Community Discussions:

    There is a wide range of opinion as to what direction the school district should now pursue. Your attendance at and participation in the process is welcomed and encouraged.

    Each Wednesday evening the (HSST) High School Next Steps Steering Team meets at 7:00 p.m. in the Board Room of the District Offices, 13780 Hope Street, Brookfield.

    Below is an attempt to fairly and accurately describe how beliefs currently break down among community residents:

a) Some believe that literally nothing needs to be done at either school;

b) Some believe that minor updates and changes at the schools can successfully meet the educational needs of the District;

c) Some believe that significant upgrades and expansions are needed at one or the other, or both schools;

d) Some believe that some upgrading and some expansion are needed, but less than what was proposed in the April 2007 plan;

e) Some believe that Central is a higher priority than is East, even though they may believe East also needs attention. People who hold this belief have typically proposed that the needs of the District be met in stages, with initial focus on Central;

f) Some believe that whatever is done, the needs determined to be priorities at both high schools should be addressed at the same time so educational quality and property values are upheld across the entire District and that one side of the District doesn't fall behind the other;

g) Some believe that the April 2007 plan was a sound compromise and that with more education, something very much like it should be again considered;

h) Some agree with the original conclusion that enjoyed unanimous support from the High School Facilities Needs Assessment Team, that two new high schools should be constructed;

i) Some believe that the best course is to build one new high school or a combined campus at a single location, large enough to house 2,600 to 2,800 students.

    Many of these options have been previously examined and set aside, but the new Steering Team is in the process of backgrounding themselves by:

- reviewing the previous work done and the documents produced to the extent necessary

- trying to formulate reliable enrollment projections and population estimates

- understanding how Chapter-220 and Open Enrollment programs impact the district,

- learning how the architect and School Board came to the basic assumptions that drove the design and size of what went to referendum in April 2007.

- Working toward two proposals to bring back to the Board of Education-- a "Basic" and a "Basic-plus" plan. The basic plan would have its roots in a number of factors including but not necessarily limited to: 

        1) Amount of square footage-per-student deemed to be appropriate

        2) Cost per square foot for different parts of the project believed to be affordable

        3) Any special curriculum-based needs, input from the community, and visits to other schools. The site visits would allow the Steering Team to view firsthand how other school districts have renovated existing buildings or opted for either partial or total new construction.