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“Kicking the Can Down the Road” article by BAISCA’s Andrew LaRowe and Mike Raible of The School Solutions Group in the October 2016 issue of School Planning and Management Magazine.
Image courtesy of School Planning Section of NC DPI.
There is no better source of information regarding the overall condition of school buildings than with the school district’s maintenance department. The challenge is gathering the information efficiently and developing consistent reports to support funding requests.
A year ago, school districts in North Carolina received directives to fill out the 2015-16 Facility Needs Survey, which is required by state law every five years. The report is used by state and local government to monitor and track funding requirements for public school facilities. Construction and renovation needs for North Carolina schools totaled $8.1 billion dollars over a five-year time horizon. Several states have similar programs compelling local school officials to identify their maintenance backlog and assign prioritized cost estimates. Dr. Ken Phelps, with North Carolina’s school planning section says, “The need to keep track of deferred maintenance is significant in many of our school districts. It is our hope that the facility needs report provides a structure which districts can utilize each year to support requests for funding.”
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