La Cañada Unified invites public feedback for facilities master plan
La Cañada Unified School District will hold a town hall forum on Jan. 23 to get public feedback on the elements of a proposed facilities master plan that could shape future school building and planning projects in the decades ahead.
In a school board meeting Tuesday, Chief Business and Operations Officer Mark Evans presented an update on the master plan process, which has included consultants from the Irvine-based firm LPA, Inc. visiting all school campuses and talking with employees about infrastructure needs and wishes.
Rick Musto and Lindsay Hayward shared with board members some of the initial input received from school administrators, teachers and classified employees, as well as students, and provided an updated timeline for the document’s completion.
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“We looked at each of the components that go into a typical school — elementary programs, secondary programs, athletics, special education, maintenance and operations, food service, technology, career tech, the Child Education Center — and we had specialists from each of those components meet with us individually,” Musto told board members.
The consultants worked with school staff to envision how 21st-century classrooms and campuses might be designed and function when used by multiple groups. Some of the early designs and sketches will be up for review at the Jan. 23 town hall forum, set to take place at 6:30 p.m. in the La Cañada High School auditorium, 4463 Oak Grove Drive.
“We want as much feedback as possible, because we never get it right on the first try, nor should we,” Hayward explained.
Musto said LPA hopes to have the master plan finalized sometime in July, based on recent estimates.
Last February, LCUSD Supt. Wendy Sinnette announced the creation of a facilities master plan would be an important first step in the district’s pursuit of a general obligation bond in November 2017 to pay for infrastructure upgrades across all school campuses.
Financial consultants have indicated the district could seek to raise anywhere from $43.2 million to $128.8 million, depending on which tax assessment scenario they choose, but no formal decisions have been made.
On Tuesday, Hayward explained the master plan is intended to give a “10,000-foot view” of the district’s needs, rather than to provide specific details on how buildings or outdoor spaces will be designed or built. But she assured board members future updates would only enhance, not replace, today’s school sites.
“You guys have beautiful campuses,” Hayward said. “We’re looking to supplement that, not change it wholeheartedly. There are great (architectural) bones at all of your campuses. We want to maintain that as much as possible and enhance it as we move forward.”
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Sara Cardine, sara.cardine@latimes.com
Twitter: @SaraCardine
