Every four years the state requires that school districts convene a local planning committee to determine what facilities projects should be prioritized and placed on the district facilities plan.
The Daviess County Public Schools local planning committee will have its first meeting at 5:30 p.m. Thursday in the Daviess County High School cafeteria, at 4255 New Hartford Road. During that meeting, the local planning committees will receive an orientation.
Local planning committee sizes are determined by district sizes. For DCPS that means the committee is composed of four parents, four teachers, four building administrators, the district director of maintenance, one person representing the district central office, three community leaders, a school board member, a representative from the local building and zoning, and the superintendent.
Its task is to develop the district facilities plan, from which the district bases its construction and renovation projects for the next four years. The district facilities plan determines how the district can spend restricted funds from the state specifically for facilities.
Districts cannot complete construction projects with those restricted funds unless the project is on the district facilities plan, according to DCPS Director of Finance Sara Harley.
For example, the district’s current major construction projects — building the new Daviess County Middle School and renovating Apollo High School — are on its current facilities plan.
Harley said the district is currently in a good spot, with very few of its buildings in need of major repairs.
“(This DFP) is going to be things like roofs, flooring, smaller projects,” she said. “We’re not going to be doing major renovations. The next cycle might be different, but for this cycle, it’s going to be maintaining our properties, which is also important.”
Typically local planning committees tour district facilities to determine needs, but because of COVID-19, they won’t be able to do that.
The DCPS local planning committee will also be hosting public forums at 5:30 p.m. on Nov. 17 and Nov. 23 in the DCHS cafeteria. The forums are open to the public.
Those in attendance at any of the meetings are required to follow health and safety procedures, including wearing face masks/coverings and maintaining social distancing.
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