Breaking News: Amid challenges, SPS aims for ‘reset’ in new facility master plan

Lower enrollment, higher operating costs and a slate of critical building needs is expected to shape a new facility master plan unlike any in recent decades for Springfield Public Schools.

Top officials said tough decisions, including school consolidations and closures, are likely as the state’s largest district crafts a facility blueprint that impacts its operational and financial future.

Firms hired to evaluate the condition of 65 campuses – 4.81 million square feet – have identified $422 million in facility needs for the next five years. Of that, 39%, or $165 million, was described as high or critical needs.

A demographic report, completed as part of the facility master planning process, showed current K-12 enrollment is just over 22,000 – 2,000 students below peak enrollment in 2019, just before a global pandemic – and is expected to drop by 3,200 students in the next decade.

David Sturtz, founder and CEO of Ohio-based Sturtz & Co. LLC, said the plan is “not all doom and gloom, it’s a reset button.” Other companies involved in the plan include Colorado-based Capital AE and Springfield’s Paragon Architecture.

“Now is the time to redesign your schools again, design your district. How many schools, at what sizes, in what locations can we have that allows us to afford today and for the foreseeable future our desired level of service,” Sturtz said in an interview. “Start there and start to chip away at that over time.”

SPS officials said the district is taking action now in an effort to ensure staffing and services remain intact.

Consultants, including Sturtz, said the challenges faced by SPS mirror what is happening across Missouri and the U.S. They said lower birth rates and more educational options – such as private school and homeschooling – impact enrollment and funding. There is also increased uncertainty around state and federal funding levels, officials said.

Sturtz said districts in similar positions that postpone tough but proactive decisions have ended up in “emergency financial deficit spending situations,” and those are avoidable.

“You need newer schools, fewer schools, financially stronger schools in better condition,” he said.

Superintendent Grenita Lathan said the facility master plan process includes collecting data, engaging with a 60-member advisory council and studying options. A series of focus groups for business and nonprofit leaders, students, teachers and older adults are planned.

“We encourage our community to participate in this discussion so that we can develop a vision and plan that will best serve both our students and our community for the long term,” Lathan said in a news release. “As we begin, it is important to understand that no final recommendations have been identified."

The public is invited to provide feedback from 5:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m. Oct. 19 at Glendale High School and Oct. 20 at Central High School.

“These complicated factors threaten the district’s current fiscal position, and now is the opportunity to make strategic, lasting improvements,” Lathan saidthe release. “An updated facility master plan will provide our Board of Education the data and recommendations it needs to make these critical decisions in a proactive manner.”

The last facility master plan prompted bond issues approved by voters in 2019 and 2023. Final projects from the $220 million bond issue – passed with nearly 78% support – are in progress. SPS officials said the new facility master plan will guide planning for the upcoming decade and may prompt a future bond issue.

Stephen Hall, chief communications officer, said the district does not want to be reactive.

“By working with this team now, we’re able to make some really wise strategic decisions that can be much more thoughtful than they would be in a more emergent situation,” he said.

Following input, the district is expected to present a report to the board in December. In spring 2027, the board will be asked to adopt a facility master plan and may appoint a Community Task Force on Facilities to help prioritize facility needs.

SPS officials said the firms hired to evaluate facilities looked at every building from foundation to roof plus parking lots, athletic facilities and playgrounds.

A look at facility upgrades needed in the next five years showed plumbing – at a cost of $182 million – was the highest, followed by HVAC, exterior issues, interior issues and then safety and security.

Josh Chism, president of Capital AE, said the average age of facilities in the district is 56, and the older buildings – the ones not renovated or rebuilt in recent bond issues – have greater needs.

“A lot of these buildings are reaching a point where the plumbing and sewer lines underneath the slab, electrical wiring behind the walls, is coming to you for replacement,” Chism said.

The preliminary report ranked the 10 schools in worst condition, starting with Bowerman Elementary and followed by Rountree Elementary, Pleasant View K-8, Gray Elementary, Campbell Early Childhood Center, Glendale High School, Weller Elementary, Twain Elementary, Cowden Elementary and Shady Dell Early Childhood Center.

The firms looked at capacity, determining there were 30,000 students available across the school buildings, roughly the same level available a decade ago.

The assessments also identified the number of classrooms in each building that were under the standard size of 700 square feet, which is the minimum for new schools built in the district. In seven schools, 50% or more of the classrooms were not big enough.

According to data from the facility review, the cost per student varies widely by school – but is the most pronounced at the elementary level, where it fluctuates between $7,800 and $12,100.

Sturtz said that spending cuts in recent years and the growth of Launch Virtual Learning, which serves more than 400 districts across the state, allowed the district to maintain a level of service and balance the budget.

“Moving forward, that cannot. Those two levels are not enough,” he said. “The district is going to need to find additional efficiencies in order to maintain the level of service. You can’t keep reducing staff enough to cover the loss of 3,000 students over the next 10 years.”