The Prescott School Board voted at its June meeting to move forward with a survey of residents this fall that will outline projects found necessary for building safety or educational reasons during a facility study the district had done last year.

The district has been working with SDS Architects, which has looked over district buildings and is recommending improvements. The survey will be conducted by School Perceptions and will include detailed information about possible improvements that could come back to the voters for approval in a coming referendum election.

With the exception of the new high school building, visitors aren’t directed into the main office areas in other buildings, where the office is centrally located in the facility.

“We have looked at safe, controlled entrance ways for students,” school Communications Specialist Andrea Herzan told the school board. “By taking those steps, we could open up where the current office areas are at Malone and the Intermediate schools and repurpose that space.”

The survey will be meant to inform the community of the facility needs and possible projects, as well as to find out what the community would support.

The district chose School Perceptions from three firms considered. All have had a good track record of providing data back to schools on successful referendum projects in recent years.

Superintendent Dr. Rick Spicuzza pointed out that using a firm that provides background material on possible projects is important, especially given that the district is unable to hold community forum-type meetings at this time to go over building needs.

“We haven’t been able to hold town hall meetings where we can invite people into our buildings and give the coffee talk and inform people about the structural issues and inform people about the safety issues and the prioritization the board has put forward,” he said.

The survey would provide data on what district taxpayers would be willing to spend to support the projects.

Information from the surveys would be submitted to the school board in late fall, and the board could then “decide what and how much the scope of the project you might want to pursue.

It was pointed out that in the April election, 24 of 26 referendum votes School Perceptions was involved in passed.

Other companies do telephone surveys, but School Perceptions would be on paper and include building designs.

What we’re talking about with Malone Intermediate and the elementary school is about having a secure entranceway. We want to be able to funnel people through. We can show what it looks like,” Spicuzza said.

Board president Mike Matzek said he felt any survey has to get out the maximum amount of information based on how isolated the COVID-19 pandemic has made the community.

“For me, the biggest difference (with School Perceptions) is it’s a double use for us. In this time we’re in with COVID, we aren’t very visible. There’s not a lot of avenues for people to get information from us,” he said. “It’s a survey, but it’s also a pamphlet of information for people to get them educated. That’s a big difference compared to a phone call where you’re getting canned questions.”

Projects that could come before voters in April 2021 include some larger maintenance projects, building safety and projects what would give better academic efficiency in buildings.

Board members were all in favor of the informational aspect of a printed survey going to all homes in the district, and the measure passed unanimously and will hit mailboxes in the fall.

The board held a special meeting with SDS on April 29 to discuss possible facility proposals that the district said “address four of its key priorities: creating safe, secure and controlled entranceways, maintaining the structural and operation integrity of its buildings, determining best grade configuration per building, and optimizing physical spaces to support programming and the district’s current academic model.”

SDS did in depth studies of Malone Elementary, Malone Intermediate and Prescott Middle School last summer. In addition to building security items, maintenance items found included some roof work and electrical, plumbing and HVAC upgrades. SDS also found “shortcomings with regard to room designs and poor amenities to meet some of the secondary curricular programs at Prescott Middle School.”