The FMP process is common practice for school districts and is usually contracted out to a firm with extensive experience in the facilities planning field.

The average age of our buildings in the district is 62 years.

The FMP will bring these factors together in one report and recommend multiple paths forward – from making needed upgrades to each of our current district facilities, to consolidating some schools and building new ones.

The Facilities Master Plan is more accurately described as an analysis followed by a set of recommendations. Think of the “plan” as a map – it will show us our current location on the facilities landscape and provide multiple routes to get to various destinations. The district will revisit and update this “map,” if you will, each year to keep it up-to-date as the facilities landscape changes over the next five, 10 and 20 years.

Facilities actions that trustees take as a result of the plan recommendations would need to be specific, publicly noticed board action items – a process that would span the course of multiple board meetings.

Helena IR: From the superintendent: School master plan a 'map' to help guide district