The first step in developing a facility master plan, takes professional planners through a process of clearly defining the schools and community’s educational philosophy and beliefs and then incorporating them into a mission statement.

 

The school-wide educational plan is developed during this phase, providing the educational strategies to achieve the school’s mission. The Key Educator’s group and the planning team should ensure that the meaning and intent of the mission statement is reflected in all committee decisions.

 

 

A vital stage in the master-planning process, data collection enables the planning committee and board to make informed decisions concerning the viability of various options to address facility needs. Shared with the various community groups through presentations and community dialog, empowers the community and instills a level of trust and a feeling of ownership in the process and outcome.

 

During this phase, information is developed to measure the quality and educational effectiveness of the school facilities. Facilities are assessed with respect to their physical condition and educational adequacy.

 

Facility Assessments evaluates the infrastructure of the facility using an objective measurement instrument. In order to understand the need for new or renovated facilities, there needs to be a clear understanding of the existing conditions of the current facilities.

 

Demographic analysis of the community is conducted to provide enrollment data, growth patterns, decreasing population, diversity trends and anomalies. While this information is useful, it cannot provide an accurate enrollment projection without the experience and knowledge of a professional demographer. Their analyze of all of the factors can predict the enrollment forecast close enough for school boards to make informed decisions.

 

Educational Adequacy is information regarding the facility’s educational adequacy. In assessing school facilities, it is important to ensure they are healthy in physical structure but support the educational programs and provide the maximum potential for student learning. In an educational adequacy analysis factors such as square footage, adjacencies, capacity analysis and safety and security are all considered in creating a healthy learning environment for both the students and teachers.

 

Communities and Community involvement is the most powerful influence in the decision-making process. We recognize the need for the community to participate actively in determining the vision and direction of the community as a whole. The values of the community at large must be determined collaboratively. The values of smaller communities within the large community must also be identified and addressed.

 

An open dialogue allows schools and communities to more thoroughly review and resolve their issues. Community partnerships often produce more systemic recommendations, incorporating a broad range of the community’s physical, cultural, social, economic, organizational, and educational assets.

 

In the third phase of the facilities master planning process, the planning committee determines the best option(s) for addressing current and future facility needs of LPSS. The planning committee will reconcile the cost of facility improvements and capital expenditures needed to support current and future educational programs with the financial resources available to LPSS. To succeed, the analysis and decision-making phase must be a very interactive process, providing the opportunity for all participants to express their opinions openly and without concern for criticism. Everyone’s opinion will be welcomed and valued. Total consensus of the decisions made by the planning committee be it prefect or not is critical to the success.

 

A Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) is a document that serves as a blueprint for the implementation of the ideas and options presented in the facility master plan. It uses data and information gathered from the facility master plan. The CIP focuses primarily on costs, timelines, and schedules associated with facility capital expenditures.