Facilities 

Information

Management

A Guide for State and 

Local Education Agencies

Education Facilities Data Task Force

National Forum on Education Statistics

Sponsored by the National Center for Education Statistics and 

the National Cooperative Education Statistics System

July 2003
U.S. Department of Education

Rod Paige

Secretary

Institute of Education Sciences

Grover J. Whitehurst

Director

National Center for Education Statistics

Val Plisko

Associate Commissioner

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) is the primary federal entity for collecting, analyzing, and

reporting data related to education in the United States and other nations. It fulfills a congressional mandate to 

collect, collate, analyze, and report full and complete statistics on the condition of education in the United States;

conduct and publish reports and specialized analyses of the meaning and significance of such statistics; assist

state and local education agencies in improving their statistical systems; and review and report on education

activities in foreign countries.

NCES activities are designed to address high priority education data needs; provide consistent, reliable, complete, and accurate indicators of education status and trends; and report timely, useful, and high quality data to

the U.S. Department of Education, the Congress, the states, other educational policy makers, practitioners, data

users, and the general public.

We strive to make our products available in a variety of formats and in language that is appropriate to a variety

of audiences. You, as our customer, are the best judge of our success in communicating information effectively. If

you have any comments or suggestions about this or any other NCES product or report, we would like to hear

from you. Please direct your comments to:

National Center for Education Statistics

Institute of Education Sciences

U.S. Department of Education

1990 K Street NW, Room 900

Washington, DC 20006-5651

July 2003

The NCES World Wide Web Home Page is http://nces.ed.gov

The NCES World Wide Web Electronic Catalog is http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch

Suggested Citation

U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, National Forum on Education Statistics.

Facilities Information Management: A Guide for State and Local Education Agencies, NCES 2003-400, prepared by 

the Education Facilities Data Task Force. Washington, DC: 2003.

For ordering information on this report, write:

U.S. Department of Education

ED Pubs

P.O. Box 1398

Jessup, MD 20794-1398

Order online at www.edpubs.org, or call toll free 1-877-4ED-Pubs (433-7827)

Content Contact:

Lee Hoffman

(202) 502–7356

Lee.Hoffman@ed.gov
iii

Members of the Education

Facilities Data Task Force

Task Force Chair

Patricia Murphy, Budget Administrator

Utah State Office of Education

Salt Lake City, Utah

Task Force Members

Louis Ferratier, Principal Fiscal Consultant

School Construction Services

Illinois State Board of Education

Springfield, Illinois

John Fink, District Planner

Oklahoma City Public Schools

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Engin Konanc, Chief Consultant

Statistical Research and Data Center

North Carolina Department of Public

Instruction

Raleigh, North Carolina

William Porter, Administrator, Program Support

New Hampshire Department of Education

Concord, New Hampshire

Robert Rodosky, Executive Director

Accountability, Research, and Planning

Jefferson County Public Schools

Louisville, Kentucky

Robert Thomas, Assistant Superintendent

Finance and Human Resources

Knox County Schools

Knoxville, Tennessee

Principal Consulting Author

Mary Filardo, Executive Director

The 21st Century School Fund

Washington, DC

Consultants

Oona Cheung, Former Project Director

Jinhee Lee, Project Associate

Deborah Newby, Project Director

Council of Chief State School Officers

Washington, DC

Contract Officer

Lee Hoffman, Program Director

National Center for Education Statistics

U.S. Department of Education

Washington, DC
iv Facilities Information Management: A Guide for State and Local Education Agencies

Acknowledgments

This Guide was developed through the contributions from many individuals representing a wide array of local,

state, and national organizations. Without their time and attention it would not have been possible to obtain the

broad input needed for such a guide.

The Task Force thanks the staff under contract from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) at

the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO). Oona Cheung, formerly with CCSSO, managed this project

and researched and wrote drafts of the handbook. Tiffany Lee and John Tai, formerly with CCSSO, provided

research and technical support for the Task Force. During the final stages of the handbook development, Jinhee

Lee of CCSSO coordinated the review process and publication arrangements. The Task Force would also like to

acknowledge the work of Mary Filardo, executive director of the 21st Century School Fund, for contributing her

expertise to the Task Force as well as researching and writing the final document. Lee Hoffman of NCES served

as the Project Officer.

The Guide benefited from various perspectives of education facilities from individuals who attended the

task force meetings and shared their knowledge and expertise with the Task Force. These individuals include

Jose Johnson, formerly with the Texas Education Agency; Duwayne Brookes, California Department of Education;

Roger Young, Haverhill Public Schools; Annette Barwick, Hillsborough County School District; Frank Johnson,

NCES; Tim Magner, formerly with the Schools Interoperability Framework; Barbara Andrepont, formerly with

the Louisiana Department of Education; Curtis Shaw, Austin Independent School District; Gregg Smith, Salt Lake

City School District; Gary Payne, Davis County School District; Larry Newton, Utah State Office of Education; Jeff

Rose, State of Utah; Steve Crane, Valentiner, Crane, Brunjes & Onyon Architects, PC; and Michael Roberts, Salt

Lake City Police Department.

The Task Force appreciates the individuals from local, state, and national education agencies, associations,

and private businesses who reviewed the document and provided helpful feedback. These reviewers include

Blake Haselton, Oldham County Public Schools, Kentucky; Shirley Lauterback, Oldham County Middle School,

Kentucky; Barney McCulloch, McCulloch and Associates; James P. Ewalt, Oldham County Public Schools,

Kentucky; Melinda Fowler, Texas Education Agency; Michael A. Mulheim, Jefferson County Public Schools,

Kentucky; Frank Norwoord, Katy Independent School District, Texas; William DeJong, DeJong and Associates;

Thomas Szuba, Jr., Consultant; Judy Marks, National Clearinghouse on Education Facilities; David A. Uhlig,

Charlottesville City Schools, Virginia; Sarah Woodhead, District of Columbia Public Schools; Sue Robertson,

Facilities Planning Alliance, North Carolina; John Bowers, Consultant; Christopher Lyons, U.S. Department of

Education; and Katie Simons and Deborah Newby, CCSSO.

Finally, the Task Force would like to thank the members of the National Forum on Education Statistics and

the National Education Statistics Agenda Committee for their continued support and guidance throughout the

development of the Guide.

The information and opinions published here are the product of the National Forum on Education

Statistics and do not necessarily represent the policy or views of the U.S. Department of Education or

the National Center for Education Statistics.
v

Table of Contents

Members of the Education Facilities Data Task Force . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iii

Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iv

Foreword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix

Chapter 1

Purpose and Scope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Purpose of This Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Scope of This Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Audiences for This Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Sources and Methodology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Chapter 2 

Customizing a School Facilities Data System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Process for Selecting Data Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Putting the System in Place . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Linking to Other Data Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Chapter 3

Using Data Elements for Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Condition Measures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Design Measures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Utilization Measures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Funding Measures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
vi Facilities Information Management: A Guide for State and Local Education Agencies

Chapter 4

Facility Data Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Facilities Identification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Facilities Condition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Facilities Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Facilities Utilization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Facilities Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Facilities Budget and Finance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66

Data Elements Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

Chapter 5

Resources and Connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79

Professional Organizations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79

Federal Agencies and Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

State Education Agencies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84

Glossary of Selected Facilities-Related Terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .89

Appendix: Calculated Data Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
vii

Foreword

The National Forum on Education Statistics (the Forum) is pleased to release this Guide, the latest in a series of

publications designed to promote good practices relating to the collection, maintenance, and use of education

data. The work was supported by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). As the statistics agency

for the U.S. Department of Education, NCES maintains a cooperative education statistics system with the states

to improve the quality, comparability, and uniformity of elementary and secondary school data. The Forum members are states, school districts, and other institutions that are major providers or consumers of education data.

The Forum’s goal is to encourage cooperative data improvement at all levels of education governance.

In 1997, the Forum published Basic Data Elements for Elementary and Secondary Education Information

Systems. That document recommended a set of basic data elements about students and school staff that, if maintained at the school, district, and state levels in a standardized format, would give decision makers comparable

information upon which to base policy for promoting effective education. Other recent publications of the

Forum include Safety in Numbers: Collecting and Using Crime, Violence, and Discipline Incident Data to Make a

Difference in Schools; Building an Automated Student Record System; Safeguarding Your Technology; Technology at

Your Fingertips; Protecting the Privacy of Student Records; and Privacy Issues in Education Staff Records.

As part of its ongoing effort to promote data-driven educational policy decision-making, the Forum formed

the Education Facilities Data Task Force. This Task Force met over a period of 3 years to identify and define the

basic data elements related to public school facilities. It also identified a framework of indicators to answer

important policy questions relating to the condition, design, utilization, management, and funding of school

facilities. The Task Force’s efforts culminated in this publication.

It is our hope that this Guide will contribute to the development of valid and comparable information on

school facilities that will support the drafting of legislation, policy-making, research, and dissemination of information to government agencies, funding sources, and the general public.

Patricia Murphy, Budget Administrator

Utah State Office of Education and

Chair, Education Facilities Data Task Force,

National Forum on Education Statistics

ix

Introduction

There are 96,000 public schools in the United States governed by 17,000 school districts in 50 states and the

extra-state jurisdictions. Facilities planners and school district officials at the local level often do not have data

systems that support the complex and demanding responsibilities of decision-making, planning, management,

oversight, and funding of school buildings. Moreover, even when facilities data at the building level are maintained at the school or district level, these data may not be available to state education agencies. Thus, there is a

”missing link” between the information maintained by facilities managers in school districts and the information

needed for policy planning and implementation at the state and national level.

Within a district over time, as well as at the state level, facilities data and information are often maintained

inconsistently. The data may be collected and organized in various formats, or different definitions may be used

for the same terms. Therefore, while many states conduct facilities assessments, it is hard to generalize findings

across states. Moreover, some states conduct facilities studies on a regular basis, while others use ad hoc surveys

that assess specific needs but may not support future information needs.1 Without consistently defined indicators, policy makers cannot accurately assess the amount of funding needed for school construction, where funds

for new schools are most needed, or whether funds are being spent efficiently or equitably.

This Guide has been developed to provide a framework for decision makers, school facility managers, and

the public to identify a basic set of school facilities data elements, including definitions that will meet their information needs. Chapter 1 describes the purpose, scope, and intended audiences for this Guide. Chapter 2

describes how to use this Guide to develop a customized information system, including how the facilities data

should link to other data systems. Chapter 3 examines some key measures—such as school utilization, functional

age, deferred maintenance, and expenditures per student—and discusses the challenges in standardizing the

definitions of these terms. Chapter 4 lists hundreds of facility data elements, including standard definitions and

“options,” categorized into six sections: identification, condition, design, utilization, management, and budget and

finance. Chapter 5 identifies additional resources, including sources for data elements and their definitions, that

will be helpful to those involved in compiling school facilities data.

1 Tiffanie Lee and Oona Cheung, An Analysis of State Collection and Reporting on School Facilities Data, Working Draft (Washington, DC: Council

of Chief State School Officers, 1998).

Purpose of This Guide

Decisions about school funding, renovation, modernization, and infrastructure

improvements need to be supported by high-quality and timely data. This Guide

provides a framework for collecting, evaluating, and maintaining education facilities

data and for using this information to answer important policy questions about

school facilities. A complete and current education facilities database—whether at

the local, state, or national level—can help state and local education agency planners, national policy makers, and the general public answer questions concerning

the inventory, condition, design, utilization, management, and funding of public

schools.

This Guide is designed to assist education systems in the following areas:

 policy-making and decision-making at the district, state, and national levels;

 operations, management, and improvement of local and state education 

systems and federal education programs;

 greater comparability of facilities statistics at all governance levels;

 greater compatibility between facilities data and other school-related data

systems; and 

 development of a process to plan and implement a data system.

School and district data users will find the data elements and indicators easy

to incorporate into their planning and management systems and, at the local level,

they will be useful for day-to-day management and extended planning. Most of the

data elements and indicators defined in this Guide are already used by school business officials, but this Guide will help to standardize terminology associated with 

K-12 educational facilities in the public sector, including its use by private-sector

vendors as they develop and update commercial facilities maintenance software

packages. The recommendations in this document are meant to serve as the “best

practice” guidelines to enable state education agencies to promote the collection of

high-quality and useful data at the local level.

