2024 Facilities Master Plan

Process Overview

Ignacio School District (ISD) retained RTA Architects in July of 2024 as the planning and design team to assist in updating the Facilities Masterplan. The District currently serves over 600 students in and around Ignacio, and manages approximately 260,000 square feet of educational buildings and support facilities on properties totaling close to 67 acres of land. The intent of the Facilities Master Plan is to evaluate existing facility conditions, understand current and future enrollment projections, and review the educational adequacy for each grade level served. With steady input from the District and community members, the final document will provide a road map to assess and identify the needs for facility and capital improvements in the near and far future. The master capital planning process will consider the conditions of all district facilities, including school campuses, district offices, and support buildings. The District values the importance of facility maintenance to keep standards high, prevent failures and maintain reasonable operational costs. ISD believes the facilities must be maintained to support current and future educational needs in order to ensure student success.

The master capital planning process is both investigative and exploratory. It is essential to identify and understand how the existing conditions align with the District's Vision, explore options, and set goals that support current and future program offerings. The process is a fully collaborative effort between the school board, school district, parents, and the professional planning and design team. The final product serves as the foundation for facility planning, but it is considered a constantly evolving, "living" document. As items are completed, and future needs are discovered, the document will serve as a guide for rational decision-making with respect to long-term goals.

The design team did not convene a Facilities Advisory Committee (FAC) on this process. Instead, the team of designers met and gathered information from the Principals at each school. In addition, RTA worked with Senior District Administrative Staff including: Superintendent, Chris Dekay, and Manager of Facilities and Operations, Brian Crane. The collaboration between the District staff and design team helped to inform the decisions that are reflected on this Facilities Master Plan.

District Leadership

Collaboration with District Leadership is the primary decision-making group for this process. This group works hand in hand to make the desired outcome, and takes final recommendations to the School Board.

The team of designers met and gathered information from the Principals at each school in the district. In addition, RTA worked with Senior District Administrative Staff including: Superintendent, Chris Dekay, and Manager of Facilities and Operations, Brian Crane. The collaboration between the District staff and design team helped to inform the decisions that are reflected on this Facilities Master Plan.