NCEFPREPORT ON THESTATE OF THE STATE OF SCHOOL FACILITIES

February 14, 2008Steve Taynton, AIASchool Planning, NCDPI

Synopsis of 2007

• 208 projects in 2007, 733 review letters

• 47 (23%) New Schools, remainder additions/renovations/other

• Currently running about 100 projects in some phase of design/review

• Strive for review within ten days

AVERAGE YEARLY COSTS

$146.22$148.10

$91.69

$96.57

$87.28

$91.70$95.59

$92.98

$96.23

$113.98

$152.99

$80.00

$90.00

$100.00

$110.00

$120.00

$130.00

$140.00

$150.00

$160.00

1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

Current Construction Costs

• 2007 costs running $153/ square footAbout 3.4% more than $148 in 2006

• We urge you to return our cost information requests - it’s the only way we can share this valuable info everyone needs! Only + Half of you are responding.

• We are looking for Total Sq. Ft. & Bid Costs as Awarded

• We urge you to take separate Site Work bids

Capital Funds

• 2006/2007 Local Bonds Passed $3,084,500,000 (5 Passed/One defeated $37,000,000)

• 2007/08 Local Bonds to date: $939,240,000(4 passed/One Defeated:$42,100,000)

• 2006/2007 PSBCF – ADM : $ 108,675,189– Lottery: $130,159,590

• Total Capital Funds (Not including COPS/Debt reduction)Spent 2006/2007– $21,216,361 State– $743,931 Federal– $1,170,080,840 Local– $1,192,041,132 Total

2006/2007 Use of the PSBCF

Other1.7%

Repairs - General

3.2%

Reroofing3.8%

Enlargement / Renov15.7%

Technology4.7%

Debt Service49.3%

Bldg Sys - General

6.1%

Construction 14%

Heating / AC1.6%

2007/2008 Medicaid Swap

• Session Law 2007-323 requires that the State assume certain county expenses of the Medical Assistance Program.

• The PSBCF (ADM portion) will reserve either 60% of the PSBCF allocation OR 60% of what the state pays for medicaid -- whichever is less.

• Since it is unknown exactly what the total yearly medicaid cost will be until August, 60% will be held in reserve. Then, at the end of the FY, if the Medicaid payment has been less than the 60% withheld, the appropriate difference will be refunded to the LEA.

PSBCF ADM Portion (2007/2008 Only)

• Projected ADM fund, 2007-08: $85,024,530• Less 60 percent - 51,014,718• Expected Net to LEAs $ 34,009,812

• NOTE: The county “must use” a portion of that available revenue, equal to the amount withheld from the PSBCF distribution, for school construction, renovation, additions, technology, or debt service. (Section 31.16.2(b)) The net result is supposed to be that the school board is not "out" any funds

Literary Loan Fund

• Small revolving loan fund from monies received from sale of state owned swamp land, mineral rights, etc.

• Maximum 8% interest (usually much less)

• Payback over ten years

• Current cash balance + $345k

• New items– Construction Management at Risk– Design and Construction Procedures– Selected Laws– School Closing Procedures– New Transmittal Form

• Upcoming Items– New, revised database for school facilities– Community Use of School Facilities– Design of Schools to Resist Violent Attack– Updated Facility Guidelines

New Transmittal Form

• Forms in the back of the room

• Trying to get basic info about the project– Name, address, former name– Delivery method– Budget, bid date– High performance features– School replacement

2007 Passed Legislation

• H 63 Exempt Capital Lease Properties from property tax

• H73 Raise limit for Formal Bids to $500K• H735 Raise threshold to 20K sf for OSFM review• H714 Joint leg. study committee on public school

funding formulas (incl. PSBCF and Lottery dist)• S1245 Retainage limited to 5% then none at 50%

completion• Budget Bill: “Pervious Pavement”• Medicaid Swap 2007/2008 only• Federal: Subtitle E--Healthy High-Performance

Schools (studies and guidelines)

2008 Potential Legislative Action

• Made Crossover– HB 9 Change Lottery distribution to ADM,

Low Wealth & High Growth – H30 Raise Charter limit to 125

• Joint Legislative Study Committee on Public School Funding Formulas looking at ADM & Lottery Formulas

• Who knows what else?

Status of Lottery

• School Construction Portion

– 2006/2007 was actually 130M• 170M was initially estimated

– 140M estimated/appropriated for 2007/2008• Running about 11.5% less

Two ½ cent sales tax

• 2011 (3 years) begins Sunset on two ½ cent sales tax earmarking for school construction

• Bill to extend for another ten years died

• 30% of one and 60% of other are currently earmarked for capital outlay

New & Potential Funding Legislation

• New QZAB Allocation approved: – 11.444M for each of 2006 & 2007

– Has been distributed

– Big difficulty in finding lenders

Other Rumblings

• Some one always thinks there is a better way to build schools

• Virtually every year a new group of citizens forms a task force to look at reducing the cost of school construction in their locale

• Anti tax groups and others pushing for “cheaper” school construction, too small classrooms, modular construction, poorer quality

Other Rumblings

• Public-Private Partnerships: some being explored now

• Still lots of talk (but not much action) about smaller schools– Early/Middle Colleges are a specialized

exception

Building Code Issues

• Elevators, ramps, etc. required for all press boxes

• Code issues with Pre-K continue to plague LEAs

• Locked elevators causing code problems

• Can once again put lavs in toilet vestibule

• HVAC fresh air requirements not being met

• Incorrect HVAC design temperatures

Plan Review Issues

• NO RESPONSE TO OUR REVIEW LETTERS!– Have instituted a reminder letter system

• CLASSROOM SIZES BELOW MINIMUMS!• Rooftop HVAC units/rooftop “heat pump city”• Inefficient HVAC systems – get engineers

involved earlier! Cheaper systems are NOT better

• Pedestrians crossing roads/parking to get to PE/athletic fields

• Poor flashing details• Code violations• Send Mobiles/Mega-modulars in for review

Sustainability

• “LEED for Schools” “Collaborative for High Performance Schools” and Triangle “J” “High Performance Guidelines” are all good tools

• Use “true” life cycle costing!

• Need to find way to use Operating Budget to pay for any increased initial cost

• Must be automated controls - not over-ridden or misunderstood by users

Sustainability continued

• 5yr, 8yr, 10yr, 15 yr ?? Payback needs to be less than life of system unless purely for environmental reasons

• Some LEED items seem to be contradictory– Certified wood vs. local manufacture– Daylighting overridden by user light switches

• Ensure that features are meaningful - not just catchwords

• Look more at Geothermal! Good operating/maint paybacks

Other Stuff

• Expect an interesting legislative session– Bills from last year may come again!– Be ready to lobby quickly– Seemingly innocuous bills can have a major

impact

Challenge

Challenge

• Break out of the box in design – why are classroom “wings” just stuck onto the core?

• Make sure your “design elements” aren’t just “decoration”

• Consider how to break down large schools into smaller communities at a later time - non departmental design?

• Remember that longevity and low maintenance are crucial – be careful with “experimentation”

• Think about how YOU would like to learn or work in the spaces you create

Questions ??

The Guy who blew off Valentines Day