FILE:  HD

Cf:  HDB

 

CHARTER SCHOOL FACILITIES MANAGEMENT

 

 

PURPOSE AND APPLICABILITY

 

It shall be the policy of the Orleans Parish School Board to require that school buildings and grounds be maintained in good physical and sanitary condition.  The School Board, therefore, shall instruct the Superintendent to assure that all normal building and grounds maintenance, repairs and improvement functions are an integral part of the administration of the school system, including the regular evaluation for any safety hazards.

 

The Superintendent shall be vested with a broad range of administrative and supervisory authority relative to the properties owned by the School Board.  The Superintendent shall ensure that the care of such property complies with applicable laws, ordinances and regulations, including building and fire safety code regulations, until such property is sold, leased or otherwise disposed of by the School Board.

 

The provisions of the policy listed below shall be intended to apply to charter schools that occupy School Board-owned properties.  The provisions do not apply to those in non-owned buildings, unless otherwise provided in charter agreements, leases, or state law.  The School Board reserves the right to oversee and intervene in cases where the health and safety of public school students may be compromised in non-owned school facilities.

 

The School Board’s Facility Procedures Handbook details the processes and procedures concerning the care and maintenance of school buildings that charter schools shall follow.

 

ASSIGNMENT OF SCHOOL FACILITIES

 

In accordance with state law, the School Board shall make available to an approved charter operator any vacant school facility, or any facility slated to be vacant, for lease or for purchase on an “as-is” basis.  Charter operators will not be required to correct deficiencies or make improvements beyond the condition that existed when the charter operator first occupied the building(s).  The charter operator shall be required to return the property to the School Board at the end of the lease in at least as good condition as existed when the property was first occupied by the charter operator.  The School Board cannot guarantee the availability of vacant, usable facilities for charter operators.

 

DEFINITIONS

 

  1. Capital Expenditure - The amount spent on a capital improvement and/or repair.

  2. Capital Improvement - A capital improvement creates an addition, physical enlargement or expansion of a building; creates an increase in capacity, productivity or efficiency; replaces a major component or structural part of the property; improves the quality of the property; and/or adapts property to a new or different use.

  3. Capital Plan - a summary of capital repair needs for a Public School Facility based on a facility condition assessment and a set of funding priorities as defined in the Facility Procedures Handbook.

  4. Capital Repair - any repair or replacement, not otherwise defined as maintenance in the charter school facilities lease or Facility Procedures Handbook, of an existing property or structure that updates the property to its previous condition.

  5. Emergency Repair means repair of damage to or a malfunction in buildings or property which involves an emergent and imminent necessity, reconstruction or maintenance in order to permit the safe continuation of a necessary public use or function, to protect the property of the School Board, and/or to protect the life, health, or safety of facility occupants.

  6. Facilities Alteration - Alteration includes, but is not limited to changes in site outdoor features; facilities configuration; fabrication, modification, removal, or installation of hardware and equipment; adding or removing signs affixed to buildings; erection, relocation, or removal of partitions, doors, and windows; changes in color and types of finishes and flooring materials; structural/physical changes to interior space such as installation of fixed equipment or furniture requiring utility, electrical, laboratory exhaust or HVAC connections; BAS Software or programming changes that effect an engineer’s sequence of operations; and any other changes that have implications for the health and safety of occupants.

  7. Funding Availability (Capital Improvement and/or Repair) - Availability of revenues to undertake a capital improvement or repair or a program of projects.  Funding availability shall also include consideration of restrictions on the use of potential funds.

  8. Facilities Condition Assessment - A facilities condition assessment describes the process of a qualified group of trained industry professions performing an analysis of the physical condition of a facility or group of facilities.  The facilities condition assessment evaluates the condition of major building systems and rates those systems, as well as the entire facility, in comparison to the typical useful life of each system and the potential replacement cost of the facility.  A facilities condition assessment shall be the basis for determining the Capital Plan of Public School Property.

  9. Preventive Maintenance means an activity that is regularly performed on a piece of equipment to lessen the likelihood of it failing; is performed while the equipment is still working so that it does not break down unexpectedly; is planned so that required resources are available; is scheduled based on a time or usage trigger; and/or is typically performed on equipment that has a critical operational function.

  10. Public School Facility or Campus means a school building owned by the school board and all facilities otherwise part of the school, recognized as part of the facilities, and typically available to the school, its students, faculty, and staff.  A single campus may include more than one neighboring school building.  Generally, a single campus includes all facilities sharing a single legal address.  In some cases, more than one school may occupy a single campus, and in other cases, a single school may occupy more than one campus.

 

RESPONSIBILITIES

 

Preventive maintenance shall be a charter school responsibility, regardless of the cost.

 

Charter schools shall be responsible for all capital and emergency repairs and capital improvements in accordance with La. Rev. Stat. Ann. §17:100.11, OPSB Policy FJ, Orleans Parish School Facility Preservation Program, and the Facility Procedures Handbook.

 

In the event that the School Board obtains capital funds through insurance proceeds or disaster relief, such funds shall be utilized to the extent available and feasible to return damaged facilities to their original conditions.  If a damaged facility is beyond feasible repair, or if funds are not sufficient to restore the facility to its original condition, the School Board cannot guarantee that the damaged facility will be restored or replaced.

