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Long-Range
Planning of Capital Facility Needs
The first
paragraph of G.S. 115c-521 requires: Local Boards of
Education shall submit their long-range plans for meeting
school facility needs to the State Board of Education by
January 1, 1988, and every five years thereafter. The
1995 General Assembly of North Carolina authorized the
School Capital Construction Study Commission and charged the
Commission to conduct a comprehensive study of public school
facility needs in North Carolina. Needs documented in
that study helped the justify the $1.8 billion state bond
issue that was passed in 1996. It also changed the
five-year cycle of the study.
The Department
of Public Instruction's School Support Division, through its
School Planning Section, facilitates the statewide study and
tabulates the results for the survey. A computer
program for evaluating and reporting needs is provided to
each LEA. The program contains a list of schools, ADM
for each school and DPI's membership projections.
Typical construction unit costs and building area standards
from N.C. Public Schools Facility Guidelines are built into
the program. In addition, the program does most of the
math as data is entered. The final summary report is
presented to and approved by the Board of Education and the
County Commissioners.
The needs
survey considers:
-
Current
ADM and projected membership for each school (new
schools and additions to existing facilities)
-
County
demographics and system-wide projected enrollment (new
schools and additions to existing facilities)
-
Condition
of Existing Facilities (renovation of existing
facilities)
-
Program
deficiencies based on Current Educational Specifications
(renovations and additions at existing facilities)
A link to the
Educational Specifications
is included below.
The last
Facility Needs Survey was completed in 2006, and took into
consideration all project included in the 2005 Bond Program.
The facility needs identified totaled over $310 million.
Links to the
Capacity Summary and
Cost
Summary Reports are included below. To
provide the most comprehensive report possible, the School
System is already preparing for the next survey in 2011.
The system-wide Educational Specifications are being update;
a demographic survey of the county is underway; and a
comprehensive existing conditions assessment is being
undertaken.
Periodically,
the Board of Education has requested the County
Commissioners to consider a local school bond referendum or
another way of funding the capital needs of the school
system. The request typically consists of the highest
priority projects as determined by the Board of Education.
To prepare for the 2005 Bond Program the Board of Education
proposed $210 million. A link to the
2005
Project List is included below. The
Board of Education and the County Commissioners then
determine the final amount of the bond referendum. The
2005 bond referendum was $123 million. A link to the
final
list of projects included in the 2005 Bond Program
is included below. Supplemental funding has been added
by the Board of Education. A link to the break down of
program funding and supplemental
funding is included below.
Since 1994,
the Board of Education has received over $342 million in
capital improvement funding, including both State and Local
Bonds. A link to a
summary of these bond programs and the use of funds
is included below. While these programs have gone a
long way to meeting the facility needs of the school system,
the current needs as reflected in the 2006 Facility Needs
Survey are over $310 million.
All of the
building programs have been successfully managed in-house by
school system staff. Projects are consistently
completed on time and under budget. The current focus
of the building program is the provide high-performing
buildings that reduce energy usage, minimize the impact on
the environment, utilize the building and site as a teaching
tool, and meet the instructional needs of the educational
program to allow every student to succeed.
Links
Educational
Specifications
-Elementary School
-Middle School
-High School
Capacity Summary
Cost Summary Reports
2005 Bond Program - Proposed Project
List
2005 Bond Program - Final Project List
Program & Supplemental Funding/Bond
Summary and Use of Funds
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