Community Input Being Gathered on School Needs

From the AACPS Communications Office:

MGT of America, the company charged with conducting the new school facilities study for Anne Arundel County Public Schools and the Anne Arundel County Government, is continuing to accept public input as to how the county should eradicate its infrastructure backlog and undertake school construction or renovation projects.

A series of questions designed to elicit opinions about schools and instruction can be found in English here and in Spanish here.

MGT previously held public meetings on March 24 and 26. The firm will compile the information from these surveys and use it to guide discussions at public meetings in May, the district says. An overview of the study process can be found here.

The $313,667 contract between MGT of America and the county will develop a new blueprint for renovation and construction over the coming decade. It calls for work to be performed and a report submitted in time to shape decisions for the Fiscal Year 2017 capital budget, which will be presented to the Board of Education in September.

MGT, which conducted the 2006 study on which the last decade of school construction projects has been based, will utilize some of the historical documentation it has on hand from that effort as well as new information gleaned from this initiative.

As part of the process, MGT will:

• review the current and future facility implications of the educational programs delivered by the district, including an examination of class and school size (inclusive of small school models) in relation to peer districts and best practices.
• update the household yield rates used in the district’s enrollment projections.
• refine the district’s facility capacity ratings and enrollment projections to develop utilization rates by school and determine the need for new schools or additions to existing schools.
• assess building and site condition, technology readiness, and educational suitability of existing facilities through site visits to each school.
• gather public and stakeholder input by conducting public meetings, an online survey, and interviews with county and school system leadership.
• identify budget implications for short-term and long-term recommendations.

A final report will be delivered to the Board of Education in August.

The MGT study was previous discussed at Board of Education meetings on November 5, 2014, andFebruary 18, 2015. Click on the date to see the videos of those discussions.