Vision 2030

Addressing Growing Enrollment in Grades 6-12 

Updated September 17, 2024:

Please click here to view the School Board Meeting Vision 2030 presentation given during the September 17, 2024 School Board Meeting.  You can watch a video presentation from the Board Meeting here.

An update on VISION 2030, the plan to address growth in grades 6-12, was presented during the regularly scheduled School Board Meeting on Tuesday, May 14th.  You can view the presentation video here (the presentation starts at 11 minutes 30 seconds into the meeting). 

Below is a rendering shared during the May 14, 2024, School Board meeting.  It highlights the additions and renovations that are being planned for Parkland High School.

For most of 2023, District Administration and the Parkland Board of School Directors studied options and gathered community feedback on how to address growing enrollment in grades 6-12.  After studying cost projections and looking at many options, the Parkland School Board and Administration moved forward with planning a 60,000 square foot addition at Parkland High School and an addition and renovations at Orefield Middle School.  This decision aligns with community input favoring one high school. It also addresses infrastructure needs for the next decade without buying land or building a new school - costlier options with longer timelines. Regular updates on this project will also be given during School Board Meetings which typically occur on the third Tuesday of the month at 7 PM.  Check the District web calendar to confirm meeting times at www.parklandsd.org.

Our Administrative team and School Board continue to plan for the future of Parkland. As such, the District has contracted with Alloy5 to design an addition to Parkland High School and renovate and expand Orefield Middle School. After exploring many options, the Administration is moving forward with expansion plans for PHS and OMS at a cost of $210M rather than build a 2nd high school and/or a 3rd middle school. To build two new schools, the costs were estimated at $250M for a new high school and $160M for a new middle school - a grand total of $410M. As you can see on the cover of this publication, Parkland High School will gain additions under the plan. The additions will add 26 classrooms, 8 science labs, 4 large group instruction spaces, 4 general labs, additional cafeteria and nurse’s suite space, as well as connect wings at the back of the building to improve traffic flow. The construction project at Parkland High School is slated to commence next year, followed by the project at Orefield Middle School. The OMS site will undergo significant infrastructure upgrades and safety enhancements. These improvements include relocating the bus lot, fueling stations, and bus garage, as well as upgrading the sewer system and addressing stadium considerations. The parking area will be expanded to accommodate more vehicles. Sidewalk repairs will be undertaken to ensure safe pedestrian access. Additionally, new traffic patterns featuring dedicated loops for bus drop-off and parent pick-up will be implemented, alleviating congestion and bolstering safety during high-traffic periods. A new addition at OMS will include team-oriented spaces for middle school teaching teams and allow us to balance the enrollment between the two Parkland Middle Schools.

History of Vision 2030 Planning:

• May 14, 2024, School Board Meeting Presentation on PHS renderings and preliminary plans to renovate the Orefield Middle School and transportation hub site.
• September 26, 2023, School Board Meeting Presentation on Superintendent's recommendation to move forward with pathway A to build an addition on Parkland High School and then to renovate Orefield Middle School. The presentation includes a 5-Year Plan with 15-Year Cost Projection.
• August 15, 2023, School Board Meeting presentation by the Parkland Administration team with an update.  You can also watch the presentation that was given here (the presentation starts 3.5 minutes into the meeting). 
• June 20, 2023, School Board Meeting presentation by RLPS Architects with an update the Feasibility Study.  You can also watch the presentation that was given here (the presentation starts 25 minutes into the meeting). 

In Parkland School District, we offer a public educational program that values the ability to offer a wide variety of experiences for students in Academics, the Arts and Athletics.  As a staff, we are dedicated to the District vision statement, “Educating for Success, Inspiring Excellence.”  A significant challenge in recent years has been that our population continues to grow, as does our student enrollment.  To meet growing needs, the Parkland School District Administration and Board of School Directors have initiated a feasibility study with RLPS Architects that will be focused which will analyze enrollment projections, future building of commercial and residential real estate within the District, and the capacity of our existing facilities so that we can plan for the next 10 years.

The Feasibility Study from 2015 showed us that there was an urgent need to address elementary overcrowding which ultimately led us to build the Veterans Memorial Elementary School.  Details from that Study highlighted that, by 2030, there would be a need to address capacity at PHS. Today’s Feasibility Study is focusing on future capacity issues related to PHS, OMS and SMS along with future educational program needs and also analyze capacity and growth projections for our nine elementary schools.

Alongside the study, we are collecting feedback from interested parties.  We conducted a community survey in April 2023.  And, after our school district feasibility study committee looked at many options, we've narrowed the scope down to three viable options that will help us reach our future goals.  We are in the midst of making presentations and listening to feedback from our students, staff and the community. 

In May 2023, we offered two Community-wide Town Hall Presentation and Feedback Sessions where survey results will be reviewed and the three options will be shared for discussion and feedback. Since that time, the Board and Administrative Committee has been visiting other school districts to walk through buildings that are configured differently from ours to explore all possible options.  In August 2023, two pathways were presented to the School Board for final consideration.  Cost estimates for both options were shared and the Board will continue to consider the two options with the hope of approving a pathway for construction in the fall of 2023.

Parkland School District Growth Projections