Your Voice Matters! Join the conversation this fall on facilities master planning

Upper Arlington Schools is moving forward with phase two of the facilities master planning process, with an emphasis this fall on gathering even more feedback from stakeholders to help inform the decisions ahead.

In June, the Upper Arlington Board of Education reviewed extensive community feedback from the spring on the draft options for the aging middle schools and Burbank Early Childhood School. The Board recommended removing some of those options from consideration due to higher estimated costs and longer construction timelines. 

This fall, the remaining options are being shared with stakeholders for further input and clarification through a variety of opportunities, including:

• A joint meeting of the building teams for Hastings and Jones middle schools and Burbank in September
   
• Focus groups including randomly selected parents/guardians and community members, conducted by a third-party research provider
   
• A scientific community survey conducted in October and November, accompanied by a publicly available online survey open to all residents

“Our goal throughout this process has been to make sure that every voice in our community can be heard,” said Superintendent Robert Hunt, Ph.D. “This fall, we’re creating even more opportunities for parents, staff, students, and residents to share their thoughts, ask questions, and help us get to the best path forward for our schools.”

This will all lead up to an opportunity for the community to come back together for the fifth community engagement session in the process — on November 19 at 6:00 p.m. at Upper Arlington High School, 1625 Zollinger Road. This session will include a review of the revised draft options, updates on the feedback opportunities this fall, and an initial overview of the input received.

By the end of the year, the district expects to have a clearer understanding of the community’s priorities and desires for phase two of the master planning process.

“As we continue to listen and learn, the feedback we gather will directly shape the recommendation we bring forward,” Dr. Hunt said. “This is a community-driven process, and our decisions must reflect the values and expectations of the people we serve.”

Following this extensive outreach effort, the district will convene a Financial Advisory Board of community experts to help finalize a master plan recommendation. That recommendation is expected to be presented to the Board of Education in the spring of 2026.