Now What !?! part 1

Part 1 of 3

For any of us who work with educational facilities the past few weeks have been a roller coaster or opportunity, promise and disappointment. We have watched the stimulus debate take a series of twists and turns and in the end has left funding for school renovation and construction out in the cold. So now what do we do? Our educational facility infrastructure is still as old and in need as it was on inauguration day. Our schools are limping along with few dollars available for facility maintenance let alone capital improvements. What can we do?

Make the most of what we have.
School buildings are tremendous resources, but we need to get better at maintaining them and using them to their full potential. There are a few simple steps that will help maximize existing buildings:

Clean, Clean, Clean. You might be surprised, but clean buildings are less likely to be vandalized, improve the general state of mind of the occupants and are a great representation of your culture and accomplishments.

Take care of your building’s internal systems; plumbing, heating, air conditioning, lighting can all be expensive to maintain, but are necessary to a properly functioning educational space. Don’t skimp on maintenance, it will come back to haunt you.

Look for ways to use existing spaces more effectively. Has your school done a recent block plan, or evaluated the efficiency of its spaces? Evaluate if you are really using each room to its maximum potential. You may find that you have more space than you thought through a better understanding of how the space is used.