21st Century Learning Environments

Priority: Co-design and implement the Educational Facilities Master Plan (EFMP) with input from the community to create modern, efficient, healthy, green, safe and equitable conditions for 21st-century learning. Ensure every student experiences a well-maintained and joy-inspiring learning environment.

Visionary Goal

A long-term capital and facilities plan that empowers the creation of 21st-century learning environments, with investment guided by each community’s unique priorities and a commitment to safety and equity.

Why It Matters

Our schools are the anchors of our communities. Modern buildings are critical for teaching and learning, community health, sustainability, and vibrancy. Maintaining, cleaning, and modernizing our facilities is a monumental challenge. The District manages an expansive and aging infrastructure, with 522 campuses and 803 buildings covering more than 62 million square feet, with an average age of 84 years. Our buildings are grappling with more than $3 billion in deferred maintenance costs, which will only grow. Despite annual budget allocations for maintenance and capital improvements, our efforts are increasingly insufficient, leaving us struggling to provide equitable facilities for students and staff. Proactive, sustainable planning for long-term capital and facility investment is essential to transforming our schools into spaces that fully support students and a wide array of daily experiences--from athletic fields and science labs to restrooms and cafeterias.

Strategies

Collaboratively advocate for and continue to seek consistent capital funding from public and private sources to support critical facility needs, program enhancements, healthy green schools, and renewable energy solutions.
Develop strategic recommendations based on facility assessments and educational considerations to evaluate outdated buildings, decommission independent annexes or branches, and ease building overcrowding.
Adopt building performance indicators to establish clear decision-making standards for well-resourced, environmentally-friendly, and efficient buildings.
Ensure engagement with parents and community members through surveys and community meetings while upholding a transparent and publicly accessible up-to-date five-year Education Facilities Master Plan (EFMP).

Five-Year Goals

Increase facility improvement funding by pursuing public (e.g., local, state, and federal) and private sources, aiming for a 10% increase annually, reaching $250M.
Implement energy management systems and sustainable building practices.
Increase the energy efficiency of school buildings by 20%.
Promote transparency by monitoring attendance, gathering feedback, and annually improving our EFMP website based on stakeholder input to continuously improve our educational facilities.