United South Central (USC) School District’s facilities task force convened earlier this week for the first
time since the district completed its comprehensive building assessment, marking an important step in
the district’s ongoing facilities planning process. The meeting, held on Monday evening, brought together
community members, district leaders, and partners to dig deeper into data that will help guide future
discussions and next steps.
The district is currently experiencing growing enrollment and increasing space constraints across its school
facilities. The high school is operating at 100% capacity, and enrollment trends indicate the district will
need to plan for additional space soon to continue meeting the needs of students and staff. These
challenges prompted the district to begin a comprehensive facilities planning process earlier this year.
During the two-hour meeting, the task force reviewed results from the Facility Condition Assessment
(FCA), the Educational Adequacy report, and the district’s demographic study. These assessments were
conducted to better understand the current condition of the school facility, how well it supports
educational programming, and how enrollment trends may impact its future space needs.
Task force members engaged in thoughtful discussion and asked clarifying questions throughout the
meeting. The information presented helped reinforce and validate many of the early findings identified
through the district’s initial task force work. One of the main objectives of the meeting was to ensure that
the participants understood the data and its implications for the district.
The task force will meet again on January 12 at 5:00 pm to dive deeper into the assessment data and
discuss preliminary project options. Superintendent Taylor Topinka expressed appreciation for the task
force’s continued engagement. “This work builds on the thoughtful conversations that began earlier this
year,” Topinka said. “Reviewing this information together helps ensure we move forward with a clear
understanding of both our challenges and opportunities.” Individuals interested in participating on the
task force are encouraged to contact Superintendent Topinka directly.
Continued feedback from all stakeholders remains important as the district and taskforce continues its
work. With this in mind, the district anticipates sharing all assessment data and preliminary project
options with the community in a second community engagement meeting in early February.
The USC School District remains committed to a transparent, inclusive, and community-centered planning
process. No decisions have been made, and additional engagement opportunities will continue as the district works to identify a long-term path forward. For more information, please contact Superintendent
Taylor Topinka at ttopinka@unitedsouthcentral.org or (507) 553-3134.