Vocational program receives large equipment grant

South Bend High School will be implementing the CNC plasma cutter in 18-19

South Bend receives $84,000 competitive grant funding for Career & Technical Ed (CTE)

South Bend School District was informed today that we will be receiving over $84,000 dollars to enhance our Career & Technical Education (CTE) program.

It is my belief that today's 9-12 high school education system needs to do everything possible to provide skills training that integrates core subjects.  Math and science, art, communication, and other traditional subjects can and must be taught within skills-based classes.  Whether training in welding, construction, business, IT, agriculture, or STEM related subjects, our education programs need to focus on a wide range of students with life goals and career paths not solely centered on the 4-year university track.

Unfortunately, it is often difficult for smaller schools to provide a lot of the technology needed to run these innovative programs. We depend on grants to help us get the tools we need.  That is why I was so excited to apply for the CTE Equipment Grant that the state legislature funded this last Spring.

The competitive grant provided up to $100,000 dollars to school districts wanting to increase equipment provisions in their CTE programs.  South Bend's grant will provide two systems for an approximate total of $85,000.  These systems include:  1) a new dust collection system for our wood shop, and 2) a CNC plasma cutter for our design classes.

The dust collection system will replace our current system and will add much needed capacity to our wood shop program.  This will allow us to safely and efficiently remove saw dust and other particles as our shop machinery is operated.  It will also allow us to add more equipment in the shop due to the increased capacity of the new dust collector.

The CNC plasma cutter will allow our students to learn industry skills in metal design and fabrication.  It will allow students to design products using computer-aided drafting (CAD) which will then be produced on the CNC cutter.  The machine will also produce metal etching and enable South Bend students to design and create a multitude of signs, metal components, parts, and other metal products.

Career & Technical Education is a priority at South Bend School District.  We are excited to continue building our programs and supporting our students in learning hand-on skills applicable to post high school job opportunities.   This grant will go a long way in providing yet more opportunity for South Bend students.

Summer project updates & new school progress

UPDATE ON NEW ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PROJECT

It has been a busy summer at South Bend School District as we add the planning and design work for the new elementary school to our usual summer work agenda.  That being said, what a great project to be involved in for our community!  Though most all of the work being done now is behind the scenes, evidence of that work will be visible soon enough.  This article is an update on what has been the focus these past 2 months.

Architects Hired

At the end of this last May, the South Bend Board of Directors hired Erickson McGovern Architects as our project designers.  EMA focuses solely on school design and come highly regarded.  Based in Tacoma, they will work with us throughout the project as we progress through each phase of design, construction, and close out.  Their team has met several times in the last couple months with our planning teams, staff stakeholder groups, and the board in putting together initial education specifications (edspecs) for the building.  They are currently working on both initial building design and foundation design, as well as overall layout of the eventual facility.

In addition to hiring architects, the district contracted with Greene Gasaway, who are providing project management services.  The project managers work closely with district administrative staff to ensure all aspects of the project remain on track and that the district's best interests are maintained.

Bonds Sold

Earlier this month, I attended the sale of our voter approved bonds at Piper Jaffray in Seattle.  All bonds sold in quick order and are currently in the process of closing.  The bond sale is scheduled to close in early August.  Proceeds from the bond sale will provide the voter approved $4.95 million dollars to be used toward the construction project.

Conditional Use Permit Received

Beginning in June, the district worked with the City of South Bend to obtain a conditional use permit for new school construction.  This involved completing the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) process, which resulted in a determination of non-significance.  An eventual public hearing and review with the City of South Bend Board of Adjustment resulted in an approval in early July.

Consultants Hired

The district has engaged three different consultants to provide services related to geotechnical engineering, land surveying, and hazardous materials surveying.  The geotechs completed soil samples and analysis in order to determine the type of foundation system needed for the new school.  They are currently working with architects and our project managers to design the most appropriate system which will include piling.  The land surveyors have mostly completed their work, where they have plotted ground elevations, located and marked all underground and above ground utilities, and determined property boundaries across the entire campus.  This work is critical for architects to be able to position the new school according to the best overall land use.  The survey also allows architects and engineers to know where existing utilities are located and where new utilities can be located.  Finally, the hazardous materials team is currently analyzing the existing elementary school that will eventually be demolished.  This work is essential in order to safely remove the building with regards to potential environmental concerns.

What's Next?

As soon as the foundation system for the new school building is settled, the architects will be able to finalize building placement and design.  As this process unfolds, architects are working with school staff to get a clear picture of building needs, such as classroom sizes, work spaces, etc.  Once these items solidify, cost estimators will be able to give us a better idea of how the project will play out financially.  This work will be vital as we prepare for construction bidding.