Scope of This Guide

A three-tier approach—consisting of policy questions, indicators, and data elements—has been used in this Guide to provide a logical framework for an analysis

of the condition, design, utilization, management, and funding of public school facilities. Rather than attempting to provide a comprehensive list of data elements, this

Chapter 1: Purpose and Scope 1

Chapter 1

Purpose and Scope
2 Facilities Information Management: A Guide for State and Local Education Agencies

Guide identifies and defines a subset of data elements that are critical to answering

important policy questions relating to elementary and secondary school facilities.

Policy goals frame the scope of the inquiry and provide general directions for

decision-making. These goals are broad in scope, require subjective analysis and

values clarification, and may not be answerable by statistical data elements alone.

For example, the seemingly simple question “Are our school facilities adequate?”

rests on a host of complex beliefs about what comprises a good education and the

social role of schools, as well as the quality of the school buildings themselves.

Information systems developed using the facility data elements identified in

this Guide will help policy makers and others address the following important 

policy questions:

1. Inventory • How many schools are in the school district and 

community? 

• What is their age, size, and location?

2. Condition • Are the schools and support service facilities safe, 

healthful, and in good repair?

3. Design • Are the school buildings designed to support best 

educational practices and help students achieve at 

high levels? 

• Are the operations and administrative buildings 

designed for efficient operations and administration?

4. Utilization • Do the schools provide sufficient space to accommodate changing enrollments and community use? 

• Are the administrative buildings fully used?

5. Management • Are school district facilities managed effectively and 

efficiently? 

• Are they managed by the school district, private 

contractors, or another government agency?

6. Budget and Finance • Are capital budgets and operating funds for 

school district facilities adequate, and are they 

equitably allocated and distributed?

These questions are not easy to answer. Thousands of bits of information need

to be collected and analyzed before questions such as these can be answered

responsibly. However, once data elements are assembled in an electronic database,

they can be used to evaluate indicators of adequacy, efficiency, equity, and effectiveness. Indicators are data elements, or more often, combinations of data elements,

that provide information that can help answer policy questions about the education

system.2 The indicators described in this Guide are used to measure the “health” of

education facilities. The answer to the broad question of whether today's schools

are adequate can only be determined by looking at numerous indicators. These may

include such things as projected student growth, an assessment of an older school's

adaptability to offer programs that did not exist when the building was constructed,

or the capacity of schools to support smaller class size or support the integration of

technology in the curriculum.

Policy goals frame the

scope of the inquiry 

and provide general

directions for 

decisionmaking.
Chapter 1: Purpose and Scope 3

By providing the information that is needed to answer specific key policy

questions, indicators help tell the story of the inventory, condition, design, utilization, management, and funding of school facilities. They link the policy questions 

to the data elements through their use in analysis and communication of complex 

situations and conditions. While no single data element can present a full picture 

of school facilities, there are a few key indicators that are particularly robust storytellers. Very often these indicators do not provide meaningful information until they

are combined, or measured over time. For example, “number of classrooms,” “gross

square feet of building space,” “class size,” and “enrollment capacity” are some of the

data elements that, taken together, determine the degree to which school facilities

are being utilized and help answer the policy question: “Do we need to build more

schools?”

Following is another example of the relationship among policy questions, indicators, and data elements:

When the 1995 General Accounting Office (GAO) report3 was released, the

indicator of facility condition that stayed in the minds of the public was that $113

billion was needed for school facilities improvements nationwide. This simple number was able to communicate a complex story only because it was supported by

thousands of data elements.

Data elements are the basic units, the “building blocks,” of information. They

are generally quantifiable and measurable. This Guide identifies the basic data elements that have been judged to be most useful in answering a full range of policy

questions about school facilities, which include the school buildings themselves and

their related outdoor areas (such as playing fields, parking lots, and playgrounds),

as well as administrative buildings (including administrative offices, bus garages,

and warehouses) owned and operated by a school district. The scope is limited to

identifying the most important pieces of information that are feasible for school

districts to keep in their data systems and that can be compiled and aggregated to

develop statistics describing the inventory, condition, design, utilization, management, and funding of educational and administrative facilities operated by public

school systems.

The data elements that are included and defined in this Guide will help education stakeholders with tasks such as these:

 identifying building and grounds inventory;

 assessing the condition of building systems and components;

 describing the quality and character of facilities design;

 evaluating the utilization of educational and administrative facilities;

 describing the school district's management of facilities; and

 reporting on facilities funding.

Policy Question

Are the teaching, learning, and support service environments safe, healthful, and in

good repair?

➔ Indicator • The school is safe for occupancy.

➔ Examples of • Fire Protection System Type (#2080)

Data Elements • Installation Date (#2440) 

• Last Check Date (#2444) 

Indicators help tell 

the story of the 

inventory, condition,

design, utilization,

management, 

and funding 

of school 

facilities.

Data elements are 

the basic units of 

information.
4 Facilities Information Management: A Guide for State and Local Education Agencies

The goal is facilities

data that allow 

for meaningful 

comparisons among

schools and among

school 

districts.

Data elements on furniture, fixtures, and movable equipment are excluded

from this Guide. Data elements relating to technology use in schools and by school

administrators are the focus of another Forum publication. Existing definitions from

other sources are used wherever possible and appropriate.4 This Guide does not try

to define architectural and construction data elements except where they have a

unique meaning as applied to schools. It is not meant to include all of the information about school facilities needed to run a school district, but rather focuses on the

data needed to answer policy questions. These data elements can be used to collect

comparable education information at all levels of the school system.5 Related data

can be drawn from other sources, including student, staff, finance, and facilities

databases. The goal is facilities data that allow for meaningful comparisons among

schools and among school districts.

Audiences for This Guide

The information in this Guide will be of use to persons who manage or plan education facilities; members of local school boards, state education agencies, and state

boards of education; and government officials who need dependable information to

set long-term directions. It will also serve decision makers who have a broader

purview that includes but is not limited to schools, such as municipal planners and

state and federal legislators. Since questions about program effectiveness and efficiency often require information about the capacity of school facilities and their

ability to support instructional programs, this document is expected to also serve

the needs of federal agencies, education interest groups, researchers, school administrators, and members of the business community. Moreover, to the extent that this

document facilitates the collection of clear and comprehensive facilities data, members of the media and the general public will be in a position to better understand

and analyze school facilities issues.

Sources and Methodology

This Guide was written under the direction of the Education Facilities Data Task

Force, which was established by the National Education Statistics Agenda

Committee of the National Forum on Education Statistics, to identify the basic 

data elements for education facilities data. The Task Force, supported by the

Administrative Records Development Project of the Council of Chief State School

Officers, began by examining current data needs and collections. Two principal

sources of data elements and definitions that were identified and extensively used

by the Task Force were the NCES publications Property Accounting: A Handbook of

Standard Terminology and A Guide for Classifying Information about Education

Property (also referred to as Handbook III, Revised 1977, now out of print). The

conceptual framework of interconnecting policy questions, indicators, and data 

elements is modeled on the Task Force's predecessor and its 1997 report, Basic 

Data Elements for Elementary and Secondary Education Information Systems, which

focused on student and staff data. This was the second major source for the current

Guide.

Project staff also examined federally required definitions or standards, including the Americans with Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines, information from

the Office of Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Indoor Air Quality Basics
Chapter 1: Purpose and Scope 5

for Schools, and others. The goal was to identify data elements, together with “bestpractice” definitions from professional resources such as the International Building

Code, International Fire Code, publications of the American Institutes of Architects,

as well as input from school security and emergency response teams.

Staff from the Council of Chief State School Officers reviewed currently available data in their report An Analysis of State Collection and Reporting of School

Facilities Data. This description of actual information, when compared with the

desired information identified from other sources, laid out the general scope and

direction for the task force.

With a list of data elements, the Task Force began to narrow the focus based

on the agreed-upon criteria (described in Chapter 3) for selection. The Task Force

identified key measures of the indicators, and defined them to show how they

incorporated the data elements.

Finally, the draft Guide for Collecting and Using Data on Elementary and

Secondary Educational Facilities was reviewed by many interested parties 

(including architects, school business managers, and school facilities planners) 

for comprehensiveness and accuracy. These reviewers' insights and perspectives

were invaluable in shaping the final document.

In summary, the Guide took as its sources both current and recommended

practice, and relied upon the advice of subject experts and data users to organize

the information in a logical, accessible product. This same process will be followed

in subsequent revisions of the Guide in hope that it will remain a useful tool for

schools and school planners for some time.

4 National Forum on Education Statistics, Technology in Schools Task Force, Technology in Schools:

Suggestions, Tools, and Guidelines for Assessing Technology in Elementary and Secondary Education (NCES

2003-313) (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, 2002), p. 29-39.

5 National Forum on Education Statistics, Basic Data Elements for Elementary and Secondary Education

Information Systems (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, 1997), p. II-2.

3 General Accounting Office, America's Schools Not Designed or Equipped for 21st Century (Washington, DC:

U.S. General Accounting Office, 1995), p. 20.

2 National Forum on Education Statistics, Basic Data Elements for Elementary and Secondary Education

Information Systems (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, 1997), p. II-3.

Chapter 2: Customizing a School Facilities Data System 7

The process for 

selecting and screening

the content components 

of an information 

system is 

pivotal.

Chapter 2

Customizing a School 

Facilities Data System

There is no federal or state mandate for collecting the basic data elements identified in this report, nor is there any expectation that all of the data elements will be

useful in every situation. The policy questions, indicators, and basic data elements

described in this Guide are intended to serve as a framework that state and local

education agencies can use to identify their own education facilities information

needs and to promote the standardization of facilities data. By tailoring these basic

data elements to reflect local situations, a state or local education agency should be

better able to respond to questions posed by educators, the community, and the

public about the condition of facilities.

Implementing an information system using these data elements, however,

requires the commitment of all those involved in providing, collecting, maintaining,

reporting, and using the data. A 1997 report of the Forum, Basic Data Elements for

Elementary and Secondary Education Information Systems, suggests a process for

selecting basic data elements that state education agencies and school districts can

use to support the development of a more effective education facilities information

system at the state and local levels. The process for selecting data elements and

strategies for putting such a system in place are summarized here.

Process for Selecting Data Elements

The process for selecting and screening the content components of an information

system is pivotal to ensuring the collection of useful, valid, cost-effective facilities

information. Adopting the basic facilities data elements included in this document,

or adapting and incorporating them in part, works best as a collaborative exercise

between those who manage information systems and those who use the information such systems produce. Putting in place a system to routinely support education

decisions requires the commitment of all those involved in providing, collecting,

maintaining, reporting, and using the data.

From an early stage, all parties involved in facilities operations and management should be involved in designing the data collection system. The advice and

support of all stakeholders—including facilities planners, business managers,

architects, data management staff, risk management personnel, security personnel,

school administrators, school board members, and interested members of the general public—should be sought. The following process can help ensure that the

resulting system provides accurate, reliable, and useful data.
8 Facilities Information Management: A Guide for State and Local Education Agencies

Step 1

Identify and involve stakeholders.

Promoting “ownership” of the process will enhance its eventual success. Identify the

issues that are important to each group of stakeholders and discuss ways to address

them. Anticipate possible resistance to change and encourage everyone who will be

affected by the process to get involved from the very beginning.

Step 2

Identify information needs.

Identify information that is needed to administer programs, meet state and federal

legislative and compliance reporting requirements, and address policy priorities

that are unique to the state.

Step 3

Identify data elements that will generate the needed information.

Use this Guide to identify the data elements that will address your information

needs. If additional data elements are needed to answer specific questions, be sure

they are precisely defined.

Step 4

Review definitions of data elements.

Using existing definitions of data elements will jump-start the process; however,

definitions should be adapted to state or local requirements.

Step 5

Examine the quality of data elements.

Evaluate the quality of the data elements under consideration by applying any of

the following criteria that are relevant:

 The data element should be collected on a regular and timely basis.

 The data element should be reliable.

 The data element should be valid.

 The data element should be quantifiable, or otherwise measurable.

 The data element should be consistently defined by a recognized body.

The data elements, considered as a whole, provide for valid measures of the

desired indicators.

Step 6

Consider the efficacy of the selected data elements.

