South Bend schools building projects and LaSalle/Kennedy merger: What we know

SOUTH BEND — Almost two years after its adoption, South Bend schools’ Facilities Master Plan has seen everything from school consolidations to playground installations, but officials say there’s still work to be done.

During a board work session on Thursday, Feb. 20, district administrators presented an update on the plan, providing an overview of completed and continuing projects across the corporation. One major project that’s currently paused is the Kennedy/LaSalle merger, and some community members expressed frustration with a perceived lack of communication about the project from administrators and the board.

As Thursday’s session wasn’t a formal meeting, no board action was taken. A recording of the full presentation is available on the district’s YouTube channel.

What’s been completed?

District officials said some projects outlined in the Facilities Master Plan have already been completed since its approval in April 2023, including:

• Moving the fine arts magnet program from Clay High School to Riley High School.

• Moving the K-5 program from McKinley to Edison, which is now a K-8 school. Officials said several projects at Edison have been completed, including moving the 6-8 grades to the second floor, creating three kindergarten classrooms, lowering urinals in first-floor boys’ bathrooms and installing playground equipment.

• Completing the Nuner Fine Arts Academy program transition.

• Keeping the Dual Language Immersion Program at Harrison for 2024. This will be moved to Navarre for the 2025-26 school year.

• Using the McKinley building as an early childhood center for the Special Needs Adaptive Program (SNAP), consolidating the program previously located at Studebaker. Officials said some renovations have been completed, including converting the former library to a multipurpose instructional area, installing playground equipment and closing the outdated therapeutic pool.

• Creating additional classrooms at LaSalle.

• Installing a piano studio, dance studio, graphic and digital design classroom and minimal upgrades to the library carpeting at Riley High School.

• Creating small group instruction areas and installing playground equipment at Dickinson K-8.

What’s still left to do?

The administrators said there are still projects awaiting completion, and in some cases board approval, including:

• Expanding the Marquette Montessori program to Pre-K-8 in the 2025-26 year.

• Expanding the Marshall Traditional program to Pre-K-8 over the next few years, with completion in 2026-27.

• Pending board approval, moving the Kennedy program into the LaSalle facility, creating a “school-within-a-school.” Officials recommended using the Kennedy building for a new K-8 alternative education program and a location for Rise-Up Academy after the end of this school year, along with spaces for Adult Education and other programs if space allows.

• Pending board approval, creating a career and technical education (CTE) center that would centralize the district’s CTE programs.

• Completing additional projects at Edison over the summer, including installing two kindergarten restrooms, lowering drinking fountains and adjusting the first-floor bathroom sinks. This has a soft completion date of August 2025.

• Completing additional projects at McKinley, including finishing a parent waiting room, installing additional drinking fountains and securing the locker room areas of the gym. This has a soft completion date of August 2025.

• Installing a secured entrance, new library doors and an electric switchgear panel at Dickinson K-8, with a soft completion date of August 2025.

District capital projects

Several capital projects across the district are moving forward, administrators said, including:

• Repairing exterior masonry at LaSalle and Adams High School.

• Replacing sections of the roof at Washington High School.

• Upgrading HVAC units and exhaust fans in schools around the district.

• Replacing outdated boilers and chillers in schools around the district. Officials said 76 boilers and 17 chillers will be replaced, while 12 chillers will be repaired.

• Replacing energy management systems at Clay International Academy, Marshall and Swanson.

• Renovating four bathrooms at Darden with Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant toilets, urinals and sinks.

• Installing fall zones in playgrounds at Muessel, Nuner and Harrison.

Building disposition

The officials said the disposition of Eggleston, Old Marquette, Greene and Studebaker is on pause and awaiting board approval.

Where does the Washington Medical Magnet project stand?

Officials said the Medical Magnet project is moving forward, and the district has been working with an architect on designs. The goal is to have a soft opening in August 2025.

The project entails renovating classrooms to accommodate the program, installing a set of student bathrooms, moving the dental lab from Clay to Washington, creating a separate student entry for the program, updating offices and a conference room and replacing sections of the roof.

Where does the LaSalle/Kennedy merger stand?

According to district officials, the merger that would combine Kennedy K-5 and LaSalle 6-8 into a K-8 school housed at LaSalle is paused and awaiting board action.

The district already bought a playground for the K-8 school that arrived at the end of January, and officials said they are waiting on the board’s decision to install or repurpose it.

The project has a soft completion date of August 2025, and administrators said timing would be an issue if the project moves forward, as it would require some construction, including:

• Installing two kindergarten restrooms for three classrooms.

• Renovating three science classrooms.

• Repairing the parking lot asphalt.

• Addressing lighting, carpeting, window treatments and painting as needed.

• Resurfacing the gym floor.

• Lowering drinking fountains, sinks and urinals.

• Installing rubberized treads on two stairwells.

District Chief Financial Officer Ahnaf Tahmid said the Kennedy/LaSalle move should be a priority, as parents and staff at both schools are waiting to hear if and when the merger will take place.

Trustee and community comments

After the presentation, trustee Mark Costello put forward his own structural plan, which would entail using K-6 schools and 7-8 junior high schools throughout the corporation to encourage students to stay within their own feeder district. He said his plan will help keep students in the corporation by specifically targeting sixth grade — as, according to Costello, the majority of students who leave South Bend schools do so before middle school.

Several community members asked the board for more communication on the LaSalle/Kennedy merger.

A community member and the vice president of the Kennedy Parent Teacher Association, Jacob Wise, shared concerns that the move might result in overcrowding or insufficient facilities.

“Just because the school is performing well in its current location doesn’t mean it performs well after the move,” he said.

Attendee Janelle Phillips said she has two children at Kennedy, and she’d support a move to LaSalle. But she expressed frustration with the “abrupt changes” she’s seen.

“When my family decided to enter the district in the fall of 2019, I had a straightforward educational path from K to 12 in my mind,” Phillips said. “But since then, because of a multitude of district changes, I’ve given up on having certainty of what my children’s educational path will look like, and I’ve instead adopted a one-year-at-a-time mentality. … I need to know where my kids are going to school in six months from now.”

Email South Bend Tribune education reporter Rayleigh Deaton at rdeaton@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: South Bend school officials update on facility plan, Kennedy/LaSalle