Chartiers Valley will host a strategic planning session Saturday for parents and residents to develop a plan to guide the district over the next five years.

The plan aims to improve facility efficiency and provide an effective learning environment for students.

Superintendent Brian White said Tuesday night that the session from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. will be the kickoff event in planning for the possible renovation and expansion of the high school and middle school complex.

The session will be done in conjunction with IKM Inc. of Pittsburgh and BLRB Architects, which has offices in Oregon and Washington.

The schools were were renovated in 2007. 

While the project has not been defined, Mr. White said it would most likely include a mixture of  “selective demolition, renovation and new construction.”

He said the planning session is to “vet out what we can afford and what makes sense.”

Other community meetings are set for Oct. 13, Nov. 10 and Jan. 13.

“Our hope is to get the people’s voices heard to shape the school,” Mr. White said.

In addition to community meetings, Mr. White said the district will form schematic design advisory teams of teachers, administrators and students.

Mr. White said he would like to include parents on the teams, too, but he understands it may be difficult for them to attend because the meetings will be during the day.

The preliminary schedule provided by the district shows that the beginning phase for the project is visioning, programming and planning, which will include visits to other schools, educational specifications and conceptual designs. That first phase will be from September to December.

In January, the schematic design phase will start with an in-school design studio, design conferencing and reviews by the district’s facilities, operations and maintenance staff.

The school board will consider the preliminary design in spring or summer. At that time, the design development will start with conferencing and further reviews by the facilities, operations and maintenance staff.

The board will vote on design development in late summer or early fall 2015 and the district could begin soliciting bids in Feburary 2016.

The planning session will be held in the high school. Lunch will be provided. To register: 412-429-2201 or www.cvsd.net.

Deana Carpenter, freelance writer: suburbanliving@post-gazette.com.

First Published: August 27, 2014, 9:14 p.m.