Ask whether the selected data elements provide a net savings in data collection and

reporting efforts or a net gain in availability and utility of information. Weigh the

costs of data collection versus the benefits to those who will use the information.

Step 7

Update the data elements periodically to reflect changing information needs.

The data system should be examined periodically to determine whether new types

of information are needed to address emerging state and local issues.
Chapter 2: Customizing a School Facilities Data System 9

Developing an efficient

information system is

an ongoing 

activity.

As policy makers move in new directions, different types of information may be

needed. For example, if funds are allocated to reduce class size, information on

school utilization is critical to assessing whether space is available for these smaller

classes.

Putting the System in Place

Developing an efficient information system is an ongoing activity, not a one-time

event. The following procedures describe a methodology to help ensure that the

information system is integrated into the daily operations of the school district or

state agency.

Strategy 1

Adopt a process for selecting basic data elements.

State education agencies should bring together representatives of schools and districts within the state to discuss information needs and ways to collect and record

the information. In many states, conducting an ongoing facilities assessment is an

“unfunded mandate.” Districts have minimal incentive to provide information for

items that are not funded by the state. The state education agencies could use this

opportunity to improve the availability, accuracy, and comparability of data they collect in the aggregate. A consensus from these stakeholders should determine what

data must be collected by all schools and districts within the state, including standard definitions and data collection procedures.

Strategy 2

Incorporate the process into all data planning and development activities.

State education agencies can use this Guide to review the contents of their existing

information systems and the processes used to collect, analyze, and report data.

Redundant and conflicting data collection methods should be eliminated. Data collectors and users should be brought together to ensure that the data collection

process is efficient and effective.

Strategy 3

Use this Guide to encourage schools and districts to provide better-quality data.

The basic data elements in this Guide can be used to encourage schools and districts to collect the needed information and use definitions that will promote the

comparability of data.

Strategy 4

Provide training and support for schools and districts to use the basic data

elements.

Data providers and users at all levels will be more concerned with the accuracy of

the information that is being collected and maintained if they understand how they

will benefit from it.
10 Facilities Information Management: A Guide for State and Local Education Agencies

The ability to relate

information from 

different files or

accounting systems 

is crucial.

Strategy 5

Advertise compelling reasons for districts and schools to use the basic data

elements.

Although it may be generally accepted that our nation’s school facilities need to be

the best possible if they are to meet current and future education goals, the relationship between high-quality data and wise decision-making about facilities may

not be readily apparent to policy makers and the public.

Strategy 6

Work with software vendors to incorporate the basic data elements and their

definitions.

Many data system software applications are available to assist local facilities planners and architects with the operation and management of facilities. To the extent

that the basic data elements and definitions are incorporated into their programs,

facilities information will be more comparable across systems.

Strategy 7

Provide training to information system managers.

State education agencies should take the lead in providing training on the types of

reporting and analysis that will be most useful to federal, state, local, and schoolbased users of facilities data.

Linking to Other Data Systems

More often than not, policy questions reflect multiple categories of information. For

instance, determining the adequacy of facilities to meet future enrollment needs

involves gathering information from two, traditionally separate, data systems—facilities and student enrollment. The ability to relate information from different files or

accounting systems is crucial in constructing useful indicators. Thus linkages

between facilities information and other data systems (such as finance or student

scheduling) must be in place.

Identification codes are typically the “linkage” data elements that connect

facilities information with other data systems. For example, the facilities data system may include building codes, site codes, or instructional space (room) codes.

Data elements that can connect facilities and finance data systems include function

codes, program codes, and subject-matter codes. Unique class codes may be used to

link staff assignments to a given instructional space.

The following resources published by the National Center for Education

Statistics or the National Forum on Education Statistics can help in planning a

broad-based approach to the design of a facilities data system that provides linkages with related databases:

 Student Data Handbook for Elementary, Secondary, and Early Childhood

Education: 2000 Edition provides a comprehensive list of data elements and

their definitions that can be used to collect data about students.

 Staff Data Handbook for Elementary, Secondary, and Early Childhood

Education: 2001 Edition provides a comprehensive list of data elements and

their definitions that can be used to collect data about educators and other

school staff.
Chapter 2: Customizing a School Facilities Data System 11

 Financial Accounting for Local and State Systems, 1990 (revised) (also referred

to as Handbook 2R2) provides a comprehensive list of the data elements and

their definitions that are used in finance data collection. This handbook is

being revised to comply with the current standards of the Governmental

Accounting Standards Board (GASB) and should be published in Summer

2003.

 Education Systems Data Handbook (under development in 2003) will provide

a comprehensive list of data elements that will address the characteristics of

individual education institutions such as programs and governance.

 Technology in Schools, 2003 defines data elements and indicators relating 

to the availability and uses of technology in elementary and secondary 

education.

The use of standard identification conventions makes it possible to link information from several data systems. This is critical since relevant databases may be

controlled by different entities. To serve decision makers effectively, school facilities

data systems should be linked (although they need not be housed in the same location) with other administrative record systems such as financial, student, and staff

accounting systems. An information system also may be linked to the data collected

and used by other functional areas within the education agency, such as research

and evaluation. Linking data can provide a wealth of “added-value” information,

minimize data redundancy, and enhance the capacity of an education agency to

make sound policy decisions.

Chapter 3: Using Data Elements for Analysis 13

Chapter 3

Using Data Elements 

for Analysis

The data elements are the building blocks upon which analysis and policy-making

around school facilities rely. However, if public officials, facility managers, and planners are to make informed decisions and effectively communicate the needs of

school facilities to the public, the hundreds or even thousands of data elements

maintained on a district’s school facilities must be translated into usable information. By “telling the story” of the inventory, condition, design, utilization,

management, and funding of school facilities, measures constructed from these elements enable decision makers to evaluate whether school facilities adequately meet

the educational needs of students and whether these facilities are equitably distributed throughout the district.

The measures in this chapter are syntheses of data elements that help communicate complex situations and conditions. Like data elements, the measures that

are used to analyze school facilities must be unambiguous and uniformly defined.

This chapter provides a more detailed explanation of a few key measures, including

how they are calculated and how they are used.

Condition Measures 

Statistics that describe the condition of a school facility are used by planners, architects, engineers, school facility managers, and the public to understand and

compare the mechanical, structural, and environmental condition of school facilities. The two most commonly cited measures of school condition are building age

and a facility condition index, which compares the cost to fix current building deficiencies with the cost to replace a building.

Functional Age

“The average age of our nation’s school facilities is 40 years”6 is an oft-repeated 

truism that suggests that thousands of obsolete or run-down schools are in need of

replacement or modernization. However, age alone, as defined by the year built, is a

poor indicator of condition. Many of our finest civic and educational buildings are

over 50 years old, and it is not uncommon to find 100-year-old schools in excellent

condition and 20-year-old schools in poor condition. While the initial design and

quality of construction, as well as basic maintenance over the years, contribute to

the difference, more often than not, older schools that are in excellent condition

have undergone a modernization program.
14 Facilities Information Management: A Guide for State and Local Education Agencies

The Facility Condition

Index is a valuable 

tool for comparing the

condition of 

schools.

Functional age is an indicator used to address the imperfect correlation

between the actual age of a school building, which reflects the date it was originally

designed and built, and the condition of the school, which may have been altered

considerably by major improvements. For a school that has never been fully modernized, functional age is measured from the year it was built; for a school that has

undergone a full modernization, functional age is measured from the date of the

most recent modernization. A full school modernization is when all major building

systems and components have been replaced or upgraded to like new and the

school has been modified, if appropriate, to support current educational programs

and practice.8 

Facility Condition Index

The Facility Condition Index (FCI) is a standard tool used by architects, engineers,

and facility planners to compare the condition of school facilities and determine

whether it is more economical to fully modernize an existing school or to replace it.

This is a nationally recognized standard that has been adopted by the National

Association of College and University Business Officers (www.nacubo.org) and the

Association of Higher Education Facilities Officers (www.appa.org). The index is

computed as a ratio of the total cost to remedy identified deficiencies to the current

replacement value of the building as illustrated in Formula 1.

Formula 1

Facility Condition Index

Cost to Correct Deficiencies Facility Condition Index (FCI) = Current Facility Replacement Value

For example, if the cost to fully modernize a school is estimated to be $8 million and the cost to replace the school is $12 million, then the Facility Condition

Index is .66. If the FCI of a school is greater than 1, it may be more cost-effective to

replace it rather than modernize it.

The FCI is a valuable tool for comparing the condition of schools provided the

replacement value is calculated in the same way for each building and the deficiency estimates are done using comparable standards. Estimates of costs to correct

deficiencies and of replacement value are very susceptible to manipulation by

architects, planners, contractors, and facility managers. If there is a desire to replace

a school, the replacement value can easily be underestimated and the cost to correct deficiencies can be overestimated.

In order to calculate the FCI, it is first necessary to identify a building’s deficiencies. The three major types of building deficiencies are life-cycle, maintenance,

and site deficiencies.

Life-Cycle Deficiencies

A life-cycle deficiency exists when a system, component, finish, fixture, or piece of

installed equipment is in use beyond the recommended life of the item, as established by the manufacturer or school district standards. A life-cycle deficiency is

recognized even though the system or equipment may still be functioning effectively. For example, until recently, some New York City Public Schools were heated by

coal-fired boilers that had far exceeded their recommended life.
Chapter 3: Using Data Elements for Analysis 15

The standard used 

to measure facility 

condition is the price 

to repair the faulty

equipment 

or site.

Maintenance Deficiencies

A maintenance deficiency, usually referred to as “deferred maintenance,” exists

when a system, component, fixture, or piece of equipment is nonfunctional or operates at less than optimal levels. The equipment may require minor maintenance,

more extensive repair, or replacement. The age of the equipment—that is, whether

it has exceeded its recommended life cycle—is not a consideration in determining

deferred maintenance.

Site Deficiencies

Deficiencies in school sites include both “natural” deficiencies and those resulting

from problems with site design or condition. Examples of natural site deficiencies

include inadequate size, the presence of wetlands or rocky terrain, radon or other

naturally occurring chemical pollutants, and inability to perk. Site design deficiencies might include inadequate parking, no student drop-off area, a poor approach

to the front entrance, no city sewer or water hookups, and lack of road access.

Examples of site condition deficiencies would be fencing, retaining walls, sidewalks,

or blacktop in poor condition.

Calculation of Cost to Correct Deficiencies

Although the condition of equipment and facilities is typically measured in terms 

of “good, fair, and poor,” aggregating these measurements would require a complex

(and highly subjective) weighting formula. To alleviate this difficulty, the standard

used to measure facility condition is the price to repair the faulty equipment or site.

Thus the cost to correct deficiencies (the numerator of the Facility Condition Index

equation) equals the estimated total costs to repair all life-cycle, maintenance, and

design deficiencies.

Calculation of Replacement Value

Replacement value (the denominator in the FCI equation) is the cost to replace an

existing structure with a new structure of the same size at the same location.

Interior design and construction materials of the existing and proposed buildings

may be different. The replacement value is calculated as in Formula 2.

Formula 2

\Replacement Value

Gross square footage of existing building

X Estimated cost/square foot to design and build a new school

Replacement

Value =
16 Facilities Information Management: A Guide for State and Local Education Agencies

Design indicators do 

not address the facility

condition, but rather

the size, type, and 

location of spaces 

in schools.

Design Measures

Building design determines the ability of a school building to accommodate the

educational, administrative, support, and nonschool or community activities and

programs provided by the school. It is described here, but is not amenable to simple

calculation formulas. Design indicators do not address the facility condition, but

rather the size, type, and location of spaces in schools. To determine whether a

building is designed to support a school’s educational program requires space standards, which may be set by a state agency or developed at the district level. For

example, the Council of Education Facility Planners International (CEFPI) has a set

of K-12 facility standards that provide a somewhat standardized framework for

types of spaces and space sizes in a school. (Chapter 5 includes web addresses for

CEFPI and other resource organizations.)

Before building space standards can be developed, the programmatic and

instructional elements of a school need to be defined. Some examples of program

factors that affect facility design include the presence of early childhood programs,

scheduling decisions at the high school level, the level of integration of English as a

second language (ESL) programs, the extent of career and vocational educational

programs, and the use of technology in instruction. Once the programmatic and

instructional requirements are defined, a comparative analysis can be done of the

size and nature of the spaces available and the school facility space or design standards.