Other Projects

I also want to provide information on some other projects folks might be observing around our campus.  A major project that is occurring as I type is an underground powerline replacement.  This project is replacing over 300 ft of electrical main powerline, which feeds the entire South Bend campus.  This line is almost 40 years old and has failed.  Once finished, we will have safe, reliable power coming in to our buildings.  This project is funded through an approximate $53,000 grant secured by the school district, resulting in limited local funds needed.

The district has also been replacing select roofs on various buildings.  Last summer, we replaced the roof on Koplitz Field House.  This summer, we were able to complete the roof replacements on our Broadway buildings, which house various pre-K programs.  

Folks might also recognize that our new baseball facility is coming along nicely.  With the dry weather kicking in late Spring, our grass outfield is now coming in thick.  We have been implementing a process of deep-tine aerating, top dressing, and of course, seeding-fertilizing-watering, as we continue to build up a solid sod base.  This process will continue into the Fall as we approach the Fall growing season.  The dugouts have been completed, the scoreboard is up, and concrete work around the backstop is completed.  We are looking forward to a great season of home games this next Spring!

Our maintenance crew lead by Gary Wilson have been and continue to be hard at work.  Though we lost longtime employee Joe Dokter to retirement at the end of June, Shane Green has been hired and is fitting in very well.  It is certainly nice to be able to keep our crew solid.  We have a lot to be thankful for...

As always, if anyone has questions about South Bend Schools feel free to contact me at jtienhaa@southbendschools.org.  It continues to be a pleasure to work for such a fantastic community and school system.  I look forward to an exciting and productive year as we gear up for the 18-19 school year.  Please keep an eye out for our 18-19 newsletter later this August.

Grounds/Maintenance/Transportation Position Open

South Bend School District has an immediate opening for a grounds/maintenance/transportation position.  The position is full time and 260 days per year.  Position open until filled.

Duties include:  grounds maintenance, mowing, building maintenance, and student transportation.

Requirements:  Experience with grounds and building maintenance, Washington CDL-B, references.

Contact superintendent Jon Tienhaara at 360-875-6041 or jtienhaa@southbendschools.org

School bond passing with overwhelming support

Last week, South Bend voters affirmed our need and opportunity to build a new elementary school.  The vote resulted in a 74.9% YES decision and will be certified on May 4.  Though we felt good about the prospects of passing the school bond, the overwhelming voter support shown last week was nothing short of amazing.  

As of last Tuesday, South Bend was the only school district in the state to pass their school bond on the April ballot.  Others are counting ballots still today to try and reach the difficult 60% 'yes' margin.  

I am thankful to live and work in a community that so strongly supports its schools.  As I told our staff last week, I believe the overwhelming community support is a testament to the great job our teachers and school staff do with kids.  As superintendent, I am extremely proud of our school district and our community's support.

A big thank you is well deserved for our community, as well as to the following folks who tirelessly worked on our facility committee to bring this project to our voters.  These people include:  Mike Morris, Gary Wilson, Kresta Byington, Amy Nelson, Tom Sanchez, Cheryl Green, Ryan McMurry, Andy Seaman, Mindi Passolt, and Jewel Crow.  Mike Morris deserves additional recognition for his efforts as bond campaign chair.  His help and assistance was extremely valuable, and we are very thankful for all his work.  Finally, our school board of directors deserve credit and recognition for their vision and allowing us to explore innovative funding with the state.  Thanks to Senator Dean Takko, Representative Brian Blake, and Representative Jim Walsh for their continued efforts and persistence in helping us secure funding assistance.

Now the real work begins.

Several folks are asking about next steps.  Below is a summary of where we go from here:

1.  We will hire architects, engineers, and project managers within the next several weeks.  In late March we advertised an RFQ in the Seattle Journal of Commerce to solicit applications for these services.  We have been talking with several firms which will lead to our selections very soon.

2.  As soon as we have architects and a project management firm, we will begin design.  The design process will involve staff and community members, and will take 7-8 months.  There are many facets to the project that need to happen before we select a general contractor.

3.  Our goal is to be ready to go out to bid (for general contractor) by January, 2019.  

4.  We hope to break ground early next Spring, 2019.  Part of the design process will be determining the most cost effective time to start building.  

5.  The project is estimated to take 12-15 months.  We will stay in Chauncey Davis during construction.  Ideally, the new building will be complete toward the end of the 19-20 school year.  We would then move into the new building and demolish the old that summer, which will also be the time we complete the new bus loop/parking area.

