Survey results in, BOE expected to vote on facilities updates
The Vestavia Hills Board of Education will meet for its regularly-scheduled April meeting Wednesday, and members are expected to vote on the district's major facilities plan.
Over the last several months, board members have been discussing and debating the capacity and facilities issues facing the city's schools.
The process began with Superintendent Sheila Phillips holding a series of public forums to gauge concerns and get input from parents and other stakeholders. Hoar Program Management (HPM) then began putting together a series of options.
To get a more complete view of the needs of the district, the board hired Cooperative Strategies to conduct a demographic study of the district, to determine the projected enrollment over the next five to 10 years, as well as the yield of new developments.
After the study, the firm determined that by 2026, the district would probably have just over 8,200 students.
Using this data, HPM refined the options to a final set of four, which were presented to the board at the work session before the April 12 special meeting.
On Wednesday, the BOE agenda includes an item for Phillips to make a recommendation to the board.
During the discussion, Brennan Bell of HPM said that the earliest most of the changes could go into effect is 2019, depending on construction timelines and other factors to be determined at a later date.
The meeting will take place at 6 p.m. at the BOE, which is located at 1204 Montgomery Highway. Seating is limited.
Survey Results
Vestavia Voice conducted a poll with the final four options and a hybrid option, and as of 5 p.m. Tuesday, a total of 432 participants had weighed in made up of 350 parents, 22 teachers or school staff and 56 community members. [Note: This was an unscientific poll intended to simply gauge the opinions of readers. It was not initiated by the BOE and some respondents had questions about the format.]
OPTION 1: Current elementary school alignments and current feeder patterns. Pizitz students, 6th-8th, move to the Berry campus. Vestavia Hills Elementary Central students, 4th-5th, move to the Pizitz campus. VHEC campus becomes an academies facility, where students can specialize in specific programs in 9th-12th.
OPTION 2: Creates alignment at elementary schools K-5th. Pizitz students, 6th-8th, move to Berry campus. VHEC students move to Pizitz campus, which becomes K-5th under new alignment. VHEC campus becomes an academies facility, where students can specialize in specific programs 9th-12th.
OPTION 3: Current elementary school alignments. Both middle schools become 6th-9th. Pizitz students move to Berry campus, and are joined by U.S. 31 corridor 9th graders. Liberty Park Middle School becomes 6th-9th, and are joined by students in east section of city. VHEC students, 4th-5th, move to Pizitz campus, and the VHEC campus is preserved for future use. Vestavia Hills High School becomes 10th-12th.
OPTION 4: Creates alignment at elementary schools K-5th. Both middle schools become 6th-9th. Pizitz students move to Berry campus, and are joined by U.S. 31 corridor 9th graders. Liberty Park Middle School becomes 6th-9th, and are joined by students in east section of city. VHEC students move to Pizitz, which becomes K-5th under new alignment. VHEC campus becomes an academies facility, where students can specialize in specific programs 9th-12th, and VHHS changes to 10th-12th.
HYBRID OPTION 5: This was proposed at the April 12 BOE meeting by Nancy Corona. Creates alignment at elementary schools K-5th. Both middle schools become 6th-9th. Pizitz students move to Berry campus, and are joined but U.S. 31 corridor 9th graders. Liberty Park Middle School becomes 6th-9th, and are joined by students in Cahaba Heights and Liberty Park. VHEC students move to Pizitz, which becomes K-5th under new alignment. VHEC campus is moved offline and preserved for future use, and VHHS changes to 10th-12th.