 

A charter school shall promptly notify the Superintendent or his/her designee if it receives a citation from a regulatory agency (such as the Office of the State Fire Marshal, the Office of Public Health, the Department of Environmental Quality, Department of Safety & Permits, etc.) which would disrupt operations or close the building.

 

In the event that new or replacement systems and materials are covered by a manufacturer’s warranty, the charter school shall be responsible for understanding and adhering to the warranty’s operations & maintenance requirements so that valid claims can be made for issues that occur during the warranty period.  If an issue arises with a system or material that is under warranty, the charter school shall immediately notify School Board facilities staff.  School Board facilities staff shall work with the charter school to develop the most appropriate approach to resolve the issue.

 

Movable and fixed assets, e.g. technology items, furnishings, and equipment, owned by the School Board with an original purchase price greater than $5,000 shall be inventoried, and inventories shall be tracked.  When a charter is terminated and/or when a charter school relocates from one building to another, the School Board and the charter operator shall work together to verify the accuracy of the inventory.  The charter operator shall be held accountable for safeguarding all contents that were conveyed as a part of the lease agreement.

 

The School Board shall secure insurance for any Public School Facility and contents leased to a charter operator.  The charter operator shall pay the cost of such insurance pursuant to the terms of its facility lease with the School Board.  If a building is damaged beyond the point that rebuilding is reasonable, and if the capacity of that building is needed to satisfy enrollment demands, the School Board may relocate the school to another location that fits its capacity needs.

 

The School Board shall create a Damage Fund from contributions from charter operators in a Public School Facility.  The Damage Fund shall be used to finance any incomplete maintenance or repair requirements as defined by the lease.  The Damage Fee shall be collected one time per leased facility unless the Damage Fund falls below a total value of $400,000.  The Damage Fee shall be collected at a per student value not to exceed $12.50 per student.  The Superintendent will present annually on the total value of and expenditures from the Damage Fund and any actions taken to recover expenditures from the Damage Fund.

 

FACILITY ALTERATIONS

 

Facility alterations shall enhance and support educational activities and must not compromise the safety, structural integrity or design flexibility of the facility and learning environment.  Alterations may not diminish in any way the monetary value of the facility, its grounds, or other property.

 

A charter school may fund and implement Capital Improvement Projects through its own self-generated revenues, subject to the following:  (1) prior School Board approval for any changes that cost $500,000 or more, and (2) completion to be at charter school’s own expense and risk.  All improvements made to School Board owned property by charter schools shall become the property of the School Board, unless otherwise agreed to by the parties in writing.

 

All facilities alterations shall comply with procedures identified in the Facility Procedures Handbook.

 

Contracts for architectural and engineering design and for construction of Capital Improvement Projects, whether implemented by the School Board or by a charter operator, shall include insurance requirements indemnifying both the School Board and the respective charter operator as additional named insureds.

 

PREVENTATIVE MAINTENANCE PROGRAM

 

Charter schools housed in School Board facilities are responsible for procuring and paying for comprehensive preventative and corrective maintenance services for their facilities and their facilities systems and components.  Each year, charter schools are responsible for submitting documentation that verifies required preventative maintenance services are performed, as detailed in the Facility Procedures Handbook.  Acceptable maintenance criteria and minimum scopes of work for each required facility service are listed in the Facility Procedures Handbook.  Submitted documentation must meet all of the listed specifications for each facility service.  Beyond this annual document submission process, maintenance and repair logs for any facility service may be requested by the School Board for review at any time.

 

FACILITY INSPECTIONS

 

A facility inspection is the physical inspection of facilities to identify deficiencies, other repairs, needed capital/major maintenance projects, and or code/regulatory concerns shall be performed jointly by representatives of the School Board and the charter school on a periodic basis with follow-up inspections as needed to ensure that all deficiencies have been remedied.  Facility inspections will verify that required facility services listed in the Facility Procedures Handbook are being performed.

 

SMOKING/TOBACCO USE ON SCHOOL BOARD PROPERTY

 

The use of any tobacco product, smokeless tobacco, and any smoking object/device, including electronic cigarettes and similar devices, shall be prohibited on and in all Public School Facilities and vehicles and at all school-sponsored functions.  This prohibition shall not apply to any outdoor area proximate to the School Board Central Office building that is within twenty-five feet of any entrance to the building, as long as no portion of such building is used as a school facility.

 

Tobacco advertising shall also be prohibited in school buildings, at school functions, and in all school publications.

 

ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES

 

The School Board shall prohibit the use, sale, possession or consumption of alcoholic beverages in any Public School Facility, except as otherwise provided in policy HDB, Community Use of Charter School Facilities.

 

Revised:  March 16, 2017

Revised:  June 10, 2021; Revision effective date: July 1, 2021

 

 

Ref:    La. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§17:10.5, 17:3973, 17:3981, 17:3981.2, 17:3982, 17:3991, 17:3991.1

Board minutes, 10-22-09, 5-17-16, 3-16-17, 6-10-21

 

Orleans Parish School Board