Our Community’s Greatest Asset

In 1943, the federal government created the city of Oak Ridge, Tenn., to support work on the Manhattan Project. Oak Ridge was initially planned for 13,000 people, but grew to over 75,000 in less than three years. This population boom required a school system be built very rapidly. After the war years, the city’s population stabilized at its present level of approximately 27,000 residents.

Oak Ridge High School (ORHS) currently houses approximately 1,500 students and has a rich history of achievement, despite a campus-plan collection of buildings with many significant deficiencies. With the exception of one wing, the high school buildings were built in 1951. When Dr. Thomas E. Bailey became superintendent of schools in 2002, the facility needs at the high school were worsening. During 2002-2003 one of the buildings developed alarming cracks. Structural studies indicated that one of the major buildings was not sound, and classes had to be relocated. Immediate structural issues were addressed to make the building safe, but glaring deficiencies remained. Bailey began working with the Board of Education and the principal, Ken Green, to explore solutions.

In September 2003, Dr. Jeffrey Wadsworth, president/CEO for UT-Battelle – the entity that manages Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) – offered to hire a firm to work with stakeholders to conduct a facility condition assessment and develop master plan options. In a letter to Bailey, Wadsworth stated: "UT-Battelle has a special interest in the high school, not only because such support is simply appropriate, but also because our ability to attract the nation’s best talent to ORNL is frequently contingent upon being able to provide the best possible public education to their children. Potential employees at ORNL are often more interested in the quality of local schools than any other issue."

Based on its extensive experience in facility program management, Heery International was selected to undertake this study. To coordinate the process, UT-Battelle made available a senior member of its staff, Tim Myrick, director of facilities and strategic planning at ORNL, to work under the supervision of the superintendent of schools. There were no costs associated with this offer to the school district, and the Board of Education approved the offer with no obligation to accept any of the plan’s recommendations.

Bailey, Myrick, and Green worked with Dale Randels of Heery to develop the outline for the overall study. The factors considered essential in making the best decisions and assuring the study was fair, objective, and reasonable were:

• Document existing conditions of buildings and site against proposed use and programming needs.
• Identify site-specific educational specifications.
• Identify technology needs.
• Identify security specifications.
• Identify community needs and interests.
• Evaluate historic significance and impor tance to the community.

While the physical assessment of the building and site was occurring, the Board of Education contracted Sue Robertson of Planning Alliance to begin working with teachers, students, administrators, staff and community members to develop an educational vision for the future ORHS, and to describe space requirements and adjacencies that would support that vision.

The graphic below shows the interaction of the various elements of the study.

These activities culminated in a report to the school board in January 2004. The report showed options that ranged from $40 million to $79 million. The school board voted to pursue the option that would result in both new and modernized buildings on the existing campus for an estimated cost of $55 million.

The Oak Ridge city manager was instrumental in developing a sound financial plan, and the city council members believed it was important for it to go before the citizens in a sales tax increase referendum. After an overwhelming 73 percent vote came in favor of the referendum, the city council voted 6-1 to support the project. The goal of private corporations and businesses is to raise $8 million in the financial plan, but in less than a month, approximately $5 million had been raised toward that goal. Since this is a three-year project, the district feels confident that the remaining funds will be forthcoming.

According to Superintendent Bailey, the success of this project rests entirely on the involvement of all citizens working together to understand the issues. The citizens of Oak Ridge have stepped forward to support their greatest asset: their children.

Sue Robertson, REFP, a member of the Council of Educational Facility Planners International (CEFPI), is president of Planning Alliance.

Dr. Thomas E. Bailey, superintendent of schools, City of Oak Ridge, Tenn., is a member of CEFPI.