Grand Haven superintendent outlines 10–15 year facilities master-plan options as enrollment falls

Kristin Perkowski, superintendent of Grand Haven Area Public Schools, told the Grand Haven City Council on Sept. 15 that the district is presenting a 10- to 15-year master-plan framework after a year of community engagement and data review.

Perkowski said the district now enrolls roughly 5,100 students this school year, about 1,000 fewer than in 2015-16, and that the district—s 12 school buildings average about 62 years of age. “We have about 5,100 students for this school year which is approximately a thousand students down from the fifteen-sixteen school year,” Perkowski said. She also said the district—s facility condition index (FCI) averages 68 percent, a level she described as "deficient," and that some individual schools are in worse condition: “Lakeshore Middle School ... is at 80% so we are way over there. Obviously the high school at 34% still in the fair range but the majority of our district sits at the poor to, deficit range.”

The presentation framed the master plan as a follow-up to the district—s strategic plan and as a tool to translate educational goals into facility changes. Perkowski said the district began meeting with architecture and construction partners in July 2024 and collected feedback through town meetings, staff and PTO presentations and an online survey available at gheps.org/masterplan.

Why it matters: District leaders say aging…