The above steps will also involve coordination with the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) as we move through the review/approval processes.  As with most major construction projects, timelines can vary...  We will do our very best to ensure the project progresses in a defined and organized manner, and that the end product is something that will make our community proud.

Again, many thanks to our South Bend community for your trust and support.  It is a privilege to live and work in South Bend.

 

New elementary school for SB?

An important vote on April 24th:  South Bend's new elementary school opportunity

When I was hired as superintendent almost four years ago, one of the questions being asked was how the district might move forward on addressing the Chauncey Davis elementary building.  Even though the district maintains its buildings and grounds well, it's a challenge to expect an elementary school approaching 70 years of age to meet the safety and learning needs of our students.  Knowing this, the school board and I began looking into possibilities.

Current school building issues

Supplies and equipment moved to "high-ground" in this picture of yearly flooding at Chauncey Davis.

The first thing we did was to complete a state required study & survey of the old school building, which consisted of an architectural/engineering firm studying all building components and infrastructure.  This process resulted in an overall building "condition" score that was then reported to the state.  The study included an in-depth review of:  building architecture, structural and civil systems, mechanical/electrical/plumbing systems, and heating & ventilation, among others.  Every aspect and component of the Chauncey Davis school building was studied.  After completing the study, the overall building condition score was evaluated as "poor".   Though a low score is common with schools this old, it was obvious we had reached the point of needing significant improvements.

Staff cleaning up flood water in 2015

 Funding Issues

South Bend School District has been and remains a good steward of public resources, and we are thankful for our community's trust and generosity.  The board and I knew as soon as we explored the costs needed for the elementary school, both remodeling and building new, the financial burden would be overbearing---not even possible.  To make matters even more complicated, we found that because the total assessed property values are so low within South Bend School District, we were legally ineligible to raise enough money (through a bond) to build a new school on our own.   Even a remodel of the current building was beyond our reach.  Due to the extensive structural needs and required building code enhancements, combined with the need to temporarily "house" both our K-6 students and campus kitchen/cafeteria during construction, the cost differences of remodeling vs. building new were negligible.  Even so, a remodeled building would still be below the floodplain.  It was clear we needed a way to build a new school.  

 

Unprecedented opportunity

Our community received a life-line from the State Legislature this last January.  After two plus years of telling our story and communicating our need to Olympia, we received capital funding of over $11 million dollars to build our new elementary school.  This money includes a one-time special appropriation and matching funds that allow us to build a new school with an unusually low bond amount.  When two years ago we faced an impossibility, we are now faced with an opportunity:  the ability to build a new school for less than a third of the cost if we were to do the project without the special funding.  The money raised through the $4.95 million-dollar bond will provide the remaining funds to build South Bend a completely new elementary school at a fraction of the cost.

Concept of new elementary school built behind Chauncey Davis.

Most people who know construction know that as years pass by costs go up.  Not addressing our need now would most likely result in a much more expensive project for the future, and we will not have our special state funding to help.   Prior to this opportunity, I have never seen a small, rural school like ours receive state funding to this extent.  The new elementary school will cost $16 million dollars and the state is paying 70% of these costs---certainly something to consider.

Tax cuts coming

Another unanticipated and positive development for taxpayers is the recent law change related to M&O school levies.  Next tax year (2019) South Bend taxpayers will see a 60% school tax cut in our maintenance & operations levy, resulting in a drop of $2.25 per thousand of assessed values.  If voters approve the bond needed to build the school, the bond rate needed will add just $.81 cents to the tax bill.  With a drop of $2.25 and an "add" of $.81 cents, taxpayers will pay less than they are right now---even with the new school.  As an example, a house assessed at $100,000 will see a tax cut of $225 dollars and an "add" of $81 dollars---this is a net decrease of $144 dollars from current taxes.

Putting it all together, we have the opportunity to address the severe needs of Chauncey Davis Elementary, which include worn out infrastructure, earthquake susceptibility, yearly flooding, and school safety provisions.  Our opportunity is a brand-new school, and comes with a local cost much lower than what most other communities pay.  Finally, total school taxes with the new bond in place will be less than what they are now.

Final questions

Ballots were mailed on April 6 and voters must return their marked ballots by April 24.  If anyone has questions about this project, please feel free to contact me at 360-875-6041.  You can also contact any of our board members:  Steve Rogers, Chuck Spoor, Todd Strozyk, Dave Eastham, or Andy Seaman.  Others who have information include Mike Morris, Gary Wilson, and principal Kresta Byington.  You can also find information online at bit.ly/newsouthbendelementary.

Thank you for your serious consideration on this important opportunity for South Bend kids.