Westlake expects excellence in every aspect of community life, but today the public school buildings are in dire need of updating. From outside the walls of the schools may look fine, but within and behind the walls they are inadequate in terms of safety and space. The problems are well documented:

• 93% of building systems (electrical, roofs, windows, HVAC, security, etc.) were assessed inadequate.
• $66 million is needed just to repair those deficiencies and bring the schools up to standard by fixing leaking roofs, decaying walls and windows, antiquated heating and circulation systems and other structural problems.
• The schools are seriously overcrowded with students taught in trailers and converted bathrooms, hallways and closets not conducive to a quality, 21st-century education.
• Access for handicapped and special needs students fails today’s standards and many are unable to benefit from adaptive equipment due to space constraints.
• Patching immediate problems would cost an additional $9 million per year for the next 5 years, or 20% of the annual school operating budget. A stopgap plan to patch only the worst emergencies would cost $3 million per year and would take critical dollars away from education, while not even addressing the core problems. The conditions affect educational excellence, and problems and costs will only compound if the district does temporary patches or nothing at all.  

The solution is well reasoned, vetted and recommended. To address the problem, the district launched a comprehensive, data-driven, 26-month planning process engaging Westlake citizens and professional facilities experts.

The result was an in-depth needs analysis and a phased, cost-effective plan to address facility needs. While numerous alternatives were considered, the 20/20 Citizens Committee, the experts and the district all agreed that these problems must be addressed now.

All of the engaged parties agreed that:

• Problems and costs will compound dramatically if the district tries to avoid the problem, do too little or fail to start now.
• Continuing to simply “patch” the schools won’t address pressing needs and will cost far more than doing the job right.
• The plan is efficient, effective and educationally sound.
• The most cost-effective way to deal with these problems is to start now, especially given today’s lower construction and financing costs.
  

The Plan to Protect Our Schools and Taxpayers does the following:

• Makes the essential repairs and upgrades to declining building systems;
• Renovates and adds space at Lee Burneson Middle School for an intermediate school for grades 5-6;
• Builds a new middle school for grades 7-8 near the existing one; and
• Rebuilds an extensive portion of Westlake High School while preserving the additions made in 2005.
  

The 3.4-mill bond issue will fund the first phase of improvements and will cost $8.68 per month per $100,000 of property value. The bond will raise sufficient funds to bring Westlake school buildings up to code and provide a learning environment to keep the schools excellent and the Westlake community top-rated in the 21st century.

This incremental plan solves the problem once and for all, saves hundreds of thousands in operating costs annually, and is fiscally responsible. It is not a Cadillac solution – more like a solid Chevy.

The plan provides a responsible approach to fix an urgent problem that will grow to unmanageable levels without action now. This amount of millage for this issue allows Westlake to retain its position of being in the bottom 25% of school taxes in the county.

Kim Bonvissuto is the Communications Coordinator for Westlake City Schools.