Steering Committee has considered new construction versus addition and renovation (add/reno) solutions for the primary facilities, several factors have been considered. Hilltop School is composed of 4 separate buildings (at different levels) which creates the need for students to travel outside multiple times during the school day and presents accessibility and safety concerns.   Additionally, there are significant structural concerns for two of the four buildings at Hilltop. These factors necessitate a new building for Hilltop School, which is the largest of our three primary schools. With Elm and Vermont Schools being the two smaller schools, any cost reduction that can be captured is minimized due to the size of these buildings and the scope of the required improvements.

As we consider the future of the primary schools and how these facilities support the mission and vision of the Wyoming City Schools Strategic Plan, new construction offers many advantages, some of which are listed below:

• Safety - New buildings can be designed to meet all current safety standards, including secure building access, accessibility, and fire safety without the limitations of older, existing structures.
• Improved Learning Environment - A new building can provide a more comfortable and conducive learning environment with better air quality, natural light, and acoustics, which are important factors in student performance and well-being.
• Custom Design for Modern Educational Needs - New construction can create buildings specifically tailored to contemporary educational requirements, including flexible learning spaces, integrated technology, and environments that support modern teaching methodologies.
• Long-Term Savings, Efficiency, Sustainability and Environmental Consideration - While the initial costs might be similar, new buildings can be more cost-effective in the long run. New buildings will be designed with energy efficiency in mind, using modern materials and systems that reduce ongoing operational costs, such as heating, cooling, and maintenance. New construction can incorporate sustainable design elements, such as renewable energy sources and green building materials, aligning with environmental goals and potentially providing educational opportunities for students.
• Unforeseen Issues - Renovations can often uncover unforeseen problems such as structural weaknesses, asbestos, or outdated wiring. New construction avoids these issues and ensures that the building meets all current safety and accessibility standards.
• Reduced Risk of Delays and Cost Overruns - Renovations can be unpredictable, often leading to delays and additional costs. New construction, with proper planning, tends to have more predictable timelines and budgets.