What's coming next in South Bend school facility planning? Here's what you need to know

SOUTH BEND — The South Bend task force exploring options for the future use of school buildingslikely won't meet again until December.

The task force met once in a public meeting this fall and canceled a second, public meeting that was supposed to take place Oct. 18.

Assistant Superintendent Kareemah Fowler said this was due to other priorities in the district's finance office, including setting the next year's budget and negotiating the sale of the corporation's downtown administration building to the city of South Bend.

"We just didn't think that we were going to be able to give it the amount of time and attention that it needs, so we needed to review our strategy," Fowler said. "We're not on hold, though."

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In a September meeting, consultants led task force members through a discussion of student enrollment by building, district feeder patterns and academic offerings, including the corporation's magnet program. The task force, at the time, did not bring any specific recommendations, but planners made broad statements that "everything has to be on the table."

The task force was created in the early spring to consider potential uses for what Fowler says amounts to about $32 million yet to be used from the district's $54 million capital referendum, passed in 2020.

The corporation has now tasked its consultants with the architecture firm Fanning Howey to prepare cost estimates for projects to bring to the community in future meetings. One such project under consideration is an expansion at Kennedy Academy where Fowler said the school is "overflowing" with students.

"We know that Kennedy needs a buildout or something, but until we get through all of the primary schools, we don't know what that looks like," Fowler said.

The discussion comes as South Bend schools grapples with enrollment change. The district has lost more than 10,000 students since 2007 and expects to see its enrollment decline by nearly another 1,000 students by the 2026-27 school year, according projections from the district. Only one of the district's four high schools is near its full capacity.

In the spring, the task force brought forward several ideas, including one to repurpose Clay High School into a career center or athletic complex and to consolidate some 6th through 12th grade students into the Clay International Academy building.

That concept was met with pushback from some parents in the area and the district's consultants ultimately decided to move forward with recommendations this summer only for investments in existing buildings, such as using some of the district's capital referendum for renovations and deferred maintenance at Washington High School.

A $5 million to $6 million investment in the school, for example, could bring bigger labs and more "student-centered spaces" to the building which currently houses South Bend's medical magnet program.

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The consultants also recommended the district consider a regional career center to be constructed in a location central to the district. They did not, however, discuss at the time what this would cost.

Both of these items were presented to school board members, but not met with a vote.

Fowler told The Tribune on Thursday that the district still has interest in a career center, but that she expects other projects, such as investments at Washington, will take priority. Administrators would like to explore the cost and need for projects at other schools, such as Kennedy, before bringing recommendations to the school board, so that the district can issue bonds for all anticipated school projects, once decided, at the same time.

While earlier discussions centered on the high school level, Fowler said facility teams are now prioritizing feeder patterns and how elementary and middle schools lead into the upper grades. Planners are also looking at what is needed to support the district's commitment to expanding its pre-kindergarten program, which could require facility adjustments such as lowered toilets and sinks.

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"They're just looking at all the buildings again — all the elementary and middle schools," Fowler said of the district's consultants. "They're not looking at anything outside of what we're already discussed."

At least one school board candidate is now campaigning on a platform to "Save" schools in the district's Clay Township neighborhoods. Early voting is now open for school board races and election day this year is Nov. 8.

Though the races are on administrators' mind, Fowler said the decision to delay meetings was not driven by elections, but rather a focus on giving planners the time they needed to evaluate plans needed to serve the full scope of the South Bend district.

Fowler said planners are not done in their work looking at the district's four high schools, but that she doesn't expect "any real game-changers" coming out in future recommendations for those buildings. She said no decisions yet have been made about schools in Clay Township, but that its buildings couldn't be separated from the broader study of facilities across the district.

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"We can't isolate that from the rest of the district ... when we all know that that is the area that we're spending the most money on ... whether it be bussing or the cost of the building," Fowler said. "We have to figure out some innovative strategies around Clay and at this point, I don't know what that is."

The district plans to convene a series of community meetings before bringing recommendations to the school board. Dates have not yet been set, Fowler said, but administrators anticipate the meetings could take place some time in December and that more information will be communicated about a month in advance.

Email South Bend Tribune education reporter Carley Lanich at clanich@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter: @carleylanich.

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: What's coming next in South Bend school facility planning?