School Plant Management

For centuries, education was envisioned primarily as the process through which human beings interact and improve their potential. Today, the importance of school plants, where this interaction takes place, is widely recognized. Education plants are no longer the shelters for education; rather, they are significant educational inputs capable of enriching or impeding educational outcomes. Recent studies showed that when a school's condition improved from one category to the next, for example, from poor to fair, students' standardized achievement test scores rose an average of 5.45 percentage points, as noted by Maureen Edwards in 1991. Today's educational plants are no longer one-classroom spaces. Parallel to the progress in educational programs and processes, school plants have become complex settings acquiring substantial resources. Managing these plants effectively is an important function of educational leadership. However, school plant management has been one of the most neglected areas in educational leadership.

Historically, funding school plants has been considered the responsibility of local school districts. [Page 907]While contribution by federal government and states has been minimal, school districts have spent a steadily decreasing proportion of their budgets on constructing new buildings and maintaining and repairing increasingly deteriorating school facilities. In fact, maintenance and operations expenditures have become first to be cut during the financial austerity, as noted by Linda Frazier. Consequently, maintenance and operations spending for school plants have fallen 14% in 1920 to 9.6% in 1960, to 6.7% in 1982, to an 9.09% in 1999, and to all-time low of 7.4% in 2003.

The consequences of deferred maintenance of school plants resulted in premature building deterioration, inadequate ventilation, insufficient access for disabled students, poor heating and air-conditioning, insufficient security, crumbling roofs, nonfunctioning toilets, increased repair and replacement costs, and reduced operating efficiency of equipment, as noted by the Center for Educational Statistics in 1999 and Linda Frazier in 2001. Recent studies show that 50% of the school buildings in the United States were constructed before 1960. While there are great variations within each state, 25% of schools were built before 1950, and 20% before 1940. The average age of the school building is approaching 50 years, according to the American School and University in 1999. An Association of School Business Officials (ASBO) International study in 1999 indicated that 33% of all school buildings in the United States are unsatisfactory. Twenty-five million students attend schools with at least one unsatisfactory condition, such as leaky roofs, asbestos, plumbing problems or lack of space. The General Accounting Office (GAO) conducted an audit on the state of the public school facilities and determined that the nation's schools needed $112 billion in repairs in 1995. National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) found a need for $127 billion to put school facilities into good condition in 1999. A National Education Association (NEA) study in 2000 documented that about $322 billion dollars is needed for the unmet renovation, maintenance, repairs, and technology needs of American public schools.

Policymakers and educators have realized that the construction, maintenance, and operations of school plants involve substantial public funds. Therefore, effective management of school plants has become an important factor in maximizing the utilization of scarce resources. Planning is the first and crucial step in effective school plant management. As stated in a 2003 report by National Forum on Education Statistics (NFES), planning integrates a wide range of facilities management components, including facilities, staff, users, work orders, scheduling, and compliance and regulatory issues. Planning of school plant management enables administrators to identify the needs, prioritize projects, and maximize the utilization of available resources. In other words, planning of school plant management prevents school leaders from falling victim to inefficiencies and missteps. The Planning Guide for Maintaining School Facilities, compiled by NFES and ASBO in 2003, offered a step-by-step planning guide of school plant management to school leaders.

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