A design deficiency exists when a building, regardless of its condition, is

unable to meet the space or operational standards of the state or school district

without modifying or adding space. Examples of design deficiencies include the 

following:

 inappropriate building size—a school may be too big (or too small) for its

educational program or enrollment;

 inability to accommodate persons with physical disabilities;

 lack of specialized instructional areas for programs such as early childhood

education, science, career/vocational education, art, music, or physical 

education;

 lack of common spaces to accommodate large groups such as a gymnasium,

auditorium, cafeteria, or multipurpose room;

 inability to use or integrate technology into administration or instruction due

to a lack of supporting infrastructure; and

 inability to apply modern security technology.

Utilization Measures 

One of the primary responsibilities of a school district is to “house” students. If

enrollments are growing, school districts need to plan for construction of new

schools or additions to existing schools. If enrollments are shrinking, school districts need to reduce their school inventory, consolidate programs, lease out unused

space, or close schools. Before policy makers can determine whether a school district needs to build (or close) schools, they need information on how schools are

being utilized.
Chapter 3: Using Data Elements for Analysis 17

Enrollment capacity 

is also calculated 

differently in different

types of 

schools.

Finding out how a school is being used requires a room-by-room survey that

reports how each room or space is used and the hours it is used. Such a survey may

reveal that support spaces have been turned into classrooms, or that classrooms

have been turned into support spaces. For example, perhaps an elementary school

library is being used by a nonschool agency, occupying space originally intended for

students.

School Utilization Rate

A school utilization rate gives facility planners, public officials, and the public a way

to understand the extent to which buildings are used by comparing actual student

enrollment to enrollment capacity of the school. If a school has a capacity of 450,

and 500 students are enrolled, the utilization rate is 111 percent. Formula 3 illustrates the calculation of the School Utilization Rate.

Formula 3

School Utilization Rate

Student Enrollment

Actual School Utilization Rate = X 100% Enrollment Capacity

Enrollment Capacity

Since school utilization rates are used to determine overcrowding and underutilization, it is important to understand the term enrollment capacity. It describes

the maximum number of students that a school building can satisfactorily accommodate at one time for the particular educational program and curriculum offered.

Typically, enrollment capacity is guided by state law, teacher contracts, and the

classroom assignments of the principal. Factors that determine enrollment capacity

are the number of classrooms in a school and the number of students who can be

assigned to each classroom. The number of students assignable to a classroom

varies by grade level and by the type of instruction being offered. For example, high

school classrooms typically are designed to accommodate more students than elementary school classrooms. Also, fewer students would be assigned to a science lab

than to a social studies class.

Enrollment capacity is also calculated differently in different types of schools.

In a high school, both basic classrooms and specialty instructional spaces (such as

art or music rooms) are counted toward capacity because regular classrooms are

not left unoccupied while students get art or music instruction. Thus the formula

for determining secondary school capacity is the sum of capacity for each type and

number of classrooms multiplied by an optional utilization rate, which may range

from 75 percent to 90 percent. An optional utilization rate recognizes the impossibility of scheduling classes so as to fully utilize every classroom every period. For

example, an advanced science classroom may be able to accommodate 20 students,

but there may be only 16 students in the 5th period class. Even if some other classes are over-capacity, the actual school utilization rate is never over 100 percent.

Enrollment capacity for a secondary school is calculated as the sum of the

standard class size assigned to each type of classroom in the school times the number of classrooms of this type. Thus the capacity of two identical school buildings

could be different if they offer different types of programs or are subject to differ-
18 Facilities Information Management: A Guide for State and Local Education Agencies

ent capacity limitations set by state law or teacher contracts. The calculation of secondary school capacity is illustrated by Formula 4.

Formula 4

Secondary School Enrollment Capacity 

Secondary Sum of (Number of all classrooms 

School Capacity = X Students assignable to each type of

classroom) X Optional utilization rate

In an elementary school, specialty instructional spaces are not counted in the

calculation of capacity space since regular classrooms remain empty while classes

are receiving instruction in the art room or music room. Enrollment capacity then is

based on the standard class size assignable to each type of basic classroom in the

school (for example, a prekindergarten room will have fewer students assignable to

it than a 6th grade classroom, regardless of the rooms’ actual sizes), not counting

specialized classrooms. Moreover, a utilization rate is not applied. The calculation of

enrollment capacity for an elementary school is illustrated by Formula 5.

Formula 5

Elementary School Enrollment Capacity

Elementary Sum of (Number of basic classrooms 

School Capacity = X Students assignable to 

each type of classroom)

Instructional spaces that generate capacity for enrollment are considered

capacity space while all other rooms and spaces within a school building are considered noncapacity, or unassigned, space. Even though noncapacity space—

including hallways, stairwells, cafeterias, playgrounds, parking lots, teacher work

areas, storage rooms, restrooms, etc.—is not considered in the determination of

enrollment capacity, it cannot be ignored when determining the adequacy of a facility. For example, the sizes of the existing cafeteria and hallways need to be

considered when adding a wing with new classroom space.

Density Factor

Density factors are another way of comparing schools for overcrowding or underutilization. While utilization rates compare enrollment capacity to actual

enrollment, the density factor compares the standard gross square feet of building

space per student, as established by an educational specification space standard, to

the actual amount of gross square feet of building space per student. There are no

universal standards for how much space should be allotted for each student in a

school. Rather, space standards vary according to the instructional program, school

design, grade levels, and budget. The density factor is calculated as in Formula 6.
Chapter 3: Using Data Elements for Analysis 19

Formula 6

Density Factor

Standard Gross Square Feet per Student

Density Factor = Actual Gross Square Feet per Student

If school district or state department of education guidelines indicate that a

standard elementary school facility requires 115 gross square feet per student, an

elementary school with 78 gross square feet of space per student has a density 

factor of 1.47. Another elementary school of the same size with fewer students,

resulting in 140 gross square feet per student, would have a density factor of .82.

A density factor of 1 indicates that a school has the density recommended in the

guidelines.

Unassigned space that is not reflected in the calculation of enrollment capacity

is counted when calculating the density factor. For example, one school may have 12

classrooms (each of which can accommodate 25 students), a lunchroom, and a main

office adding up to a school capacity of 300 students. Another school has 12 classrooms of the same size (with 25 students assigned to each classroom), but also has

a music room, art room, library, parent resource center, and main office. Both

schools have an enrollment capacity of 300, but the second school would be less

crowded and would have a lower density factor.

Calculation of Gross Square Feet per Student

A key measure in determining a school’s density factor is the gross square feet per

student (GSF/student). This is the total square footage of the school—including all

instructional and noninstructional interior spaces—divided by the number of students enrolled at the school. The only spaces not included in this calculation are

those used by nonschool programs, such as a community health clinic or offices for

central administration staff. The calculation of GSF per student is shown as

Formula 7.

Formula 7

Gross Square Feet per Student

Gross Square Footage of Building

Gross Square Feet per Student = Student Enrollment

The GSF/student measure is particularly useful when more detailed or reliable

capacity information is unavailable. School districts usually know the gross size of 

a school and always have the current student enrollment. However, a shortcoming

with this measure is that schools of the same size vary tremendously in design.

A school built with an open-plan design and a school with the double-loaded corridors, small classrooms, and few support spaces that were typical of the 1950s could

have the same gross square footage and the same enrollment, but one could feel

crowded and the other one not because of how differently their space is used.
20 Facilities Information Management: A Guide for State and Local Education Agencies

Instructional space is 

all space where there 

is direct instructional

contact between a 

student and a 

teacher.

Net Square Feet per Student

Some of the problems of comparing school density using gross square footage are

avoided by using the net square footage (NSF) of instructional space. Instructional

space is all space where there is direct instructional contact between a student and

a teacher. It includes certain types of noncapacity, or unassigned spaces, such as

elementary school art and music rooms, libraries, and student project rooms. The

calculation of NSF per student is shown in Formula 8.

Formula 8

Net Square Feet per Student 

Net Square Footage of Instructional Space

Net Square Feet per Student = Student Enrollment

Funding Measures

Operating expenditures and capital expenditures per student are often used to

measure the sufficiency of a district’s resources and the fairness of their distribution. School systems make facility expenditures from both their operating and 

capital budgets. The operating budget typically pays for cleaning, maintenance of

school buildings and grounds, and minor repairs. The capital budget covers major

facility improvements, design, and construction expenditures. Capital funds are

usually borrowed, whereas operating funds come from taxes and state and federal

allocations. It is useful to consider operating and capital budget expenditures separately when evaluating a district’s facilities funding. The formulas to measure these

expenditure levels are shown in Formulas 8 through 10.

Formula 8a

Maintenance and Repair Expenditure per Student 

Total Operating Expenditures for Maintenance 

Maintenance and Repair and Repairs in Local School(s)

Expenditure per Student = Student Enrollment

Formula 8b

Maintenance and Repair Expenditure per Square Foot

Total Operating Expenditures for Maintenance 

Maintenance and Repair and Repairs in Local School(s)

Expenditure per Square Foot = Gross Square Footage of Building(s)
Chapter 3: Using Data Elements for Analysis 21

Formula 9a

Utility Expenditure per Student 

Total Utility Expenditures in Local School(s) Utility Expenditure per Student = Student Enrollment

Formula 9b

Utility Expenditure per Square Foot 

Total Utility Expenditures in Local School(s) Utility Expenditure per Square Foot = Gross Square Footage of Building(s)

Formula 10a

Capital Expenditure per Student 

Total Capital Expenditures in Local School(s) Capital Expenditure per Student = Student Enrollment

Formula 10b

Capital Expenditure per Square Foot

Total Capital Expenditures in Local School(s) Capital Expenditure per Square Foot = Gross Square Footage of Building(s)

Measures of expenditures should always be looked at both on a per-squarefoot basis and on a per-student basis. In a relational database, costs can be

compiled and analyzed for the state, a school district, a region within the district, by

type of school (elementary, middle, secondary), and for individual schools. This has

become particularly important in light of ongoing court challenges to perceived

inequities in school funding.

The following chapter provides definitions for the data elements used to construct indicators of facility condition, design, utilization, management, and funding.

6 Laurie Lewis, Kyle Snow, Elizabeth Farris, Becky Smerdon, Stephanie Cronen, Jessica Kaplan, Condition of

America’s Public School Facilities: 1999 (NCES 2000-032) (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, 2000).

7 Op. Cit.

Chapter 4: Facility Data Elements 23

Chapter 4

Facility Data Elements

Number Data Element and Definition

This chapter contains a basic list of relevant data elements, with unique identifying numbers, definitions, and where appropriate, illustrative or complete sets of

data element options that further define the more general data element. This

chapter is divided into seven sections:

Facilities Identification

Facilities Condition

Facilities Design

Facilities Utilization

Facilities Management

Facilities Budget and Finance

Data Elements Index

Within each section, the data elements are ordered according to a logic associated with content. The numbers were assigned for purposes of this publication,

and will likely change when a database is created from these data elements or

when this document changes.

⁄‚‚‚ Facilities Identification

These data elements can be used to identify and inventory an education institution

and include relevant information regarding the name, location, age, and size of a

given facility.

⁄‚⁄‚ Name of Institution

The full, legally accepted or popularly accepted name of an organization (e.g., a

school, an association, or a company).

⁄‚¤‚ Institution Identification Code

A unique number or alphanumeric code assigned to an organization or institution by a

school, school system, state, or other agency or entity.

⁄‚‹‚ Street Number/Name

The street number and street name or post office box number of an address.

Section

⁄‚‚‚
24 Facilities Information Management: A Guide for State and Local Education Agencies

⁄‚›‚ Apartment/Room/Suite Number

The apartment, room, or suite number of an address.

⁄‚∞‚ Building/Site Number

The number of the building on the site, if more than one building shares the same

address.

⁄‚6‚ City

The name of the city in which an address is located.

⁄‚‡‚ Name of County

The name of the county, parish, borough, or other comparable unit (within a state) in

which an address is located.

⁄‚8‚ State Abbreviation

The abbreviation for the state (within the United States) or outlying area in which an

address is located.

⁄‚·‚ Zip Code

The five- or nine-digit ZIP Code portion of an address.

⁄⁄‚‚ Country Code

The code for the country in which an address is located.

