Westlake Schools Facilities Timeline
2001-02
The Ohio Schools Facilities Commission (OSFC) assessed the Westlake Schools’ facility needs to
determine Westlake’s eligibility for state assistance under its construction program. OSFC provided an
on-site evaluation, enrollment projections and an initial master plan with project cost estimates.
The seven-year-old “bricks and mortar” assessment found:
Roofs, ventilation/HVAC needed replacing
Heating systems – pneumatic controls needed major work/replacement
Electrical systems – undersized and near age limit, little spare capacity – needed
replacement
Plumbing – flush valves and faucets corroded
Windows – at the end of lifespan/needed replacement
Foundations – sunken floor slabs needed repair
Walls – brick veneer visibly pulling away from concrete block back-up wall/remove and
replace
Interior lighting – lighting levels too low, interfere with sprinkler system requirements/
needed replacement
The master plan for facilities, which included 80,000 additional square feet of teaching space, had a cost
range from $53.8 million to $54.4 million seven years ago. This plan favored consolidating our
elementary and intermediate schools. An alternate plan to meet the state’s minimum building standards
without adding the recommended square footage for teaching space had a cost of $42.3 million.
Spring 2002
DeJong Inc. completed an enrollment projection study in Spring 2002 that indicated enrollment was
flattening and would settle somewhere around 3,780 students.
2004-05
Land-use study was performed by Lesko Architecture, a Westlake-based firm that specializes in school
facilities. The study indicated that the district’s existing land could be utilized for facility projects and
that no foreseeable need existed to add land to meet future facility needs.
2007
DeJong completed an enrollment projection study in Spring 2007 that indicated enrollment was
flattening, but the steady number predicted was changed to approximately 4,050.
Spring 2008
Lesko created an OSFC replication study to update the OSFC information. Lesko presented a number of
options ranging from $74.9 million for the first phase of a phased project, up to $126 million for
comprehensive improvements and the additional teaching space. The new cost to meet the state
minimum standards without the additional square footage is now up to $66 million.
A nine-member focus group of local experts and residents was formed to address and review the
district’s facility needs. The group toured schools, compared Westlake with like districts and reviewed
needs identified by the OSFC and Lesko study.
The group met six times throughout March and April and reached several conclusions:
1. They felt strongly that facility needs exist
2. Encouraged community input through community forums
3. Suggested creating a 25-year comprehensive and cost-effective master facilities plan
The Westlake Board of Education moved meeting locations for two meetings so tours could be
conducted at Lee Burneson Middle School and Parkside Intermediate School. Plans were then made to
continue these tours in the fall to encourage more community members to attend and see the buildings.
Summer 2008
The district obtained input from community stakeholders through in-depth interviews, discussion
groups, and telephone and on-line surveys. The move was meant to define a set of values that will
contribute to solutions that best serve Westlake students and represent the entire Westlake
community. The process also allowed the district to analyze awareness of and opinions about how to
address needs.
A total of 27 in-depth interviews of community leaders and 393 survey responses revealed overall
satisfaction with the school district, that the district has a record of being fiscally responsible and that
the district acts in the best interest of its students. Top areas of concern included overcrowding at our
seven school buildings, a lack of technology, HVAC systems, and general landscaping and upkeep of the
buildings. Many responding indicated a need to know more about the status of the buildings before
deciding whether they need major repair or renovation, or if any new construction is necessary.
Respondents also indicated they saw a connection between facilities and performance, agreeing that
facilities affect a child’s ability to learn.
Fall 2008
The Board of Education made public notice that the facility tours, started in the spring, would continue
throughout the fall. Tours were held in conjunction with meetings at Hilliard Elementary School and
Bassett Elementary School. The tours, which follow the Board’s regular meeting schedule, are planned
throughout the fall to provide the opportunity to visit all seven school buildings in the district.
