Key Building Improvements on the Horizon for FHSD
A brand-new Five-Year Capital Improvement Plan is laying out, in specifics, upcoming renovations, improvements and upgrades to facilities in Forest Hills School District. The document is the result of many months of work by FHSD administrators, who have been gathering data and carefully prioritizing projects to maintain quality, safe facilities throughout the district.
The capital improvement plan, which will be updated annually, provides a list of anticipated facilities projects to take place over the coming five years. It is broken down year-by-year to easily explain the timeframe for which various needs are expected to be addressed.
This plan is also a key part of FHSD’s commitment to fiscal responsibility, by providing information to taxpayers and the broader community about how permanent improvement levy funds will be used and related decisions will be made. Voters in Forest Hills approved a combination levy in May 2023, which included 1.5 mills for the Permanent Improvement Fund (PI Fund). The district is grateful for the continued support of the community in its efforts to provide a safe and secure learning environment for all students.
District administrators recently commissioned an independent, third-party review of all FHSD properties and facilities to help inform the overall decision-making and prioritization process. This report provides more than 700 pages of detailed evaluations of FHSD buildings and grounds, and it was conducted by Four Seasons Environmental, Inc. (FSE). You can view the facilities assessment here, but please note that final decisions indicated in the district’s Five-Year Capital Improvement Plan may differ from recommendations made by FSE. FHSD leadership used this independent data, as well as institutional expertise and historical knowledge, to develop the five-year planning cycle.
Due to the large number of existing needs identified, the district cannot address all of them at the same time. FSHD will use the available permanent improvement funding to target the highest priority and most critical projects first.
The district estimates that work scheduled to begin in the summer of 2024 will cost, in total, about $5.7 million. A large portion of that total, approximately $2.4 million, will be used to address critical roof restorations or replacements at Anderson and Turpin High Schools, Mercer and Summit Elementary Schools, and Central Office. Other anticipated projects include a new pathway at the Maddux Elementary playground, facade restoration at Nagel Middle School, lighting rack updates in the Turpin High School auditorium, resurfacing Anderson High School tennis courts and more.
New Webpage for Project Updates
As an added way to keep the community informed and up-to-date on the status of the capital improvement plan and related projects, FHSD has added a new page to the website here: www.foresthills.edu/departments/facilities/ongoing-projects/
This webpage will serve as a hub of information about the Five-Year Capital Improvement Plan, and the goal is to also include regular updates and photos as the different projects progress. It will be a helpful page to reference if you want to stay up-to-date on the capital improvement plan and any ongoing facilities projects.