⁄⁄¤‚ GIS Location

The unique geocoded designation of a building or site.

⁄⁄‹‚ Site Identifier

The lot and square number, or equivalent unique municipal number identification, of a

parcel of land.

⁄⁄›‚ Census Tract

The census tract number of the school site.

⁄⁄∞‚ Block Number Area (BNA)

The informal description of location sometimes used in rural areas, for example, "from

the highway to the railroad tracks."

⁄⁄6‚ School District Subdivision

The number, letter, or name that describes an organizational subdivision of a school 

district.

⁄⁄‡‚ Building Name

The full, legally accepted or popularly accepted name of a building.

⁄⁄8‚ Building Identification Code

A unique number or alphanumeric code assigned to a building by a school, school 

system, state, or other agency or entity.

Section

⁄‚‚‚

Number Data Element and Definition
Chapter ›: Facility Data Elements 25

⁄⁄·‚ Authorizing Entity Type

The type of organization that has ultimate responsibility for policy and operational

decisions for an educational institution.

⁄ Federal (e.g., Congress, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Department of Defense, 

U.S. Department of Education)

¤ State/Territory (e.g., State Education Agency, Health and Human Services,

Corrections, State Board of Education, State Legislature)

‹ Regional (e.g., Intermediate Education Agency, Cooperative, BOCES, Crossstate agency)

› Local (e.g., School Board, City Council)

∞ School

6 Private/Religious (e.g., Catholic diocese, private school board, charter)

⁄⁄·∞ Authorizing Entity Name

The name of the organization that has ultimate responsibility for policy and 

operational decisions for an educational institution.

⁄¤‚‚ Ownership Entity Type

The public or private entity that holds legal title to the building and/or site.

⁄ Federal (e.g., Congress, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Department of Defense, U.S.

Department of Education)

¤ State/Territory (e.g., State Education Agency, Health and Human Services,

Corrections, State Board of Education, State Legislature)

‹ Regional (e.g., Intermediate Education Agency, Cooperative, BOCES, Crossstate agency)

› Local (e.g., School Board, City Council)

∞ School

6 Private/Religious (e.g., Catholic diocese, private school board, charter)

⁄¤‚∞ Ownership Entity Name

The name of the public or private entity that holds legal title to the building 

and/or site.

⁄¤⁄‚ Year Built

The year a building was constructed, as indicated by cornerstone or official 

government records.

⁄¤¤‚ Historic Status

An indication of whether or not a building is eligible to be declared a landmark 

or historic building.

⁄ Locally eligible, not yet designated

¤ State eligible, not yet designated

‹ Nationally eligible, not yet designated

Section

⁄‚‚‚

Number Data Element and Definition
26 Facilities Information Management: A Guide for State and Local Education Agencies

› Ineligible

∞ Not evaluated

6 Locally designated

‡ State designated

8 Nationally designated

⁄¤‹‚ Construction Date

The month and year in which construction of a building, addition, or improvement was

completed.

⁄¤›‚ Construction Date Type

Designation of the nature of the construction completion date.

⁄ Actual

Construction was completed as judged by the owner putting the building or

improvement into use.

¤ Estimated

The new building, addition, or improvement is expected to be completed so the

owner is able to put the building or improvement into use.

⁄¤∞‚ Construction Material Type

The primary material used for the construction of a building.

⁄ Brick

¤ Brick veneer

‹ Block

› Wood frame

∞ Concrete

6 Prefabricated

‡ Aluminum

8 Steel

· Adobe

·· Other

⁄¤6‚ Date of Certificate of Occupancy

The month, day, and year in which a certificate of occupancy was granted by the

appropriate local authority.

⁄¤‡‚ Number of Stories

The number of stories in a building, excluding the basement if its ceiling is less than

three feet above ground level.

⁄¤8‚ Year of Last Modernization

The most recent year in which a full school modernization was completed.

Section

⁄‚‚‚

Number Data Element and Definition
Chapter ›: Facility Data Elements 27

⁄¤·‚ Building Addition Code

A unique number or alphanumeric code assigned to a building addition by a school,

school system, state, or other agency or entity.

⁄‹‚‚ Building Addition

A description of the permanent structure added to the original building.

⁄‹⁄‚ Building Permanency

An indication of whether the building is built for permanent use in the same location

or is relocatable.

⁄ Permanent building

A structure built with a fixed foundation that has permanently attached walls,

roof, and floor that cannot be transported either as a unit or in sections.

¤ Nonpermanent building

A building or portion of a building made up of prefabricated units that may be

disassembled and reassembled and transported to another location, or transported without reassembling.

⁄‹¤‚ Building Area

The sum of the areas at each floor level included within the principal outside faces of

exterior walls, including roofed areas with finished floors that may not have exterior

walls, but are connected to the main building. This sum should include all stories or

areas having floor surfaces with clear standing head room (6.∞ feet or ⁄.·8 meters) but

omit architectural setbacks or projections.

⁄‹‹‚ Site Name

The full, legally accepted or popularly accepted name of a site.

⁄‹›‚ Site Identification Code

A unique number or alphanumeric code assigned to a site by a school, school system,

state, or other agency or entity.

⁄‹∞‚ Site Improvement Location

The location of the designed and constructed improvements made to a site.

⁄ Playground

¤ Athletic field

‹ Outdoor classroom

› Hard-surface play area

∞ Hard-surface game area

6 Parking

‡ Drop-off/driveway

8 Septic fields

· Retaining walls

⁄‚ Fencing

⁄⁄ Sidewalks

Section

⁄‚‚‚

Number Data Element and Definition
28 Facilities Information Management: A Guide for State and Local Education Agencies

⁄¤ Stairs and ramps

⁄‹ Landscaping

⁄› Water filtration system

·· Other

⁄‹6‚ Site Improvement Description

A description of the designed and constructed improvements made to a site.

⁄‹‡‚ Site Area

The total number of acres in a continuous piece of land, to the nearest tenth, including

undeveloped areas as well as areas occupied by buildings, walks, drives, parking 

facilities, and other improvements.

⁄‹8‚ Site Descriptors

A characterization of a site that would define restrictions or opportunities.

⁄ Land use

The underlying municipal zoning regulation which guides the potential development of a site.

¤ Enterprise zone

The government identification for special funding opportunities based on income

of residents of the area.

‹ Historic district

The school is located in a publicly designated historic district, whether or not the

school itself is historic.

› Environmental protection

All or a portion of the site is protected under any environmental restrictions for

development, such as wetlands.

∞ Environmental contamination

All or a portion of the site is subject to any environmental contamination such as

oil or toxic soil conditions.

6 Site easements

The covenants legally attached to a site, including agreements allowing other 

parties to use the site and agreements allowing the LEA to use sites belonging to

others.

·· Other

Section

⁄‚‚‚

Number Data Element and Definition
Chapter ›: Facility Data Elements 29

Section

¤‚‚‚

Number Data Element Definition

Number Data Element and Definition

¤‚‚‚ Facilities Condition

These data elements can be used to determine the safety and condition of a facility,

including the service systems in place to maintain and regulate its overall physical

site.

¤‚‚‚ System Type

The type of system that is installed in the building or site.

⁄ Plumbing System

¤ Electrical System

‹ Heating Distribution System

› Cooling System

∞ Ventilation System

6 Communications Management

‡ Technology Wiring

8 Security System

· Fire Protection

⁄‚ Mechanical System

⁄⁄ Vertical Transportation

¤‚⁄‚ System Identification Code

A unique number or alphanumeric code assigned to a building system or site system

by a school, school system, state, or other agency or entity.

¤‚¤‚ Component Identification Code

A unique number or alphanumeric code assigned to a component by a school, school

system, state, or other agency or entity.

¤‚‹‚ Plumbing System

The component of an on-site system for supplying, eliminating, and treating water.

⁄ Water supply

¤ Drains

‹ Vents

› Sewage treatment

∞ Water source

6 Parcel drainage

‡ Piping

8 Water softeners

· Detention ponds

⁄‚ Filtration system

·· Other
30 Facilities Information Management: A Guide for State and Local Education Agencies

¤‚›‚ Electrical System

The type of system that collects and distributes electricity throughout the building or

site.

⁄ Electrical supply

¤ Electrical distribution

‹ Emergency generator

› Electrical interface

∞ Circuit breakers

·· Other

¤‚∞‚ Heating Distribution System

The method by which the heat is distributed and delivered throughout the room(s) or

building.

⁄ Steam radiator

¤ Hot water radiator

‹ Heat pump

› Unit ventilators

∞ Unit heaters/baseboard heaters

6 Central ducted system

‡ Open plenum system

8 Forced air

· Displacement ventilation

·· Other

¤‚6‚ Cooling System

The type of system used for cooling.

⁄ Central cooling system

¤ Local zone cooling system

‹ Individual (room) unit cooling system

› Combination cooling systems

∞ Ceiling fans or ventilation fans

6 Natural systems

‡ None

·· Other

Number Data Element and Definition

Section

¤‚‚‚
Section

¤‚‚‚

Number Data Element and Definition

Chapter ›: Facility Data Elements 31

¤‚‡‚ Ventilation System

The primary means by which air is circulated, freshened, and exhausted.

⁄ Window ventilation

¤ Gravity ventilation

‹ Mechanical exhaust

› Mechanical supply

∞ Both mechanical exhaust and supply

6 Air handler units

·· Other

¤‚8‚ Communications Management Component System

The types of system, interface, and management components for carrying voice,

video, and data throughout a building.

⁄ Voice

¤ Video

‹ Data

› Public Address System

·· Other

¤‚·‚ Technology Wiring System

The means through which voice, video, audio, and data information are conveyed.

⁄ Wire cable

¤ Fiber optic cable

‹ Coaxial cable

› Wireless

∞ Twisted pair

·· Other

¤⁄‚‚ Security System

The type of system that protects the facility from intrusion.

⁄ Video

¤ Intrusion detection system

‹ Card access control system

› Keypad access control system

∞ Metal detector

·· Other
Section

¤‚‚‚

32 Facilities Information Management: A Guide for State and Local Education Agencies

Number Data Element and Definition

¤⁄⁄‚ Fire Protection System

The type of system that protects the facility against fire.

⁄ Automatic sprinkler

¤ Fire pump/extinguishers

‹ Alarms

› Kitchen fire suppressor system

·· Other

¤⁄¤‚ Mechanical System

The major manufactured systems required to operate a building.

⁄ Cooling

¤ Heating

‹ Ventilation

·· Other

¤⁄‹‚ Vertical Transportation System

The type of system used to convey persons or freight between floors.

⁄ Stairs

¤ Elevator

‹ Escalator

› Other

¤⁄›‚ Window Design Type

The type of window design, defined by how it operates.

⁄ Nonoperable

¤ Casement

‹ Double hung

› Tilt open (awning or hopper)

∞ Sliding

·· Other

¤⁄∞‚ Window Frame Material

The building material used to construct window frames.

⁄ Wood

¤ Aluminum

‹ Vinyl

› Steel

∞ Vinyl-clad wood

6 Vinyl-clad steel
Chapter ›: Facility Data Elements 33

‡ Aluminum-clad wood

·· Other

¤⁄6‚ Roof Type

The design or structure of roof.

⁄ Metal

¤ Slate

‹ Asphalt shingle

› Built-up

∞ Single-ply

6 Terra cotta tile

‡ Membrane

·· Other

¤⁄‡‚ Exterior Finish Type

The covering, structural or not, of the exterior building walls.

⁄ Brick

¤ Concrete masonry unit

‹ Stucco

› Synthetic stucco

∞ Wood

6 Adobe

‡ Stone

8 Prefabricated concrete

· Synthetic stone

·· Other

¤⁄8‚ Interior Finish Type

The type of covering, structural or not, of the interior walls, ceilings, and floors.

⁄ Painted gypsum board

¤ Painted plaster

‹ Painted concrete masonry unit

› Glazed concrete masonry unit

∞ Glazed brick or tile

6 Vinyl wall covering

‡ Wood flooring

8 Synthetic sheetgood composite tile flooring

Section

¤‚‚‚

Number Data Element and Definition
34 Facilities Information Management: A Guide for State and Local Education Agencies

· Carpet

⁄‚ Terrazzo flooring

⁄⁄ Vinyl asbestos tile (VAT)

⁄¤ Quarry tile

⁄‹ Sealed concrete

⁄› Acoustical tile

⁄∞ Exposed structure—painted

⁄6 Ceramic tile

·· Other

¤⁄·‚ Installation Date

The year in which the system, component, equipment, or fixture was originally

installed.