Based on the interviews and survey results, the district hosted three community forums to gain a
perspective from a wider audience. The forums were held in our school buildings, with a fourth forum
summarizing the comments and opinions.
Following the forums, a 20/20 Vision Committee of 18-24 community and school representatives was
formed to analyze all of the data collected and create a long-term master facilities plan for the Westlake
City School District.
Winter 2008/09
The 20/20 Vision Committee met several times between October and January, paring down 14 options
into two. The Committee made a presentation to the Board of Education in January, offering two
educational options to pursue:
Option 1: Five buildings in a grade-level configuration
Option 2: Six buildings in a regional elementary configuration
The Committee said the problem must be addressed responsibly and soon. The Committee also
encouraged the district to raise awareness and support for improving facilities.
A TRIAD survey conducted of residents in December indicated the community was uninformed about
the district’s facilities challenges and needed more facts before making an informed decision about
supporting the district’s master facilities plan.
The Board of Education took the feedback of the 20/20 committee, combined with the survey data, and
made a decision that while the issue should be addressed as soon as possible, a spring ballot issue was
not the right time. Instead, the Board decided to focus efforts on addressing the great communication
needs pointed out through the community survey.
Dr. Keenan talked to staffs at individual buildings about the challenges and progress of the 20/20 Vision
Committee. Building tours were arranged and information provided to city leaders on the condition of
the district’s facilities.
The district developed a communications plan with our strategists to outline steps and activities to build
community understanding and support for the facilities issue. This included the creation of an
informational video now available on our web site – www.wlake.org/facilities -- that outlines the
challenges the district faces with its facilities and asks for support in an eventual bond issue.
Spring 2009
The district has made facilities presentations and showed the video to a number of groups, including the
Westlake Ministerial Forum, West Shore Chamber of Commerce, Kiwanis Club, Town Criers, the
Westlake Community Services Department, neighborhood associations, Porter Public Library Board of
Trustees, among other groups.
Board members and district administrators have become engaged in the school funding debate, working
through state professional associations, state representatives and a lobbying group representing
affluent suburban districts to provide a voice for our school district. The district also applied for federal
stimulus money to address facility needs, but we were notified those funds cannot be used for this
purpose.
The Board of Education moved to advertise a request for qualifications from architectural firms to
validate the district’s facilities plans and craft them into a usable format to better illustrate the district’s
solution to the community. Eighteen firms replied, 9 were interviewed. The Board intends to approve
one firm at the May Board meeting.
The district will gauge the success of its informational campaign with another community survey by
TRIAD in mid June. The results of that survey, along with feedback from various community groups, will
help the Board in its consideration of pursuing a ballot issue next school year. The decision on how to
proceed will take place in July.
The district continues to ask for the 20/20 Vision Committee’s continued support in this process and we
will look to the group as we proceed to address this problem.
Summer 2009
A dismal economy and a lack of substantial savings from a state bond program led to the Board of
Education’s decision to defer a planned ballot issue request to address facilities until next spring. Te
decision came after a discussion on balancing the current economic and employment situation with the
great need to address the district’s aging facilities.
One of the district’s biggest challenges is adequate classroom space. With the start of the 2009-10
school year, the district has added two modular classroom units – one each at Parkside Intermediate
School and Lee Burneson Middle School. The Parkside unit houses a computer lab and two small
learning class spaces and enabled the building to add technology previously unattainable due to space
constraints. The LBMS unit houses two math classrooms, allowing the building to achieve smaller class
sizes to ensure adequate learning spaces are available.
The Board of Education has committed to a micropoll of residents in September, with the intent of
gathering additional community input and moving toward a May ballot issue. The Board also has
enlisted MKC & Associates architectural firm to develop a process where a master facilities plan is
finalized and an issue defined for the spring.
