Growth is inevitable.
Over the last 8 months there has been a lot of work gathering information about community growth, working with the City of Columbus, meeting with developers, meeting with stakeholders, talking with focus groups of teachers, and most recently getting our enrollment study updated. There is one definitive result, the City of Columbus and Columbus Public Schools are going to grow between now and 2030.
Most of this data was influential in the decision for CPS to seek a bond referendum in November of 2023 and then again in May of 2024. One takeaway from the prior plan to address growth is that it attempted to solve too many problems at one time. One paramount emphasis on our most recent process is to find a “single solution” to impact multiple buildings and growth stress points as possible. We also recognize that the residential construction is now visible to the public, making the pending growth feel much more real.
Using our updated data, we know that CPS will see the addition of 450 students over the next five school years. This will grow our District enrollment to nearly 4,600 students in grades PK-12. Initially, we know that this will create growth stress points at Columbus Middle School and all five elementary buildings. We have explored boundary solutions for the elementary schools, but the fact exists that space is not available for additional sections or larger classrooms.
Currently, the most effective solution on the table is to build an intermediate school to house grades 4 and 5 for the school district. If this building opened today it would already have 630 students. The building would be part of a campus concept at the Middle School, but would be an entirely separate building located on the north end of the property. This building would not share any academic space or services with the Middle School. The feedback encouraging this plan are as follows:
Solves crowding at six buildings - CMS, Centennial, Emerson, Lost Creek, North Park, and West Park.
Puts two grades together with social-emotional and curricular similarities.
Increases extended academic and program offerings for both grade levels.
Qualifies CPS for a two-year new site allowance for additional staffing.
Will save approximately $5M in construction costs due to already existing infrastructure like roads, sewer, water, electrical, and parking.
The anticipated cost for a basic building design of 90,000 square feet including a gym, cafeteria, kitchen, classrooms, and offices would be less than $40M - impacting the levy by less than 5 cents. (These numbers are estimates)
There are still a lot of other items to consider and work through. Should this be the plan going forward and passes then a traffic study and collaboration with the City of Columbus would begin.
CPS will be holding several community meetings, focus groups, and working with as many stakeholders and CPS staff as possible to gather feedback on the potential plan. Nothing is official, and the Board of Education is committed to getting as much feedback as possible before bringing any construction plan forward. The first community meeting will be held on Wednesday, April 2nd at 6:30pm in the Columbus High School Concert Hall.
Again, the funds received from a school bond (if passed) can only be used as specified in the bond question for capital construction projects.
One question we have received is how does this impact the District in other ways, for example:
Safety and Security that was part of the May 2024 Bond Issue. All of those items are being addressed with the current QCPUF project and will be completed in 2025.
Elementary Kitchens will be addressed through the special building fund over a 5-year time period.
What about the 3rd Avenue Property the District purchased? That will be earmarked as a future Elementary School Site. The very large housing development going up out there will need to be completed before CPS considers development of the school site. The goal is that infrastructure exists before the school does construction to lessen the cost of the school. Also, this would only occur after current Elementary Schools could no longer handle the growth/enrollment. Some of the undeveloped acres owned by CPS would be sold at some point in the future.
Isn’t the High School going to grow? That answer is yes. Several factors will drive any addition to the High School. One is obviously enrollment while the next is programming (offerings). We are currently around 1,300 students at the HS and once the Intermediate Building plan would move forward (potentially) we would begin working on the “stress point” for enrollment and programming that would necessitate an addition at CHS. This is likely a 2028-2030 window to address. An addition may not require a bond issue. Strategic planning and stakeholder input will be critical.
The growth in Columbus is occurring beyond the 10-year window of growth studies done in 2014 when CPS conducted the bond referendum for the High School. It would have been impossible to predict the current boom in residential construction and the impact on CPS from 2026 forward. CPS is open to working with the community to determine the best possible solution for our youth and community.