¤¤‚‚ Condition of System or Component

The rating of the system or component functions under the demands of its regular

operation.

⁄ Excellent

New or easily restorable to "like new" condition; only minimal routine maintenance is required.

¤ Good

Only routine maintenance or minor repair is required.

‹ Adequate

Some preventive maintenance and/or corrective repair is required.

› Fair

Sometimes fails to meet code or functional requirements; failure(s) are inconvenient to school operation.

∞ Poor

Consistently substandard performance; failure(s) are disruptive and costly; fails

most code and functional requirements; requires constant attention, renovation,

or replacement. Major corrective repair or overhaul is required.

6 Nonoperable

The system or component exists in a significantly substandard level and cannot be

used or operated. Replacement is required.

‡ Urgent building condition

A condition that will seriously affect the safety, environment, and/or educational 

mission, or could result in possible damage to the facility or inhabitants.

8 Emergency condition

A condition that will result in injury, loss of life, or major damage.

Section

¤‚‚‚

Number Data Element and Definition
Chapter ›: Facility Data Elements 35

¤¤⁄‚ Component Deficiency

A description of the component, system, or finish that needs replacement, repair, or

maintenance to perform at an optimal level.

¤¤¤‚ Compliance Status

An indication of whether the building, site, system, component, equipment, or fixture

conforms with the requirements or standards specified in federal, state, or local standards or codes.

⁄ In compliance

¤ Not in compliance

‹ Planned compliance

› Waived compliance

¤¤‹‚ Compliance Determination Date

The month, day, and year that the building, site, system, component, equipment, or

fixture compliance status was determined.

¤¤›‚ Next Service Date

The month, day, and year a major component, system, equipment, or fixture is scheduled to be serviced for preventive or routine maintenance.

¤¤∞‚ Useful Life

The anticipated time (in years) from the time of installation or service that a properly

maintained system, component, equipment, or fixture is expected to operate effectively and efficiently.

¤¤6‚ Last Check Date

The month, day, and year that the condition of a system, component, equipment, or

fixture was last checked.

¤¤‡‚ Last Service Date

The month, day, and year a system, component, equipment, or fixture was last serviced for repair or routine maintenance.

¤¤8‚ Federal Mandate Interest

The area of interest controlled by a federal law, regulation, or standard that pertains to

a school facility.

⁄ Facility accessibility and usability for individuals with disabilities

¤ Indoor air quality

‹ Radon contamination

› Drinking water safety

∞ Lead contamination

6 Asbestos contamination

‡ Hazardous materials

° Underground storage tank

Section

¤‚‚‚

Number Data Element and Definition
36 Facilities Information Management: A Guide for State and Local Education Agencies

Number Data Element and Definition

· Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS)

⁄‚ Integrated pest control

·· Other

¤¤°∞ Federal Mandate Name

⁄ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

¤ Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)

‹ Safe Drinking Water Act

› Lead Contamination Control Act

∞ Asbestos Hazardous Emergency Response Act (AHERA)

·· Other

¤¤·‚ State or Local Mandate Interest

The area of interest controlled by a law, rule, regulation, or standard of state and local

governments that pertains to public school facilities.

⁄ Building code

¤ Fire code

‹ Health code

› Flood control

∞ Design standards

6 Acreage standards

‡ Standard educational specifications

8 Historic preservation requirements

· Occupational health and safety code

⁄‚ Earthquake standards

·· Other

¤¤·∞ State or Local Mandate Name

The specific law, rule, regulation, or standard of a state or local government that 

pertains to public school facilities.

Section

¤‚‚‚
Chapter ›: Facility Data Elements 37

Section

Number Data Element and Definition ‹‚‚‚

‹‚‚‚ Facilities Design

This category contains data elements that can be used to assess whether a facility’s

intended composition and the designated use of space meet the educational needs of

its students and are designed for efficient operations and administration.

‹‚‚‚ Name of Architect

The name of the architect of record for the building.

‹‚⁄‚ Architectural Firm

The name of the architectural firm responsible for the building design.

⁄⁄‡‚ Building Name

The full, legally accepted or popularly accepted name of a building.

⁄⁄8‚ Building Identification Code

A unique number or alphanumeric code assigned to a building by a school, school system, state, or other agency or entity.

‹‚¤‚ School Design Type

The organization and character of a school, as defined by age groups served, educational program provided, and basic layout of the building.

⁄ Early childhood center

¤ Elementary school

‹ Middle school

› Junior high school

∞ Senior high school

6 Career-technology education center

‡ Adult education school

8 Special education school

· K-· school

⁄‚ 6-⁄¤ school

⁄⁄ Alternative school

·· Other

‹‚‹‚ Building Design Type

The organization and character of a school, as defined by age groups served, educational program provided, and basic layout of building.

⁄ School Building

A building that houses instructional and related activities associated with the

education of students.

¤ Service Center Building

A building that houses support services to students and their families, not direct

instruction.
38 Facilities Information Management: A Guide for State and Local Education Agencies

Section

‹‚‚‚

‹ Office Building

A building that houses administrative functions.

› Warehouse Building

A building that houses the storage of materials and supplies.

∞ Garage Building

A building that houses the storage and repair of vehicles.

6 Central Kitchen Building

A building designed to accommodate storage and preparation of food.

‡ Stadium Building

An outdoor building designed for athletic events with large audiences.

8 Field House Building

A free-standing building designed to service athletic facilities, athletes, and 

athletic events.

· Production Center Building

A building that houses support communications activities, including newspaper,

radio, or television productions.

⁄‚ Natatorium

A building that houses swimming and diving activities, including supporting

requirements such as lockers and changing areas.

⁄⁄ Dormitory Building

A building that houses student residences.

⁄¤ Gymnasium

A free-standing building for athletic practices and events.

⁄‹ Assembly Building

A free-standing building used for large gatherings for school or agency-related

activities of students, staff, and public.

·· Other

‹‚›‚ Facility Standard

An indication of the district or state requirements or guidelines for the design and 

construction of school facilities.

⁄ Design guidelines

¤ Space standards

‹ Master construction specifications

› Health and safety standards

∞ Energy performance standards

6 Site guidelines

·· Other

Number Data Element and Definition
Chapter ›: Facility Data Elements 39

Section

‹‚‚‚

Number Data Element and Definition

‹‚∞‚ Space Design Type

The primary design or purpose of a space, as determined by its physical layout and

built-in systems and equipment, regardless of its current use.

⁄ Basic classroom

A space for the activities dealing directly with the interaction between teachers

and students that does not require content specialized furniture, fixtures, or

equipment.

¤ Specialty classroom

A space with special elements including furniture, fixtures, equipment, and

sometimes size to support instruction in a particular content area.

‹ Library/media

A space for reading, reference, and research in various media, including books,

periodicals, and electronic communications.

› Athletic

A space primarily or exclusively for physical education and athletic activities,

often with specialized floor, walls, size, equipment, lighting, and auxiliary

spaces.

∞ Student support

A space for providing specialized support services to students such as health care

or physical therapy.

6 Administration

A space primarily for conducting overall administrative and business functions of

a school, building, program, or service.

‡ Assembly

A space primarily for formal and informal gathering, where school and community related activities are conducted by students, staff, and the public.

8 Corridors

A space for traveling throughout the building.

· Operational support

A space to support building systems and components and to operate the physical

plant.

⁄‚ Storage

A space to provide safekeeping for materials and supplies.

⁄⁄ Food service

A space to prepare and store food.

⁄¤ Dormitory room

A space specially designed for residence of students.

·· Other

‹‚6‚ Space Identification Code

A unique number or alphanumeric code assigned to a space by a school, school system, state, or other agency or entity.
40 Facilities Information Management: A Guide for State and Local Education Agencies

‹‚‡‚ Space Description

A description of the space, as determined by its physical layout and built-in systems

and equipment.

‹‚8‚ Basic Classroom Design Type

A classroom designed for instruction of a particular age group, but not a specific 

subject.

⁄ Early childhood/kindergarten classroom

A space with built-in equipment for use by a class that is organized to provide

educational experiences in the years preceding first grade.

¤ Elementary classroom

A space designed with built-in equipment for use by a class that is organized to 

provide educational experiences in, usually, the years first grade through sixth

grade.

‹ Secondary classroom—middle school/junior high/high school

A space with special built-in equipment for use by a class that is organized to 

provide educational experiences in, usually, the years seventh grade through

twelfth grade.

› Resource classroom

A space designed for general use by a group or class.

·· Other

‹‚·‚ Classroom Identification Code

A unique number or alphanumeric code assigned to a room by a school, school system,

state, or other agency or entity.

‹⁄‚‚ Art Specialty Space Type

The space designed to support the teaching and learning of visual arts.

⁄ ¤-dimensional art classroom

A space for drawing and painting.

¤ ‹-dimensional art classroom

A space for sculpture or three-dimensional art work.

‹ Darkroom

A space with built-in equipment for printing and processing photographic films

and papers.

› Ceramic studio

A space with built-in equipment for creating pottery.

∞ Photography studio/graphic arts

A space with built-in equipment for producing images.

6 Kiln room

A space with a built-in oven or furnace for pottery making.

·· Other

Section

‹‚‚‚

Number Data Element and Definition
Chapter ›: Facility Data Elements 41

‹⁄⁄‚ Performing Arts Specialty Space Type

The space designed, located, furnished, and equipped for instruction and support of

music and drama curricula and productions.

⁄ Band room

¤ Practice room

‹ Choral room

› Drama classroom

∞ Blackbox theater

6 Instrument storage

‡ Keyboard laboratory

8 Television studio

· Multipurpose music room

⁄‚ Multimedia production center

⁄⁄ Radio/television broadcast studios

·· Other

‹⁄¤‚ Science Specialty Space Type

The space designed, located, furnished, and equipped for instruction and experimentation in science.

⁄ Biology laboratory

¤ Chemistry laboratory

‹ Environmental science laboratory

› Physics laboratory

∞ Planetarium

6 Prep room

‡ Science lecture room

8 Chemical storage room

· Miscellaneous storage room

⁄‚ Outdoor classroom

⁄⁄ General science laboratory

·· Other

‹⁄‹‚ Special Education Specialty Space Type

The space designed, located, furnished, and equipped to support instruction of 

children with special physical, emotional, and/or educational needs.

⁄ Occupational therapy room

¤ Speech and hearing room

Section

‹‚‚‚

Number Data Element and Definition
42 Facilities Information Management: A Guide for State and Local Education Agencies

‹ Physical therapy room

› IEP conference room

∞ Itinerant staff room

6 Self-contained classroom

‡ Resource classroom

·· Other

‹⁄›‚ Career-Technical Education Type

The classroom, laboratory, or shop specially designed to prepare students for careers

and use of technology.

⁄ Computer/information technology laboratory

¤ Consumer science—food classroom

‹ Consumer science—clothing classroom

› Family and consumer science

∞ Automotive/avionics technology shop

6 Electronics/engineering technology laboratory

‡ Drafting room/CAD/CAM

8 Agricultural/natural resources shop

· Greenhouse

⁄‚ Barbering and cosmetology shop

⁄⁄ Multimedia production studio/communications

⁄¤ Wood shop

⁄‹ Dental science classroom

⁄› Aeronautical technology classroom

⁄∞ Building construction technology shop

⁄6 Precision manufacturing laboratory/metalworking shop

⁄‡ Retail store/entrepreneurship laboratory

⁄8 Financial services center/bank

⁄· Food services/hospitality laboratory

¤‚ Business and administrative services/office management laboratory

¤⁄ Health occupations laboratory

¤¤ Early childhood laboratory/child care center

¤‹ Graphic/digital arts and design studio

¤› Law enforcement/fire technology/protective services laboratory

¤∞ Biotechnology laboratory

·· Other

Section

‹‚‚‚

Number Data Element and Definition
Chapter ›: Facility Data Elements 43

‹⁄∞‚ Library/Media Center Specialty Space Type

The primary and auxiliary space designed to provide and support student and staff

access to books, periodicals, software, videos, and the Internet.

