Facility Assessments
Virtually all Ohio School Facilities Commission programs require the OSFC to determine the “classroom facilities needs” of the district. In order to determine the classroom facilities needs, the OSFC must first assess the condition of each of a school district’s existing facilities. To facilitate this condition assessment, the OSFC has developed a comprehensive, standardized facilities assessment program called Assessment Cost Guidelines. The program evaluates 23 separate building systems and components, which, when summarized, provides a thorough snapshot of the current condition of the facility (see sample Assessment Report at right). Additionally, each existing system or component is judged against the requirements outlined in the Ohio School Design Manual (OSDM) in order to determine a scope and budget required to upgrade the system or component to the OSDM standards. A completed Facilities Assessment Report will contain a similar report for all of a school district’s existing classroom facilities.
To standardize the assessment process the OSFC has developed a web-based tool into which field-collected data is entered. The field-collected data is gathered by professional architects and engineers pursuant to the standardized facilities assessment program described above. The information provided in the Facilities Assessment Report is an essential first step in the development of a school district’s classroom facilities needs. Additionally, it provides the school district with valuable maintenance and preservation information for their facilities should the district decide not to continue participating in the OSFC program. Any district may request a Facilities Assessment in advance of participation in an OSFC program to begin community planning activities.
Enrollment Projections
The planning staff also works with the educational planning consultants to develop a key piece of information for the MFP-student enrollment projections. Projections are based largely on historical student enrollment data, which is provided by the Ohio Department of Education and confirmed by the school district through an online questionnaire. Other factors that are considered in the projection are housing starts, available developable land, live birth rates, open enrollment, district policies and agreements with neighboring districts, preschool and career technical programming, and charter or community school enrollment.
Ohio School Design Manual
OSFC, with the help of national school facilities experts, developed a comprehensive set of guidelines that ensures standards of quality across the state. The Ohio School Design Manual is a “living document” that is updated annually to incorporate new systems and materials. Although the manual is designed to guide facility experts and school officials in the planning process, it allows for flexibility and local control.
Master Facilities Plan (MFP)
Once the existing facilities conditions assessments and the enrollment projections are finalized, the school district and the OSFC can begin to develop the classroom facilities needs for the district. This effort manifests itself in a document known as the Master Facilities Plan. The Master Facilities Plan describes the district’s total gross building area required to house the projected student enrollment. It may include both existing facilities to be renovated as well as additions and new buildings to be constructed. Additionally, the Master Facilities Plan will reflect the “basic project cost” that will be shared by the district and the OSFC. The basic project cost represents the total project budget.
A number of components go into developing the final Master Facilities Plan. Some components are requirements of OSFC programs, and others are planning practices that school districts will want to consider, independent of OSFC involvement. Some of the OSFC-required criteria to be considered during the master-planning phase are:
- The Ohio School Design Manual (OSDM)
- OSFC 2/3 policy
- OSFC 350 rule
- OSDM gross area per student specifications
- OSDM grade configuration / combination building recommendations
- OSDM per-square-foot construction budget specifications
Some planning criteria and practices not regulated by the OSFC, but that the district may want to consider are:
- Community involvement
- Local planning committees
- Grade configurations
- Educational plans
- Operational issues
- Neighborhood schools vs campus-style arrangements
- School size (minimum projected enrollment – 350 students)
The long-range facilities planning of a school district represents a significant endeavor that should be given due attention. While the OSFC brings a substantial amount of useful information to the planning table, it does not supplant the obligation of the school district to assume appropriate responsibilities during the planning phase. For that reason, the OSFC recommends that the school district consider engaging planning professionals such as architects and educational planners. And, because the OSFC programs bring certain requirements and regulations, it is the intent of the OSFC that the school district and the OSFC work as a partnership in developing the Master Facilities Plan.
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