Planning and Construction
Planning Department 2808 Highway 85, Bldg B Castle Rock, CO 80109Shavon Caldwell Castle Rock, CO 80109 Eric McCain |
Planning for Future Educational and Facility Needs is Ongoing
The Planning and Construction Department is innovative, efficient, and accurate in our new development reviews, enrollment projections, facility capital needs, and design and construction processes.
Safety First
We are committed to provide a safe physical environment for new and remodeled facilities that are conducive to learning.
Student Focused
We engage the community, parents, students, and staff of Douglas County School District as partners by supporting the Long Range Planning Committee, whose goals include analyzing enrollment capacity, identifying boundary options, and prioritizing school site selection as required by the Master Capital Plan.
Committed to Excellence
We have consistently met the expectation of our stakeholders with the opening of each new school and facility upgrade, and look forward to continuing the success in the future.
Smart Planning Begins with Projection of Growth
Student enrollment is projected annually in order to plan for school calendars, mobile classrooms and new schools. The Long Range Planning Committee continually analyzes community population changes and evalutates population impacts on schools. The committee also informs the Board of Education regarding school attendance boundaries, facility usage, dedicated school site land inventory, and anticipated capital requirements. Every year the committee presents these findings in the five-year Master Capital Plan to the Board of Education.
Accommodating New Residential Development
When determining the impact of residential development, Douglas County School District evaluates how many students are expected from any given development based on density. Once the student generation is calculated, it is then determined how much land would be required to build a school as well as capital funds to construct a school.
Often times, a development will generate acreage, but not enough for an entire school site. In these cases, the District may choose to accept a smaller site. These smaller sites would help mitigate the growing needs for support service space as the District grows, such as support facilities or administrative buildings, Early Childhood Centers, or special needs and alternative facilities. The District may also collect cash-in-lieu of land, or a combination of both. Collecting cash-in-lieu for smaller dedications allows the District to consolidate cash-in-lieu funds and use this money to purchase school sites to address growth in enrollment.