MDRoffers Consulting draws on our unique blend of land use, community planning, forecasting, strategic planning, and public participation experience to assist Wisconsin school districts in planning for their futures.
Our interest in school facility planning is based on our fundamental belief that a community’s school system is intertwined with its social and economic sustainability and vitality. In addition to their primary function as centers for education, schools are neighborhood focal points and gathering spots. A healthy school preserves and enhances neighborhood property values and investment. More broadly, a healthy school system is essential for a healthy community.
We are pleased to offer customized services to give school officials the confidence they need to make important decisions to direct their districts towards the future. These include:
- Preparing or collaborating on long-range facility master plans and strategic plans, based on a unique understanding of both community growth and school district trends;
- Tracking enrollment trends, analyzing demographic change, and projecting future housing unit growth and student enrollment, often by small “neighborhood” areas which can then be aggregated to the attendance area and district levels;
- Coordinating with local municipal staff and developers to understand community growth plans and forge partnerships;
- Assessing the impacts of new residential development on school enrollment, new facility needs, and facility siting;
- Guiding the selection and approval of general locations and specific sites for new schools based on community planning, zoning, and site analysis experience;
- Helping districts adjust attendance area boundaries, walking zones, and bussing routes, in part based on our fine-grained neighborhood analysis approach;
- Involving stakeholders and the general public in school facilities planning processes.
Since 2011, we have worked with nearly 30 school districts across Wisconsin on a range of projects from the above list, focused in particular on districts in southeastern Wisconsin, the Dane County area, and the Fox Valley/Green Bay area.
