Keokuk, IA – The Keokuk School District has created and utilized facility planning committees for years. The panels have been made up of local residents.
The district is taking a different approach this time around.
The Keokuk School Board will hear proposals from three Des Moines-area architectural firms during a special meeting on Monday, November 30. Business Manager Greg Reynolds says the firms will be asked to provide background, references, and examples of work.
Reynolds says the district wants a long-range plan that reviews existing facilities, determines future needs, and prioritizes those needs. He says the district believes out-of-town firms will provide a fresh set of eyes and an independent perspective.
Reynolds says the school board could award a contract at its first meeting following the Nov. 30 proposal review. He says it could take about nine months to complete the district's long-range facilities plan.
The estimated price tag is around $35,000.
The plan is also crucial to city-sponsored improvements. Representatives of the Keokuk School District and the Keokuk City Council met for about an hour to discuss needs at Joyce Park and the city tennis courts.
Both sides agreed that future improvements would be based on available funding and how the projects rank in the long-range facility improvement plan.