FILE: FE
Cf: FGB
FACILITIES PLANNING
It shall be the policy of the Orleans Parish School Board to ensure that school facilities support learning in the context of the total community. A School Facilities Master Plan, including an implementation plan, is a vital component of comprehensive facilities planning and shall be periodically monitored and updated by the Superintendent and staff as needed.
SCHOOL FACILITIES MASTER PLAN
A school facilities master plan that describes a strategy to address the need for facility improvements and capital investments to support current and future educational programs shall be developed every five years and approved by the School Board. The School Facilities Master Plan may be revisited in the intervening years if unforeseen circumstances, such as a fire or damaging storm, occur. The facilities master plan shall assess the needs for repairs, modernization, upgrades, and/or new construction, and shall identify the availability of federal, state, and local funding and other sources to finance improvements and capital investments.
The School Facilities Master Plan shall include the following:
Enrollment Projections
A professional demographer shall be hired to develop a demographic analysis and 10-year enrollment projections. Enrollment projections shall be developed for each of the ten (10) years for each school and for each catchment area, as well as district-wide.
Educational Adequacy Assessment
Capacity
The capacity of each building to adequately house students based on the schools’ enrollment patterns or district boundaries.
Utilization
The extent to which the current capacity of each school facility is utilized to support learning for enrolled students and to accommodate those programs generated by the needs of the students attending.
Educational Program Requirements
The ability of the district’s facilities to meet educational program requirements, such as universal early childhood education, career and technical education, hands-on learning, etc.
Facility Condition Assessment
An evaluation of the physical condition of the building systems and materials.
Standards
Revisions of the District-Wide Educational Specifications to include capacity models, space requirements, adjacency diagrams, and room descriptions, and revisions of the District-Wide Design Standards incorporating “lessons learned” from prior construction projects and current best practice for construction.
Implementation Plan
The School Facilities Master Plan shall include scenarios for each catchment area that address the combination of enrollment, educational adequacy, and facility condition needs. The scenarios may call for facility renovation, construction of new schools, additions to existing buildings, capital repair/replacement of building systems, and site and/or facility acquisition and/or disposition. The implementation plan shall address all needs with identification of potential funding sources where possible. The Implementation plan shall be reviewed and adjusted annually, if needed, to align funding sources with projected needs. An implementation progress report shall be presented to the School Board annually, along with modifications that are driven by construction market conditions.
SELECTING THE SCHOOL SITE
The School Facilities Master Plan identifies areas where construction of new schools may be needed. Planning staff shall identify potential sites for new or replacement schools.
Staff shall consider issues such as age and grade range of student body, educational program requirements, drop-off and pick-up, parking, accessibility, cost, hazards, noise, and size when recommending a site to the School Board for purchase. School Board approval is required for site purchases.
PROJECT PLANNING AND DESIGN
To ensure that the school construction program is receptive to community needs, supports the instructional programs, and proceeds as smoothly and rapidly as possible, the processes listed below for planning the construction of future facilities shall be utilized.
At the time the School Board determines a future school facility is to be planned, the School Board shall authorize the Superintendent to provide public notice to the community and establish the (specific site) School Planning Committee. The School Planning Committee shall be comprised of stakeholder representatives, including students (for high schools), educators, and community members. Staff will work with the School Planning Committee to develop a site-specific educational specification based on the district-wide educational specification for that school level.
Following the development of the educational specifications, the architect contracted by the School Board will work with staff and the School Planning Committee to develop the design and construction documents. Community meetings shall be held during educational specification development, at the end of Design Development, and immediately prior to construction to obtain community input and feedback.
A contractor will be hired based on school board procurement policy. Meetings will be held periodically with the School Planning Committee throughout design and construction to update committee members on the progress of the project and receive feedback.
Revised: March 16, 2017
Ref: La. Rev. Stat. Ann. §17:81
Louisiana Handbook for School Administrators, Bulletin 741, Louisiana Department of Education
Board minutes, 11-18-08, 3-16-17
Orleans Parish School Board