Ohio consultant to help craft facility master plan for Grand Latrobe School District

The Greater Latrobe School Board has selected a Cincinnati, Ohio-based company to help the district develop an updated facilities master plan.

The board retained this week SHP provide facilities planning and visualization services. The company’s pricing structure has not been finalized but “will align with district goals and budget expectations,” according to Kurt Thomas, director of facilities, operations and planning.

Under its agreement with the district, SHP will help formulate a facilities plan that builds on the existing Grand Latrobe capital improvement plan. The updated plan aims to provide a basis for evaluating short-term maintenance options and potential long-term modernization or reconstruction of old school buildings that may require special attention.

Deputy Superintendent Michael Porembka noted that there are “several buildings in the neighborhood that need to be renovated. When you do a renovation, you don’t just look today. You envision a building that is to last 25 or 30 years.

Porembka was chosen to succeed Georgia Teppert when she retires as superintendent in January.

The most recent major facilities project at the Grand Latrobe was the construction of the $ 24.8 million Latrobe Elementary School. Opened on December 4, 2018, it replaced a nearby century-old building that initially housed the city’s high school, then served for a time as a college.

Among the areas, the updated facilities plan will address: use of space, including classrooms; Infrastructure; public services; access to the building, vehicle traffic and parking; compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act; sustainability, including potential alternative energy sources; and a master schedule for the proposed capital improvements.

Developing the plan will include collecting feedback from focus groups and establishing a community advisory team. Open forum meetings with the community are planned.

Thomas said the school board wanted “to establish a district-wide facilities master plan that is educationally fantastic, financially responsible and community supported.”

The planning process is expected to span one year and be completed by December 2022.

“It will be a highly motivated and community-involving process,” said Thomas. In addition to providing a learning environment, he noted, district schools are “places of work for our teachers; they are community centers for our community.

Founded in 1901, SHP is a leading American company involved in the planning and design of educational institutions.

“Their vast experience in the K-12 educational vision and audience engagement process sets them apart from other companies,” said Thomas.