CCSD Board Of Education Discusses Multiple Ideas For Building Additions With DLR Group For Its Master Facility Plan

Picture of DLR Group’s presentation of proposed addition plans to Fairview Elementary

The Carroll Community School District (CCSD) Board of Education reviewed the master facility plan with DLR Group, discussing multiple scenarios for consolidating some buildings in the district. Principal Architects Eric Beron and Andrew Van Leeuwen presented some suggested preliminary designs of additions to Fairview, Carroll Middle School (CMS), and the Carroll High School (CHS) buildings to accommodate the relocation of students out of Adams Elementary. When first presented, building plans included adding to Fairview Elementary for a new Pre-K through second-grade addition and moving third and fourth-grade students there, demolishing the Pre-K pods, and renovating the media, special education classrooms, and administration space. Next was to renovate and expand the high school for career and technical education courses, the alternative high school program, a new gym with updated locker rooms and commons. The last suggestion was to make the middle school serve grades fifth through eighth after some construction to accommodate. Van Leeuwen says that while presented in chronological order based on building needs and designs that make sense from an architect’s standpoint, this isn’t exactly how the district needs to play it out.

The board members agreed that the next step the district should focus on would be relocating students out of Adams Elementary, as it is the oldest building that has the most work needed to be completed. Ideas were thrown around, from selling the building to be reconstructed into apartments to adding and moving students out of the original Adams building to a more updated facility on the same grounds. Beron says that for this work session, anything was possible, and the suggestions they presented were just based on ideas from the district’s committee on what they would like to have done.

After the presentation and some discussions, board member Jim Friel asked if the district should renovate and add to each Fairview, CMS, and CHS buildings, or if constructing a whole new school would make the most sense. Beron and Van Leeuwen say that is an option, but the remodels and updates to the buildings could be done at different times and spread out to help the district out financially. Board member Jill Johnston says no matter what the district decides, there is one main priority they must focus on.

DLR Group will now go back to the drawing board to present more detailed designs on four different scenarios, all of which get rid of Adams as a school building. The other avenues include: addition to Fairview for third and fourth grades, addition to Fairview to move third through fifth grade there, converting the middle school to serve third through sixth-grade students, and a design for a new high school building, and then moving students around to fill in the existing buildings. All plans discussed at the work session were just ideas, and the board has not finalized anything or intends to move in one direction over the other. The district will continue to work with DLR Group to explore options to make the best-informed decision when the time comes.