JCPS has received more than $850,000 in commitments
Jan. 19, 2024—An innovative Louisville Metropolitan Sewer District (MSD) program is transforming spaces and providing exciting learning opportunities for Jefferson County Public Schools students.
Launched in 2019, the MSD Community Benefits Program encourages firms that bid on MSD contract work to donate their time, talent, and treasure to fund projects that produce positive economic, environmental, and social impacts in MSD’s service area.
At Crums Lane Elementary School, that impact came in the form of a major outdoor campus overhaul. The school received $135,000 in commitments from Ulliman Schutte Construction that funded a new playground, outdoor learning area with picnic tables and benches, volleyball net, soccer goals, walking path, and four gaga ball pits.
“The outdoor space has really encouraged creativity on the teacher's part, which obviously enhances engagement and offers a different environment for students to better explore learning,” said Tanesha Franklin, Crums Lane principal. “Our new space encourages creativity, promotes physical activity, enhances engagement, and offers a dynamic environment for hands-on exploration, benefiting students' overall educational experience.
As part of the request for proposal (RFP) process, MSD firms can choose to provide a Community Benefits commitment such as a financial contribution, volunteer hours, or in-kind services to local schools or non-profits, earning points based on their proposal to give back.
To date, Community Benefits Commitments have exceeded $4 million in the community—more than $850,000 of that going to JCPS schools, said Sharise Horne, chief of equity and community partnerships at MSD.
Schools design potential projects based on their specific needs and upload their requests into the MSD Community Benefits online system. Each month, MSD also holds a community outreach meeting where schools and nonprofit organizations can pitch projects to firms. From there, firms can select projects that they would like to support if they are awarded an MSD contract.
At JCPS, Community Benefits commitments have funded workplace learning related to civil engineering, heavy equipment program support, STEM materials and supplies, Apple pens, career exploration experiences, fences, playgrounds, walking paths, outdoor classrooms, hydroponic growing beds, a greenhouse, improvements to school gardens, a digital sign, a music studio, a Family Resource Center space renovation, and more.
“We are meeting the community where they are, trying to understand what the needs are, and then pitching in where those needs are to help make a difference,” Horne said. “Not only are we committed to providing quality wastewater, stormwater, and flood protection services to our community, we are also committed to doing our part to lifting the community where we live, work, and play. This is how we’re giving back.”
Samantha Looby, assistant project manager at Ulliman Schutte Construction, recommended that schools come to the MSD community outreach meetings with a vision on what they want and ideas for how a firm could combine its passion and expertise to make a school’s vision come to life.
Crums Lane’s request for a walking path in particular caught the attention of her firm, Looby said. Ulliman Schutte knew it could use its own labor forces and expertise to create the walking path and manage subcontractors and vendors to help complete the other aspects of the project, she said.
“The mission of MSD Community Benefits is so transformative, getting to give back to the community where we’re working in ways we wouldn’t normally get to through performing the project for MSD,” Looby said. “It’s been so fun and rewarding getting to use our expertise and interact with different organizations and schools.”
Schools that want to participate in the MSD Community Benefits Program can reach out to Stephen Leach in the Resource Development Department at stephen.leach2@jefferson.kyschools.us for more information and help getting started.
By Juliann Morris