⁄ Collections room

¤ Reading room

‹ Distance learning lab

› Copy center

∞ Study room

6 Workroom

·· Other

‹⁄6‚ Indoor Athletic/Physical Education Space Type

The indoor space designed, located, furnished, and equipped for instruction and 

support of a physical education curriculum and athletic program.

⁄ Gymnasium

¤ Auxiliary gymnasium

‹ Weight training room

› Wrestling room

∞ Dance studio

6 Team room

‡ Pool/natatorium

8 Locker room

· Equipment storage

⁄‚ Press box

⁄⁄ Multipurpose room

⁄¤ Health classroom

⁄‹ Playtorium (auditorium/gymnasium)

·· Other

‹⁄‡‚ Outdoor Athletic/Physical Education Space Type

The outdoor space designed, located, furnished, and equipped for instruction and

support of a physical education curriculum and athletic program.

⁄ Multipurpose grassy play field

¤ Concessions/restrooms

‹ Field house

› Track and field event elements

∞ Bleacher seating

Section

‹‚‚‚

Number Data Element and Definition
44 Facilities Information Management: A Guide for State and Local Education Agencies

Section

‹‚‚‚

6 Tennis courts

‡ Paved outdoor basketball courts

8 Fitness trail

· Baseball field

⁄‚ Softball field

⁄⁄ Football field

⁄¤ Soccer field

⁄‹ Other sports field

·· Other

‹⁄8‚ Student Support Space Type

The space designed to provide student support services such as administrative, technical (e.g., guidance and health), and logistical support to facilitate and enhance

instruction.

⁄ In-school suspension room

¤ Nurse's station

‹ Health suite

› Health room lavatory

∞ Guidance/counseling room

6 Career center

‡ College center

8 Internship center

· Student club space

·· Other

‹⁄·‚ Administrative Space Type

The space designed primarily for conducting administrative and business functions.

⁄ Administrative office/room

¤ Principal's office

‹ Vice-principal/assistant principal's office

› Clerical areas

∞ Mail room

6 Conference room

‡ Attendance reception

8 General reception

· Security/police/probation office

⁄‚ Staff lounge

Number Data Element and Definition
Chapter ›: Facility Data Elements 45

Section

‹‚‚‚

Number Data Element and Definition

⁄⁄ Staff work room

⁄¤ School store

⁄‹ School bank

⁄› PTO/PTA spaces

⁄∞ Site-based council office

⁄6 Records room/vault

⁄‡ Storage—textbook

⁄8 Storage—resource materials

⁄· Storage—instructional equipment

·· Other

‹¤‚‚ Community Use Space Type

The space designed primarily for community or shared use.

⁄ Before- and after-school office

¤ Child care and development space

‹ Health clinic

› Head Start space

∞ Parent room

6 Before- and after-school care

‡ Community room

8 Full-service health clinic

· Family resource center

·· Other

‹¤⁄‚ Assembly Space Types

An area designed primarily for theater productions, assemblies, and other large gatherings.

⁄ Auditorium (fixed seats)

A space with a stage and audience seating to accommodate performing arts or other

activities for a large audience.

¤ Control room

A space adjacent to the auditorium and equipped with a viewing area and built-in projection equipment.

‹ Disaster shelter

A space that provides temporary shelter for individuals whose residences have been

made uninhabitable by fire, flood, earthquake, or other major disaster.

› Costume storage

A space for costume storage.
46 Facilities Information Management: A Guide for State and Local Education Agencies

∞ Set storage

A space for set storage.

6 Backstage room/green room

A space for actors and actresses to use before and during performances.

‡ Auditorium (multipurpose)

A space with a stage and movable chairs designed for assemblies, but also usable

for other purposes.

·· Other

‹¤¤‚ Circulation Space Type

A space designed to enable people to move within the building.

⁄ Hallway

¤ Stairway

‹ Lobby

› Elevator

∞ Escalator

·· Other

‹¤‹‚ Operations/Maintenance Space Type

The area designed primarily for conducting activities concerned with maintaining the

grounds, buildings, and equipment.

⁄ Custodian office

¤ Custodial closet

‹ Mechanical room

› Boiler room

∞ Fan room

6 Systems control room

‡ Electrical closet

8 Communications closet

· Server room

⁄‚ Storage—flammable materials

⁄⁄ Storage—maintenance equipment

⁄¤ Storage—hazardous materials 

⁄‹ Student toilet

⁄› Public toilet

⁄∞ Staff toilet

·· Other

Section

‹‚‚‚

Number Data Element and Definition
Chapter ›: Facility Data Elements 47

‹¤›‚ Food Service Space Type

The space designed primarily for preparing and serving food.

⁄ Cafeteria

A space equipped primarily for the preparation, serving, and eating of food.

¤ Cafetorium

A space for the combined functions of a cafeteria and auditorium.

‹ Faculty dining room

A space for teacher and staff dining.

› Student dining room

A space for student dining.

∞ Multipurpose room

A space for food service, physical education, and school assembly.

6 Full-service kitchen

A space for a full-service commercial kitchen for preparation of food for student

lunches or breakfast programs.

‡ Convenience kitchen

A space for a small noncommercial kitchen, such as found in a teacher's lounge

or early childhood area.

8 Warming kitchen

A commercial kitchen to warm and refrigerate prepared food for student lunches

or breakfast programs.

· Dry food storage area

A storage area for dry, nonperishable food.

⁄‚ Food serving area

A space for serving food.

⁄⁄ Storage of tables and chairs

A space for storing cafeteria tables and chairs.

·· Other

Section

‹‚‚‚

Number Data Element and Definition
48 Facilities Information Management: A Guide for State and Local Education Agencies

Section

›‚‚‚ Number Data Element and Definition

›‚‚‚ Facilities Utilization

These data elements can be used to describe the principal use of space within a building regardless of its intended purpose and designated capacity.

›‚‚‚ Current Building Use Type

How a building is principally used, regardless of its original design.

⁄ Operations building

A building that houses activities required to maintain and operate the buildings,

grounds, and equipment of an education agency or school.

¤ School building

A building that houses the instructional and related activities associated with education of students.

‹ Service center building

A building that houses support services to students and their families, not direct

instruction.

› Office building

A building that houses administrative functions.

∞ Warehouse building

A building that houses storage of materials and supplies.

6 Garage building

A building that houses storage and repair of vehicles.

‡ Central kitchen building

A building that houses food preparation.

8 Stadium building

An outdoor building that houses athletic events with large audiences.

· Field house building

A free-standing building designed to service athletic facilities, athletes, and athletic events.

⁄‚ Production center building

A building that houses communications activities, including newspaper, radio, or

television production.

⁄⁄ Natatorium

A building that houses swimming and diving, including support requirements

such as lockers and changing areas.

⁄¤ Dormitory

A building that houses student residences.

⁄‹ Chapel building

A building that houses student religious observances.

⁄› Gymnasium building

A free-standing athletic building that houses athletic practices and events.
Chapter ›: Facility Data Elements 49

Section

›‚‚‚

Number Data Element and Definition

⁄∞ Assembly building

A free-standing building used for large gatherings for school or agency-related

activities of students, staff, and the public.

⁄6 Investment

A building not being used by the local education agency (LEA) that is held for

investment purposes.

⁄‡ Not in use

Facility that is not being used by the LEA or any other education agency or 

community organization and not being held for investment purposes.

⁄8 Holding school

Facility reserved for temporary use to house students when their home school 

is uninhabitable, such as during renovations.

·· Other

⁄⁄‡‚ Building Name

The full, legally accepted or popularly accepted name of a building.

⁄⁄8‚ Building Identification Code

A unique number of alphanumeric code assigned to a building by a school, school 

system, state, or other agency or entity.

›‚⁄‚ School Use Type

How a building is used for education, regardless of its intent or original design.

⁄ Early childhood center

¤ Elementary school

‹ Middle school

› Junior high school

∞ Senior high school

6 Combination grades

‡ Special education

8 Career-technical education

· Adult education

⁄‚ Alternative school

⁄⁄ Upper elementary school
Section

›‚‚‚

50 Facilities Information Management: A Guide for State and Local Education Agencies

Number Data Element and Definition

›‚¤‚ Space Use Type

The primary use of a space, as determined by its physical layout and built-in systems

and equipment, regardless of its original design.

⁄ Basic classroom

A space for the activities dealing directly with the interaction between teachers

and students that do not require content specialized furniture, fixtures, or 

equipment.

¤ Specialty classroom

A space with special elements including furniture, fixtures, equipment, and 

sometimes size to support instruction in a particular content area.

‹ Library/media

A space for reading, reference, and research in various media, including books,

periodicals, and electronic communications.

› Athletic

A space primarily or exclusively for physical education and athletic activities,

often with specialized floor, walls, size, equipment, lighting, and auxiliary spaces.

∞ Student support

A space for providing specialized support services to students such as health care

or physical therapy.

6 Administration

A space primarily for conducting overall administrative and business functions of

a school, building, program, or service.

‡ Assembly

A space primarily for formal and informal gathering, where school and community

related activities are conducted by students, staff, and the public.

8 Corridors

A space for traveling throughout the building.

· Operational support

A space to support building systems and components and to operate the physical

plant.

⁄‚ Storage

A space to provide safekeeping for materials and supplies.

⁄⁄ Food service

A space to prepare and store food.

⁄¤ Dormitory room

A space specially designed for residence of students.

·· Other
Chapter ›: Facility Data Elements 51

‹‚6‚ Space Identification Code

A unique number or alphanumeric code assigned to a space by a school, school 

system, state, or other agency or entity.

‹‚‡‚ Space Description

A description of the space, as determined by its physical layout and built-in systems

and equipment.

›‚‹‚ Instructional Space Factor

A designation as to whether the space is considered an instructional space under state

or local guidelines.

⁄ Instructional space

A space designed primarily or exclusively for instruction and direct instructional

support, including basic and specialty classrooms, laboratories, studios, science

prep rooms, library/media center spaces, indoor physical education spaces, performing art spaces, and career technology spaces.

¤ Noninstructional space

Any space that is not classified as instructional, including areas designed primarily for administration and student services, and areas required for the general

operation of the building (such as hallways, stairwells, custodial, mechanical, and

structural space).

›‚›‚ Capacity Factor

A designation as to whether the space is included in the calculation of school building

capacity under state or local guidelines.

⁄ Capacity space

An instructional space within a school that is assigned student capacity when

establishing the enrollment capacity of the school.

¤ Noncapacity space

An instructional space within a school that is not assigned student capacity when

establishing the enrollment capacity of the school.

›‚∞‚ Assigned Space

An indication that the instruction space in a school is used in the calculation of student

capacity.

⁄ Yes

¤ No

›‚6‚ Unassigned Space

An indication that the space in a school, including circulation, administration offices,

support spaces, and common areas, is not part of the calculation for capacity.

⁄ Yes

¤ No

Section

›‚‚‚

Number Data Element and Definition
52 Facilities Information Management: A Guide for State and Local Education Agencies

›‚‡‚ Space Utilization Area

The area in square feet measured between the principal wall that faces at or near floor

level, including alcove spaces, and the outer limits of space designed to serve the

activity. Structural space is excluded.

›‚8‚ Net Area of Instructional Space

The area of space directly used for instruction excluding circulation, administration,

student services, and building support.

›‚·‚ Grade of Student Enrollment or Membership Number

The specific grade or combination of grades for student enrollment count.

⁄ Preschool

¤ Pre-kindergarten

‹ Kindergarten

› First Grade

∞ Second Grade

6 Third Grade

‡ Fourth Grade

8 Fifth Grade

· Sixth Grade

⁄‚ Seventh Grade

⁄⁄ Eighth Grade

⁄¤ Ninth Grade

⁄‹ Tenth Grade

⁄› Eleventh Grade

⁄∞ Twelfth Grade

⁄6 Grade ⁄‹

⁄‡ Ungraded

›⁄‚‚ Student Enrollment Number

The cumulative number of students registered in a school unit over a given period of

time. Enrollment consists of initial membership plus additional enrollees during the

specified time period.

›⁄¤‚ Student Membership Number

A nonduplicated count of students on the current rolls of a school as of a given date.

