D49 Chief Operations Officer Pedro Almeida presented the topic of adding a middle school to the D49 portfolio of schools at the board of education meeting on Thursday, June 10, 2021.

District 49 is growing at a sustained and rapid pace, resulting in a continual need to grow school capacity.  Since 2016, we have increased elementary school capacity with the construction of two new elementary schools and the construction of the ALLIES building.  Increasing middle school capacity to meet the demands of student growth is the next critical step in our growth planning.    

Our current middle school student population is already beyond the capacity of our core facilities, thereby requiring reliance upon temporary modular buildings to meet our student needs in Grades 6-8. While this strategy has provided temporary solutions, it is neither sustainable nor prudent to depend upon temporary structures to meet our long-term student demand. Our students and our community expect the district to provide safe and effective learning environments for both our current and future student population.  

At the completion of the proposed projects, we will have added 1,200 middle school student seat capacity to educate our Grade 6-8 students.

$85 million is budgeted for the project and is already provided through current MLO funding.  The Chief Budget Officer will provide further details on funding process in the June 23, 2021, board meeting.

PDF Presentation: D49 Building Capacity for Middle School Education

D49 Chief Business Officer, Brett Ridgway, presents to the Board of Education (June 23, 2021) the current financing methods District 49 uses for capital and operational expenses.

District 49 began using Certificates of Participation (CoP’s) to finance capital construction. This innovation has allowed D49 to pursue needed capital additions and improvements without going into debt and avoiding bond capacity limits set by the state.

As District 49 grows, we will see a good correlation between the additional students coming to the district, and the growth of assessed [property] value. As the D49 budget grows in step with our expanding community by way of our fixed-rate MLO, we can financially plan for new elementary and middle schools as needed.

In some circles, our strategy is known as the “D49 Method” and has been adopted by other school districts realizing the strategic benefits of our plan and recognizing the success in community support that comes with it.

In September of 2019 we extended an open invitation to our families, staff and community to join us for a series of discussions in which we explored the successes of the 3B MLO of 2016 and our Building Our Future Community Plan along with an interactive conversation about challenges facing our district when we consider serving our rapidly growing community. On this page you will find a recording of one of three community meetings held during the month of September, along with the slides presented to the audience during these meetings. Finally, you will also find a feedback survey. We invite you to share your voice and provide insights to help us make important decisions in planning for a bright future for D49.

PDF Presentation: District Growth & Future Planning