Fall 2009
The 20/20 Vision Committee was reconvened to provide an update on the facilities process and to
expand committee membership to further advance the master facilities planning project. Business
leaders, staff, administration, civic organization representatives and community members were added
to the committee, which recommended a master plan vision that responsibly addresses facility deficits
and serious overcrowding issues, demonstrates forward thiking and flexibility, provides an environment
to support academic excellence and is designed specifically for the City of Westlake’s community and
children.
The group came to a consensus at the Dec. 2, 2009, meeting to recommend a master plan that does the
following:
Reduces the district from 7 to 6 school buildings
Renovates Parkside Intermedaite for a PreK-4 elementary school with about 527 studetns
Builds two K-4 elementary schools with about 443 tudnts each
Renovates/adds on to Lee Burneson Middle School for a 5-6 intermediate school with about
630 students
Building a new 7-8 middle school near the existing site with about 692 students
Major renovation and addition to Westlake High School to replace the major academic wing,
while preserving the 2005 additions, for about 1,362 students
The plan addresses major space challenges and facility deficiencies draining the school district’s budget,
provides resources for better utilization of space and the ability to share resource and minimizes
transportation costs. The option follows state recommendations and education best practices.
The group recommended phasing the project to serve the community’s needs while considering the
economic conditions, the current state of the buildings, the impact on children and the ability to
demonstrate fiscal responsibility to the community.
Winter 2010
The Board of Education voted to place a 3.4-mill, $84 million bond issue on the May 2010 ballot to fund
the first phase of improvements. The bond issue will cost $8.68 per month per $100,000 of property
alue.
The plan to protect our schoosl and taxpayers makes the essential repairs and upgrades to our declining
building systems. It addresses serious needs and will provide a learning environment to keep our schools
excellent and to keep our community top rated. Th phased approach saves hundreds of thousands of
dollars in operating costs annually and provides a responsible approach to fix an urgent program that
will grow to unmanageable levels without action now. This amount of millage for this issue allows
Westlake to retain its value and to remain in the bottom 25% of school taxes in the county.
May 2010
Westlake voters passed Issue 14, Phase I of the Master Faciliteis Plan. The plan calls for:
Renovating and adding space at Lee Burneson Middle School to turn it into an intermedatie
school for grades 5-6. Estimated completion: Winter 2013/2014.
Building a new middle school for grades 7-8 near the existing building. Estimated
completion: Winter 2012/2013.
Rebuilding an extensive portion of Westlake High School while preserving the 2005
additions. Estimated completion: Fall 2013.
Phase II would involve renovating the existing Parkside Intermeidate School into a PreK-4 building, and
building two new elementary schools. The school district will have a tax millage drop-off in 2017 that
potentially would equal the cost of implementing Phase II, amounting to a tax neutral situation for the
community.
Summer 2010
The Westlake Schools’ bond rating was upwardly shifted from Aa2 to Aa1 by Moody’s Investor Service,
placing the district one notch away from the highest quality Aaa rating. Westlake is one of 23 Ohio local
school districts rated in the Aa1 or Aaa rating cagegories, placing Westlek in the top 4% of all Ohio
schools.
The Aa1 rating highlights the district’s credit quality versus other debt securities, which should mean
lower interest costs on future district borrowing – including the recent bond issue – and savings of
additional taxpayer dollars.
Fall 2010
Much behind-the-scenes activity went on with the maste rFaciliteis Plan Phase I building project in the
fall. The district met with staff and community for input on the exterior design of the buildings.
The 101-year-old Red Brick school building came down in November 2010 The Public School stone, satar
and stone artch were successfully removed form the building and will be incorporated into the new
buildings. Additional bricks will be used to create a pedestrian walkway at the middle school campus.
Spring 2011
The school district continued to meet with staff and community members for input on the design of the
buildings.
As part of the district’s application for wetlands mitigation, archaeological testing to determine the
existence of a burial ground on the Dover Elementary/Lee Burneson Middle School site was conducted,
which no unusual discoveries.
Construction site plans were established and preliminary site work was begun.
Updated March 2011