Capital Planning and Facility Improvements

The Chagrin Falls Exempted Village School District Board of Education and administration serve as the guardians of publicly owned facilities. The district publishes (annually) a comprehensive Facility Improvement Plan (FIP) that serves as a guide for current and future capital expenditures aligned with district priorities, as well as articulates the District’s long-range facility master plan. The Facilities Improvement Plan process began a number of years ago. Then in November 2019, the district published the first Facility Improvement Plan.

Annually, the District utilizes the FIP to identify capital projects for the current fiscal year, as well as those included in the District’s five-year forecast. The FIP identifies, prioritizes, and describes the rationale for capital project selection and deferral. The FIP integrates the District’s strategic plan, Facilities Master Plan, and ongoing maintenance plan, and considers the competing needs and requirements of the District.

The Chagrin Falls Exempted Village School District utilizes two planning committees for facilities: the Facility Master Planning Committee (FMPC) and the Capital Planning Committee (CPC).

The Facility Master Planning Committee (FMPC) works to develop a long-term (10 - 15 years) vision for District facilities. This committee produces a comprehensive report that serves as a living document that serves as a guidepost for capital improvements, renovations, and construction. In October 2019 the district published a Facilities Master Plan. This was a comprehensive process engaging all stakeholders and the district will be completing this approximately every 5-7 years. The master plan is evaluated and referenced annually based on capital improvements throughout the District by the Board Capital Planning Committee (CPC).

The Board Capital Planning Committee (BCPC) is appointed by the Board of Education to support the Board in providing the desired level of governance over the facilities needed to best support and accommodate the current and future needs of the District.

The CPC oversees the development and implementation of the FIP while aligning the District's facility maintenance and improvement priorities with the annual and 5-year budgets. The CPC reviews reports on the adequacy and condition of capital assets; develops and periodically reviews protocols and processes; and advocates for adequate levels of funding for priority capital improvements as well as building maintenance and operations. District Committee structures can be found at this link on our website.

Gurney Preschool - Early Learning Village

We are excited to share that our Gurney Preschool program is growing once again!

Beginning with the 2023-2024 school year, Gurney Preschool will be expanding its programming in order to meet the increasing demand for our preschool services within the Chagrin Falls community.

Gurney is at capacity and does not have swing spaces that are necessary to meet the needs of our youngest learners. In order to accommodate the space needed for program expansion, on March 3, the Board of Education approved the construction of the Early Learning Village.

The Early Learning Village will have three dedicated preschool classrooms with additional space for small group intervention services and office space. The Early Learning Village will be built behind Gurney and will consist of modular classrooms, similar to those built during the construction of the Intermediate School.

The Early Learning Village will meet all licensing requirements and safety standards imposed on our other buildings and will also have dedicated preschool pick up and drop off space as well as a new preschool playground.

The Gurney preschool team will be reaching out to current preschool families within the next couple of weeks to discuss how changes within the program may affect their child.

Planning for Transportation Facility

The district identified the existing Transportation Facility as a possible project in the year 2019 during the comprehensive review of the district facilities called the FMP Facility Master Plan linked here. The FMP 2019 report showed that the Transportation Facility is undersized and aging with the site needing upgrades as well. A new building could provide two bus bays with adequate space for working on vehicles. Also, a discussion about the new combined facility that includes both Transportation/Maintenance would provide some efficiencies such as both departments using storage, work areas, meeting spaces, offices, restrooms, and other amenities. Also, at the time the facility needed repairs to the existing asphalt paving, fencing/gates, and block heaters. It was recommended that these items be replaced in full, but until the replacement would be more cost-effective (a whole renovation of the facility) because in the end then a series of piecemeal replacements would be more costly. It was recommended these repairs and work be performed at the building replacement.

The board entered into a design contract with TDA (ThEnDesign) to design the new facility. The drawings should be ready around February 2023 and at that time the board may select to put the drawings out for bid to determine the actual cost of construction.

The district has had two more recent board presentations about this project and both of them are linked below:

April 2022 - Board Presentation for Maintenance and Transportation Facility - linked here
November 2022 - Board Presentation for Maintenance and Transportation Facility - linked here

Project Highlights from Recent Years

Summary of Completed Permanent Improvement Projects - In Prior Recent Years

The District made significant progress in improving the quality and increasing the longevity of our school district facilities throughout the 2018-2019 SY and into the 2019-2020 SY. The District invested $1,498,000 in PI projects in FY19. A summary of these FY19 projects can be viewed at this link. Also, the District recently completed the renovation of the Tennis Courts in the summer of 2020 which was a project paid for by the Intermediate School bond funds. The summer of 2020 saw several other PI improvement projects completed with a total of $1,338,000 and a summary of those projects can be found at this link.

Summary of Completed Permanent Improvement Projects - In the Fiscal Year 2021 - (link to detailed summary)

The District completed PI Projects in FY21 aligned with the budget of $1,660,000. The projects included Phase 2 of the HVAC - Six Year Plan, Phase 2 - Five Year Paving Project, Phase 2 of a district-wide roofing plan, an Exterior LED Lighting replacement project, lining of lateral sanitary lines at the 7-12 Campus, and a number of other smaller projects. A detailed summary of all projects for FY2021 can be found in the link to this FY21 project summary.

Summary of Completed Permanent Improvement Projects - In the Fiscal Year 2022 - (link to detailed summary)

The District completed PI Projects in FY22 aligned with the budget of $2,325,000. The projects included Phase 3 of the HVAC - Six Year Plan. Phase 3 of a Five Year Paving Project included some significant improvements to the stormwater management structures on the 7-12 Campus. Also, Phase 3 of a district-wide roofing plan saw two main roofs on the Middle School (Shared Space) completed. In an update to interior LED lighting in all of our cafeterias and gyms. Gurney multipurpose room saw an improvement with new LED lighting, improved flooring, and acoustical panels to improve the overall experience for our students. The Gurney gym also had improvements with new LED lighting and acoustical panels. Fire alarm systems renovations were completed recently at Gurney School and the entire 7-12 Campus. Improvements to flooring in some classrooms at the High School as well as the main entrance to the High School as well as some classrooms at Gurney School are part of our overall ongoing flooring upkeep plan.

Photo Gallery of Recent Project Highlights