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This map from the master capital plan website shows the current buildings and traffic flow at Montrose High School.
This map depicts a preliminary sketch of what a building replacement of MHS could look like.
To view the interactive website, scan the QR code or visit bit.ly/MCSD-plan (case sensitive).
This map from the master capital plan website shows the current buildings and traffic flow at Montrose High School.
This map depicts a preliminary sketch of what a building replacement of MHS could look like.
To view the interactive website, scan the QR code or visit bit.ly/MCSD-plan (case sensitive).
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When the main building of Montrose High School was constructed in 1941, fewer than 5,000 people called Montrose home.
Over the past 80 years, the city’s population has more than quadrupled, but the building that was once brand-new has started to deteriorate.
The master capital plan presented to the Montrose County School Board at a work session Tuesday night and a meeting of the Forum in downtown Montrose on Wednesday morning outlines a data-driven plan for improving the district’s facilities, including replacing the high school.
The overarching priority is maintenance and safety at all locations. Expanding the Early Childhood Center program is next on the agenda, followed by replacing Montrose High School.
Taking on these large capital projects will be pricey — the estimated cost for the high school is $115.5 million — but costs will be spread across multiple years, board President Sarah Fishering emphasized.
The plan, which has been in the works for more than a year, will help the district strategically identify small and large facilities projects. Results from the project have already helped inform the process of applying for grants.
“This document helps us be better at forward thinking for the facilities and for the direction the board and administration wants to take the school district,” said Phil Bailey, MCSD director of property services.
The board did not discuss how the projects will be funded on Tuesday night, but the last major school facilities project, the new Columbine Middle School, was partially funded by a property tax increase voters approved in 2016.
In November 2021, Grand Junction voters passed a ballot measure increasing taxes to pay for a $115 million bond to replace Grand Junction High School, which is estimated to cost $144.5 million total.
Information from the master plan has been compiled into an interactive website. The district will be engaging with the community to solicit feedback on the measure.
The process for developing a comprehensive master capital plan started in January of last year. RTA Architects, a firm out of Colorado Springs, was hired to do much of the legwork and was advised weekly by district executives. Many community leaders also served on a planning advisory team that met less frequently.
Before the plan was put together, RTA Architects first started doing some research into the state of the facilities and the long-term population trends in Montrose along with the company Western Demographics. In the report, which was revised in October 2021 to account for the COVID-19 pandemic, much of the growth over the next decade is expected in the elementary area.
Most of the classrooms for the Early Childhood Center are in modular classrooms, which are infamously energy inefficient. The majority of the ECC students attend the campus adjacent to the district office, but programs are also operational at Johnson and Olathe Elementary.
Demand, which is already higher than available spots, will only rise when free preschool for 4-year-olds starts in fall 2023. The state is working on configuring a new department for early childhood education to oversee the implementation, but more space is needed in Montrose.
The master plan identifies two potential sites for a new preschool facility: one at the district’s Brown Ranch property in the southeast corner of town or another building adjacent to Johnson Elementary School. Either of these projects are estimated to cost approximately $28 million.
Of the $82.4 million of deferred maintenance throughout the district, one third of the needed improvements are at Montrose High School, which range from replacing leaking gutters to making bathroom spaces into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
As the town has grown, so has the building: while the oldest sections of the building are over 80 years old and additional wings have been added on throughout the years. But enrollment, which is projected to be slightly over 1,400 students for the next five years, is already slightly over the capacity for the building.
Since the regular maintenance costs are so high — and escalating — replacing the facility eventually makes sense, Bailey said on Tuesday night.
Preliminary sketches and ideas for a partial replacement of the high school include demolishing the older main facility and constructing a slightly larger building in the same place. The existing auto shop and agriculture auxiliary buildings would also be demolished and new buildings would be constructed closer to the main building.
A new road for parent drop-off and pick-up could be added through the middle of the campus. The football and baseball fields, as well as the Lloyd McMillan Gym, would stay in the same place with some maintenance. However, the softball field would be moved to the site of the current soccer field, which would move to the northern corner of the site adjacent to Townsend Ave.
The executive committee on the project wanted to keep the high school in the same area because it is centrally located and has sentimental value, but a partial replacement will not be cheap: the current estimate is $115.5 million and construction costs could fluctuate in the upcoming years.
Demographic research showed that some of the largest areas of growth will be among elementary students throughout the next decade. The largest growth is anticipated at Cottonwood Elementary, with a projected growth of 67 students.
The school board could later move to shift district boundaries for the elementary schools, but improvements will need to be made at multiple campuses to grow capacity.
Some of the potential projects include a partial building replacement and expansion of Pomona Elementary, renovations or a partial replacement at Northside Elementary and removing modular classrooms by building additional wings at multiple schools.
The other priorities identified for the master capital plan are expanding Peak Virtual Academy, improvements at Olathe Middle/High School and renovations at Centennial Middle School.
Anna Lynn Winfrey is a staff writer for the Montrose Daily Press.
Anna Lynn Winfrey is a staff writer for the Montrose Daily Press.
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