Long Beach Study Group to Present Facilities Study Findings

According to the Long Beach School District, at the Nov. 26 Board of Education work session meeting, the district’s facilities study group will present the conclusions of its months-long research into district facility utilization. The meeting will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the middle school auditorium.

Since the facilities study group’s origination in the spring of 2013, this dedicated team, comprised of residents, staff, teachers and administrators, has spent the last several months analyzing the current structure of the district’s buildings and developing the possible benefits and challenges for a variety of potential reorganization concepts.

According to the district, the formulation of the study group was spurred by various factors, including the impacts of Superstorm Sandy, a steady decline in student enrollment, the evolution of instruction and the ongoing financial constriction facing all public schools. The committee was tasked with studying all reasonable organizational structures, including the possibility of school repurposing. The data will ultimately be addressed by the district’s administrative leaders with the Board of Education.

“We had more than 20 individuals who collaborated on this effort,” stated Superintendent of Schools David Weiss. “All of the reasonable options to address district priorities were evaluated. These include maintaining safe and orderly schools, improving the quality of the instructional program and the delivery of services to students, employing effective business operations, and finding efficiencies and cost savings in facilities use.”

The presentation will be led by individual study group members, who will present the benefits and challenges for each of the 11 options to the Board of Education and the public. A public forum on the options will take place on Jan. 21. Residents are encouraged to attend this important forum to contribute to the future direction of the Long Beach Public Schools.