School Options Narrowed

BV School Options Narrowed

Study Suggests New PMMS May Be Best

The Buena Vista Joint Facilities Committee, composed of members from the City Council and School Board, convened last Wednesday to review the results of a comprehensive feasibility study on the city’s aging school buildings. The results, presented by engineers from Energy Systems Group (ESG), suggest that building a new middle school near Parry McCluer High School may be the best choice for the city.

The study presented life cycle cost analyses for three options: doing nothing, renovating existing facilities, or constructing new schools.

The results of the study build on years of discussion and earlier evaluations. In 2021, a limited facilities study prompted a proposal to consolidate Buena Vista’s two elementary schools and middle school into a single 99,500-square-foot building near Parry McCluer High School. That proposal, estimated at $36 million, was never acted upon. Last May, Mayor Tyson Cooper tasked the committee with forecasting the city’s school needs for the next 20 years and delivering a proposal by March 2025.

The feasibility study analyzed costs over a 30-year period, presenting projected outcomes for each of the three options. The report’s findings were clearest for Parry Mc-Cluer Middle School: building a new facility would be the most cost-effective option.

Among the key considerations was the comparative cost efficiency of new construction; addressing PMMS’s aging infrastructure proactively would avoid unpredictable and potentially higher costs from unplanned repairs.

Meanwhile, simplified parking and bus logistics could reduce the need for school buses and drivers. And there are revenue opportunities as well: a modernized school could attract more families to Buena Vista, increasing tuition and tax revenue.

The analysis was less conclusive for Enderly and Kling elementary schools. The age of those buildings is less concerning than the middle school’s; however, Enderly’s open-air design poses ongoing safety and security challenges, while Kling requires significant repairs, including HVAC replacement and roof repairs.

Initially, renovations appeared to be the best option for the elementary schools. However, after committee members revised some of ESG’s assumptions, particularly the potential value of Kling’s property, engineers acknowledged that updated data might favor constructing a new elementary school instead.

The meeting also revisited the idea of consolidating Buena Vista’s schools into a single campus for pre-K through eighth grade near Parry McCluer High School. Consolidation could simplify transportation, reduce costs, and create greater convenience for families navigating multiple school locations. ESG warned, however, that delaying decisions on the elementary schools could result in higher costs if construction were split into two phases instead of one. At the conclusion of the meeting, the committee tasked ESG with narrowing their recommendations to three options: building a new middle school, constructing a middle school while reevaluating elementary schools in 10 years, and building a consolidated pre-K through eighth grade school near Parry McCluer High School.

Mayor Cooper’s timeline for the project remains ambitious. He aims to finalize a proposal by March, with a referendum on this November’s ballot. If approved, construction could begin as early as 2026 or 2027.