Building Our Future: Sumner-Fredericksburg School District Facilities Planning

Dear Sumner-Fredericksburg Families,

We're excited to share that our school district is beginning an important journey to address our aging facilities and create learning environments that will serve our students for the next 20-25 years. The S-F School District is now partnering with community leaders and parents to develop a comprehensive facilities plan that addresses urgent needs while responsibly managing taxpayer resources.

Why We're Taking Action Now

As many of you have experienced firsthand, our school buildings are showing significant signs of age. Our elementary schools have been rated in "Poor" condition, while our middle and high schools are in "Fair" condition with mounting maintenance concerns. These aging facilities present several challenges:

• Outdated HVAC, lighting, and accessibility features that impact student learning because of lost time due to early dismissals

• Inefficient space utilization requiring more maintenance and operational costs

• Significant deferred maintenance that continues to grow more expensive to address

• Classroom designs that limit the hands-on, collaborative learning our students need for future success

Rather than continuing to patch problems as they arise, we're taking a proactive approach to create modern, efficient facilities that will serve generations of S-F students.

Fiscal Responsibility: Smart Stewardship of Your Tax Dollars

As stewards of your tax dollars, we're committed to developing fiscally responsible solutions that:

• Consolidate and optimize grade configurations to reduce operational costs

• Decrease money spent on emergency repairs and redirect those funds to classroom resources

• Create energy-efficient buildings that significantly reduce annual utility expenses

• Eliminate inefficiencies caused by staff traveling between multiple buildings & lost programming time for students 

• Provide long-term savings through preventative rather than reactive maintenance

Every dollar saved on building operations is a dollar that can be invested in teachers, educational programming, and resources that directly benefit your children.

Creating Learning Environments for Future Success

Our facilities planning goes beyond fixing what's broken. We're envisioning spaces that will:

• Provide flexible, adaptable classrooms that support personalized learning approaches

• Create dedicated areas for collaboration, small group instruction, and project-based learning

• Expand Career and Technical Education opportunities aligned with local workforce needs

• Ensure safe, secure, and welcoming environments for all students, all visitors, at all buildings 

• Support technology integration throughout all learning spaces

Join Us in This Important Work

This facilities planning process belongs to our entire community. In the coming months, we'll be:

* Hosting community forums to gather your input

-> Community Meeting:  Wednesday, April 16th 6:00 PM 

* Location:  Fredericksburg Elementary School, Fredericksburg 

-> Community Meeting:  Wednesday, April 23rd 6:00 PM 

* Location:  Durant Elementary School, Sumner 

* Forming advisory committees with parent representation

* Sharing regular updates on our findings and developing plans

* Providing opportunities for feedback at every stage

We invite you to be part of this important conversation about the future of education in our district. Your insights and perspectives are essential as we work together to create learning environments that will prepare S-F students for success in a rapidly changing world.

Please watch for upcoming announcements about how you can participate in this process. Together, we can create facilities that honor our community's commitment to educational excellence while responsibly managing our resources.

Sincerely,

Kevin Seney, Supt. 

Sumner-Fredericksburg Community School District