Levelland ISD released a press release Thursday concerning the long term decision for the districts facilities.
As part of the districts commitment to strategic development and continuous improvement, Levelland ISD recently engaged a community facility committee to assist with long term decisions for our facilities.
“We are extremely thankful for the commitment this committee showed over the past five months and their diligence in the review of the status of our facilities and the district’s current and projected student enrollment,” stated Levelland ISD Superintendent Becky McCutchen. “The group worked tirelessly to review facility studies, gather repair information, conduct walk-throughs of each facility and deliver a report to the school board.”
The community facility committee presented recommendations to the Levelland ISD Board of Trustees on January 17. The board reviewed the recommendations presented by the committee and has determined that moving forward with the committee’s first recommendation is in the best interest of Levelland ISD.
The recommendation is to “Create and work with a Long-Range Planning Committee to brainstorm ideas to maintain and repair facilities, or liquidate unused facilities and lower operating costs.”
“The development of a Long-Range Planning Committee will play a pivotal role in shaping the future of Levelland ISD,” said McCutchen. “This committee will be asked to work collaboratively with Levelland ISD leadership to analyze current trends, assess organizational needs, and propose initiatives that align with our long-term mission – Relentless Pursuit of Excellence for Our Students.”
Given the immense scope of a Long-Range Planning Committee and the extended time that will be allotted to this planning process, Levelland ISD has decided that no changes will occur to our current campus configuration for the upcoming 2024-2025 school year. The current committee is planning to continue to work through March to fulfill their original charge, which was to provide long term recommendations for Levelland ISD facilities.
Over the course of the next few months, the school board and district administration will thoroughly analyze the information presented by the committee, review final cost estimates, and ensure we have all the necessary details to make informed decisions about Levelland ISD facilities.
“Levelland ISD’s main priority is and always will be our students and staff,” said McCutchen. “We understand the importance of this district in our community and we ask for your support as we move forward with our vision of Expect Excellence.”
During the January 17 meeting, Committee Chair Dallas Pena presented three options two the school board.
As stated in the release, the first recommendation was tailored to creating and work with a Long-Range Planning Committee to brainstorm ideas to maintain and repair facilities, or liquidate unused facilities and lower operating costs.
Pena stated that the committee recognizes the extreme complexity of structuring campuses and educational programs considering an evertightening budget.
“We had limited time to address and explore the many facility issues brought to us by the school district,” said Pena We believe an advisory committee with a much longer scope of time would benefit the district’s longterm planning regarding facilities.
These duties would include but not be limited to: Develop plans to utilize and/ or sell vacated campuses; Continue to assess campus feasibility on a year-by-year basis; Work with campus administration to utilize available funds for special projects and large-scale maintenance and or repair needs; and Develop a long-term vision (10-20 years) for district facility development and construction projects.
Ideally, such a committee would include LISD District Administration, community members, campus administrators, teachers, city and county leaders, and partners from other taxable entities in our county.
Recommendation two was tailored to the reopening of the LIS for district use. It was explained that the committee believes utilizing the LIS campus is in the best interest of the district. Three options were provided to the board based on the committees recommendation, in order of their most desired.
Option one included the consolidation of grades three through fifth in one campus at LIS. The district would also consolidate all grades first and second in one campus at Capitol Elementary. The district would then work with a Long-Range Planning Committee to brainstorm ideas to consolidate, liquidate unused facilities and lower operating costs as presented in recommendation two. Grades three through four would be relocated from Capitol and South Elementary Schools, while fifth grade would relocate from Levelland Middle School (LMS). This would also move all grades first and second to the Capitol Elementary School Campus, close South Elementary School to students and allow for evaluation of the best future use of South Elementary.
Pena explained that those moved would best address some of the district’s issues such as: The LIS enrollment capacity (29 home rooms) can accommodate a teacher student ratio estimation of 1:22, on track with state trends; This removes fifth grade from the LMS Campus, eliminating the issue of overcrowding with six floating teachers and disruption of the fifth grade building traffic, bell schedule and additional lunch period concerns; Students in grades third through fifth that must STAAR Test will be together in one building, as opposed to spread out over three campuses. That would allow for more comprehensive horizontal alignment of academic strategies and will cause less disruption for the lower grades during testing periods;
Relocating third and fourth grade from Capitol to LIS opens classroom space for second grade from South Elementary. This allows for all students in second grade to be together in one building, allowing for more comprehensive horizontal alignment of academic strategies; This allows for South Elementary campus to be used for other programs and staff in the future. A long-range planning committee can explore options; This allows for the LIS Auditorium and Gym to continue to be utilized by the district and community; and Relocating third and fourth grades from Capitol to LIS also opens enough classroom space for first grade to relocate from the Academic Beginning Center (ABC) to Capitol. This frees up classroom space at ABC to relieve the overcrowding issues and the need for temporary portable buildings at that campus. The portable buildings can then be reallocated or sold.
Option two included relocating personnel and students from other campuses to LIS which should include: Relocation of all personnel and students currently at Cactus; Relocation of all personnel currently at the administration building; and Create and work with a Long-Range Planning Committee to brainstorm ideas to consolidate, liquidate unused facilities and lower operating costs which coincides with recommendation two.
While this option doesn’t address the horizonal alignment issues with grades two through four at different campuses, nor does it address the overcrowding and disruptive fifth grade bell schedule at LMS, it does: Allow for LIS campus to be used for Administration, staff and students from Cactus Elementary, or even maintenance personnel, eliminating operational costs of campuses that can relocate into LIS. This also eliminates the operational cost of the nonrevenue generating facility (Administration); and Allows for the LIS Auditorium and Gym to continue to be utilized by the district and community.
Option three included: The attempt to sell unused property to an interested buyer, if a sale does not occur, the group would recommend demolition of the LIS building; The estimated cost to demolish a building is $25.00 to $50.00 per square foot, which is estimated between $2,775,000.00 to $5,550,000.00 (based on current market demolition in Levelland); and These projects could have to be engineered with an asbestos abatement.
“While this is the last option the committee would desire, we believe it is not in the best interest of the district or the community to leave LIS as an empty facility, losing value while going unused,” said Pena.
Pena also presented a list of priority improvements for the LIS facility which include: Roof Repair and Drain Clearing, A/C Condensation, Plumbing and Water Testing, Ant Infestation/Professional Pest Control, Safety Vestibule Construction, Lift for stage in auditorium, Minor aesthetic improvements throughout campus and Phased plan for replacement of HVAC systems The undesignated available fund balance as presented by the LISD administration on September 6, 2023, totaled $2.4 million.