{DESIGN BY HANNAH MERRILL}
PHOTO BY//AMIELA CANIN
ABOVE: Some of the proposed plans may affect Lincoln Elementary School, pictured here.
ICCSD considering building plans through One Vision Parents, teachers and administrators are getting involved in the discussion as the Iowa City Community School District plans the future of its facilities. BY AMIELA CANIN
acanin@wsspaper.com
After resolving two contentious issues in recent years - elementary school redistricting and the district-wide diversity policy - the Iowa City Community School District is once again wondering what Iowa City schools will look like in the next decades. The projected increase in student population will put strain on existing school buildings, many of which are already considered inefficient. To combat these issues, the school board has created a master planning process called “One Vision” to take charge of the future of the Iowa City Community School District’s facilities. The district hired the Illinois-based archi-
tecture firm BLDD Architects to analyze current facilities and project what kinds of school buildings will be needed in the future. BLDD has proposed several options involving remodeling facilities and adding new ones. So far, six public meetings have been held on the subject. “There is a large range of possibilities [for changes in school facilities], from doing nothing to doing a lot,” said Sam Johnson, one of the principals of BLDD Architects, at a meeting on Tuesday, May 14. “A lot,” according to One Vision, means any of various proposals involving new buildings and additions and upgrades to existing buildings. Existing facilities may also be repurposed or retired. These scenarios can
be combined in 127 different ways. Another possible scenario is grade realignment. Several of the ideas involve changing the grade levels encompassed in the schools. There are a number of ways this might be achieved. One possibility is to make high school only grades 10 to 12. There is also the possibility of building separate ninth grade centers. At the meetings, there appeared to be widespread support for protecting older neighborhood elementary schools and building a third high school. According to BLDD, however, the most cost-efficient plan involves closing elementary schools, while also still building a new high school.
Government teacher and Coralville City Council Member Mitch Gross was selected to represent the city of Coralville in the school planning process. “I thought great conversations were going on [at the meetings],” he said. “There has been consensus on several scenarios. There was consensus on [building] a third high school and not to close neighborhood elementary schools.” In the coming months, the school board and community will continue to work toward their vision for the future of the Iowa City Community School District.
A GLASS THAT SHOCKS YOU WHEN YOU DRINK FROM IT TO CURE HICCUPS WAS PATENTED IN 2006. } MAY 2013 NEWS 48