Community weighs in on schools master plan

One parent said Wednesday night that seeing a PowerPoint viewfinder in one school held up in the ceiling by a letter basket and hangers doesn't reflect well on the condition of Douglas County schools.

"They're not in good condition from a technological standpoint," said the father, who wished to remain anonymous.

He was one of more than 20 employees, parents and students who gathered at Douglas High School to weigh in on the district's new facilities master plan.

"It really isn't about facilities, but about education - what we want to do inside the buildings," said Edward Humble, senior partner at MGT of America, the consulting firm school board members hired in July to develop the long-term plan. "There are all these pieces of the puzzle, and not just one piece will solve it. There are lots of ways to solve it."

Planning to present a final master plan to the school board in January, MGT will spend the next few months assessing the district's buildings, combining both internal and external input with demographic projections, educational priorities and cost estimates.

Wednesday's meeting was one piece of the puzzle, Humble said, a chance for community members to contribute to the planning process.

"We're not here to answer questions, but to gather information; we don't have the whole picture of the puzzle yet," he said. "Tonight, everything is on the table."

To kick things off, audience members were given wireless clickers which they used to answer different questions about the district. Results were projected onto a screen for everyone to see.

The first three questions focused on the current state of things. Forty-eight percent of the audience rated the quality of education in Douglas County as good, 19 percent said it's excellent, and 33 percent said it's fair.

The physical condition of schools was a different matter. Just 5 percent said they're in excellent condition, 20 percent said conditions are good, 55 percent said they're fair, and 20 percent said schools are in poor condition.

Overall safety in the district received more positive reviews, with 5 percent saying the safety is excellent, and 73 percent saying it's good. Fourteen percent said safety is fair, and 5 percent said it's poor, with another 5 percent having no opinion.

The next set of questions asked participants the relative importance of various issues. Sixty-four percent of the audience said having appropriate learning and physical spaces for educational programs is very important; 36 percent said it's important. When asked about the importance of technology, 73 percent said it's very important, and 27 percent said it's important.

The last few questions focused on issues already in the public consciousness, such as whether portables should be used to alleviate overcrowding at Pinon Hills Elementary School, or whether ninth-graders should be moved back to the high school.

Fourteen percent strongly agreed that schools should use portables to solve short-term facility needs, 32 agreed, 18 percent were neutral, 23 percent disagreed, and 14 percent strongly disagreed.

Twenty-seven percent of the audience strongly agreed that the school district should rethink its present grade configuration, 32 percent agreed, 18 percent were neutral, 5 percent disagreed, and 18 percent strongly disagreed.

After the survey, participants were broken up into focus groups where they discussed each topic in more detail.

"When we hear it once, it's interesting," Humble said. "When we hear it twice, it's becoming a key theme. When we hear it a third or fourth or fifth time, it's a major theme."

One focus group included school board member Karen Chessell, Douglas High senior Cassidy Munoz, and two parents, who wished to remain anonymous.

In regards to the physical condition of schools, Munoz said the high school is not aesthetically appealing.

"Walking around the outside of DHS, it's just not polished," she said.

A father with children at both Carson Valley Middle School and Minden Elementary said some schools are much older than others, creating a disadvantage for the students.

"CVMS looks like it's ready to fall down compared to MES," he said. "Kids going to those schools are losing out compared to others."

Moving to issues of safety, Munoz said there are certain locations just beyond the high school campus known for drugs and other illegal activities, such as "The Boxes," a hangout directly north of the campus, near the movie theater.

However, Munoz said she would not give up the high school's open campus policy.

"People want more variety of food," she said. "Kids who have transportation will leave."

In regards to appropriate learning spaces, Chessell said the presence of team-teaching classrooms in a school means there's likely a problem with overcrowding.

"There's twice as many kids in one classroom the same size," she said. "No way is the education equal."

Presently, Pinon Hills, Scarselli and Jacks Valley elementary schools have team classrooms.

Chessell also agreed with Munoz that the high school could use a theater space, or a better space students could gather without the poor acoustics of the gym. Munoz said at the least, the gym could use a stage.

"The whole school fits in the gym, but when someone is talking, their back will always be turned to one side," she said.

There was disagreement in the group about ninth-graders moving back to the high school. Chessell and one parent argued that the move would provide freshman with more opportunities, more electives and quicker integration into the program.

"Ninth-graders, being at the middle schools, don't understand how important high school is," Chessell said.

But Munoz, who attended both Pau-Wa-Lu and CVMS, said she'd rather be a ninth-grader at a middle school.

"There could be more bullying at the high school," she said.

She also said ninth-graders don't care too much about electives.

Those who missed Wednesday's meeting can participate in the same survey online by visiting http://dcsd.k12.nv.us. The survey is available in Spanish and English and will remain online through Thursday. Another public meeting will be 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at Whittell High School. Additional comments or questions in relation to the facilities master plan may be e-mailed to FacilitiesPlan@dcsd.k12.nv.us.