›⁄›‚ Student Enrollment Projection Number

The number of students that may be assumed to enroll in a school or school system in

the future, based on the number of live births, housing statistics, capture rate, historical cohort survival patterns, in and out migration into the district, and dropout rate.

Projections are typically made for ‹-, ∞-, and ⁄‚-year intervals.

Section

›‚‚‚

Number Data Element and Definition
Chapter ›: Facility Data Elements 53

Section

›‚‚‚

›⁄∞‚ Student Enrollment Projection Year

The year for the student enrollment projection.

›⁄6‚ Service Population

The number of school-age children who reside within a school attendance area and are

thus eligible for education and services by a school.

›⁄‡‚ Attendance Area Code

A unique number or alphanumeric code of an attendance area that the school or building serves assigned by a school, school system, state, or other agency or entity.

›⁄8‚ School Attendance Area

A description of the geographical area that is encompassed by the enrollment 

boundaries of a school.

›⁄·‚ School Assignment Method

The way students who reside within a school district are assigned to the schools.

⁄ Residential/geographic

School district policy that requires students to attend a school that serves a 

designated geographical area.

¤ Choice, including magnet or charter schools, with transportation

School district policy that permits students to attend school outside of their 

attendance area and provides transportation to support this.

‹ Choice, including magnet or charter schools, without transportation

School district policy that permits students to attend school outside of their 

attendance area, but provides no transportation to support this.

·· Other

›¤‚‚ Number of Students in Substandard Space

The number of students assigned to a space that is, according to state or local building

codes or standards, considered deficient for providing basic education and support

services.

›¤⁄‚ Number of Teaching Stations

The number of teaching stations, as defined by how many spaces have, or could have,

a teacher assigned to them for classroom instruction.

›¤¤‚ Classroom Use Type

Indication of the particular age group that receives instruction in the classroom.

⁄ Early childhood classroom

A space with built-in equipment for use by a class that is organized to provide

educational experiences in the years preceding first grade.

¤ Elementary classroom

A space designed with built-in equipment for use by a class that is organized to

provide educational experiences in, usually, the years first grade through sixth

grade.

Number Data Element and Definition
54 Facilities Information Management: A Guide for State and Local Education Agencies

Section

›‚‚‚

‹ Secondary classroom—middle school/junior high/high school

A space with special built-in equipment for use by a class that is organized to

provide educational experiences in, usually, the years seventh grade through

twelfth grade.

› Resource classroom

A space designed for general use by a group or class.

·· Other

‹‚·‚ Classroom Identification Code

A unique number of alphanumeric code assigned to a room by a school, school 

system, state, or other agency or entity.

›¤‹‚ Public Use Policy

A description of the policy that enables the community or other organizations to use 

all or part of a building for purposes other than general education.

›¤›‚ Hours of Public Use per Week

The number of hours that all or part of a building is used for purposes other than 

general education by the community or other organizations.

Number Data Element and Definition
Chapter ›: Facility Data Elements 55

∞‚‚‚ Facilities Management

This category contains data elements regarding the methods of managing educational

facilities, including information relative to the type of management, protocols, and

services used to operate and administer a facility.

∞‚‚‚ Facility Operations Management Type

The type of management arrangements whereby a district oversees and manages its

facilities operations.

⁄ School district management

The school district supervises and employs district staff in the schools and the 

central office for cleaning, maintenance, and repair.

¤ Private sector management 

The school district contracts with a private sector company for the supervision

and staffing for school-based cleaning, maintenance, and repair.

‹ District and private sector management

The school district supervises and employs district staff for cleaning, maintenance, and repair, but also contracts with a private sector company for support in

the cleaning, maintenance, and repair of its schools and other facilities.

› Nonschool public sector management

School district building cleaning, maintenance, and repair are the responsibility

of a nonschool governmental agency or public authority.

·· Other

∞‚⁄‚ Facility Capital Program Management Type

The type of management organization for planning, design, and construction of major

capital projects.

⁄ School district management

The school district procures and oversees the design and construction services for

its capital projects.

¤ Private management

The school district contracts with private program managers who procure and

oversee the design and construction of its capital projects.

‹ Nonschool public agency management

A nonschool governmental agency procures and oversees the design and construction of the school district’s capital projects. May be a municipal clerk of the

works, separate building authority, or even the Army Corps of Engineers.

∞‚¤‚ Facilities Plan Type

The type of management and accountability plan.

⁄ Emergency response plan

A plan that addresses the immediate and short-term effects of an emergency or

disaster. Response includes immediate actions to save lives, protect property, and

meet basic human needs.

Section

Number Data Element and Definition ∞‚‚‚
56 Facilities Information Management: A Guide for State and Local Education Agencies

Section

∞‚‚‚

Number Data Element and Definition

¤ Maintenance plan

A plan that includes the specific scope, schedule, responsible party, estimated

cost, and source of funds for routine, preventive, and predictive maintenance of a

district or school.

‹ Educational facilities master plan

A long-term plan (often ⁄‚ years) that describes the scope, schedule, and cost

estimates to bring all facilities up to desired standards from current conditions.

› Capital improvement plan

A 5- or 6-year plan, based on the master plan, that sets priorities and budgets for

school-specific major capital projects, such as component replacement, system

upgrades, whole or partial school modernization, new construction, and site

acquisition.

∞ Energy management plan

A plan that includes historical utility consumption and cost data and targets, with

scope of work and schedule to meet cost and consumption targets.

6 Hazardous materials management plan

A plan that identifies hazardous materials in the building and/or site and

describes scope of work, schedule, cost, and appropriate entities to carry out the

plan.

·· Other

∞‚‹‚ Facilities Plan

A description of the management and accountability plan.

∞‚›‚ Facilities Plan Cost

The estimated total amount of the facilities plan.

∞‚∞‚ Cleaning Standard

The standard for cleanliness, and benchmarks for how much space can be assigned to

one properly supplied custodian to meet these standards.

⁄ Level ⁄ cleaning

"Spotless" cleaning, such as might be found in a hospital or corporate suite. One

custodian should be able to clean ⁄‚,‚‚‚ square feet in an 8-hour period.

¤ Level ¤ cleaning

Intensive cleaning, reserved for areas such as restrooms, special education areas,

kindergarten areas, or food service areas. One custodian can clean approximately

⁄⁄,‚‚‚-⁄8,‚‚‚ square feet in an 8-hour period.

‹ Level ‹ cleaning

Cleaning required to ensure the health and comfort of building users. One custodian should be able to clean ⁄·,‚‚‚-¤∞,‚‚‚ square feet of space in 8 hours to this

standard.

› Level › cleaning

Not generally acceptable for a school environment. One custodian cleans 

¤6,‚‚‚-›6,‚‚‚ square feet in an 8-hour period.
Chapter ›: Facility Data Elements 57

∞ Level ∞ cleaning

Not considered healthy. One custodian can clean ›‡,‚‚‚-8‚,‚‚‚ square feet in

an 8-hour period.

∞‚6‚ Maintenance Standard

The standard for maintenance of a component, system, or building.

⁄ Run to fail

An approach to maintenance in which management allows equipment and parts

to run until they break down or wear out beyond repair.

¤ Routine

A work-order based approach to maintenance that addresses lists of broken

items, deteriorated finishes or equipment/parts nearing the end of their life cycle,

maintenance required as a result of normal wear and tear, equipment/parts that

should be fixed or replaced during a regular work day eliminating the need for

overtime pay.

‹ Emergency 

A plan that addresses the maintenance in which a critical system, component,

equipment, or furnishing breaks down and must be repaired to secure the safety 

of students, staff, or visitors and/or for operation of the program or service to 

continue. Unexpected events beyond normal wear and tear may mandate 

overtime, as situations may have to be dealt with immediately.

› Preventive

The process of performing scheduled equipment inspection, testing, and repair

services. Activities are performed on a scheduled basis annually, or more frequently, to identify additional maintenance or required systems testing.

∞ Predictive

The process of monitoring selected performance data for a system, component, or

equipment against a baseline reference to identify and predict impending failures for just-in-time maintenance attention. A system of maintenance in which

computers and software are used to forecast the failure of a piece of equipment

based on its age, user demand, and various performance measures.

‹‚›‚ Facility Standard

An indication of the district or state requirements or guidelines for the design and construction of school facilities.

⁄ Design guidelines

¤ Space standards

‹ Master construction specifications

› Health and safety standards

∞ Energy performance standards

6 Site guidelines

·· Other

Section

∞‚‚‚

Number Data Element and Definition
58 Facilities Information Management: A Guide for State and Local Education Agencies

∞‚‡‚ Baseline Utility Type

The type of utility in an equipment, building, or set of buildings.

⁄ Electricity

¤ Natural gas

‹ Oil

› Water

∞ Sewer

6 Telephone

‡ Internet

·· Other

∞‚8‚ Baseline Utility Cost

The calculated utility cost of operating and maintaining a utility before carrying out

any utility efficiency improvements.

∞‚·‚ Energy Conservation Measure (ECM)

The type of modification to, or replacement of, a piece of equipment or building

shell/system that increases energy efficiency.

⁄ Window replacement

¤ Installation of energy controls

‹ HVAC replacement

› Lighting replacement

∞ Insulation improvements

·· Other

∞⁄‚‚ Utility Provider Type

An indication of whether utilities are supplied to a site or a building by a company or

provider.

⁄ Self-generated

¤ Purchased

∞⁄⁄‚ Energy Source

The power source for a system.

⁄ Gas

¤ Electric

‹ Oil

› Solar

∞ Wind

6 Geothermal

Section

∞‚‚‚

Number Data Element and Definition
Chapter ›: Facility Data Elements 59

‡ Coal

8 Nuclear

· Water

·· Other

∞⁄¤‚ Energy Service Company (ESCo)

The name of the company that designs, procures, finances, installs, maintains, and

guarantees the performance of energy conservation measures in an owner's facility or

facilities.

∞⁄‹‚ Estimated Cost to Eliminate Deferred Maintenance

The estimated cost to bring systems, components, finishes, fixtures, or equipment to a

state of good repair.

∞⁄›‚ Work Request Type

A description of the work requested.

∞⁄∞‚ Job Type

The type of trade needed to meet work order job requirements.

⁄ Carpentry

¤ Custodial

‹ Electrical

› Safety and environmental

∞ Glazing

6 Grounds

‡ Energy management

8 Masonry

· Painting

⁄‚ Plumbing

⁄⁄ Roofing

⁄¤ HVAC

·· Other

∞⁄6‚ Requested Date of Completion

The month, day, and year that the school-based personnel initiating the work order

request would like to have it completed.

Section

∞‚‚‚

Number Data Element and Definition
60 Facilities Information Management: A Guide for State and Local Education Agencies

∞⁄‡‚ Work Order Priority

A determination of the urgency of a work order.

⁄ Emergency

Needs same-day response; use of overtime is authorized.

¤ Regular

Needs scheduled response; use of overtime is not authorized.

‹ Low

To be accomplished on an as-resources-permit basis.

∞⁄8‚ Work Order Date Scheduled

The month, day, and year that work is scheduled to take place (not necessarily the date

requested).

∞⁄·‚ Work Order Time Scheduled

The time that work is scheduled to take place.

∞¤‚‚ Status of Work Order Request

The status of the work order request.

⁄ Open

A new request for work, not yet assigned to a worker.

¤ Assigned

A work order assigned to a worker and in process.

‹ Completed

A completed work order.

› Reopened

A work order that was completed, but is now reopened.

∞¤⁄‚ Work Order Date of Completion

The month, day, and year that the work order was completed.

∞¤¤‚ Facilities Management Emergency Type

The type of abnormal and urgent circumstances that disrupt the normal operation of

the building, threaten the health and safety of the occupants, or require an emergency

response.

⁄ Fire

¤ Theft

‹ Bomb threat

› Terrorism

∞ Act of violence

6 Hostage

‡ Hurricane and tropical storm

8 Thunderstorm—severe

· Earthquake

Section

∞‚‚‚

Number Data Element and Definition
Chapter ›: Facility Data Elements 61

⁄‚ Winter storm

⁄⁄ Debris flows or mudslide

⁄¤ Tsunami

⁄‹ Volcano

⁄› Wildfire—surface, ground, or crown fire

⁄∞ Extreme heat

⁄6 Major chemical emergency

⁄‡ Gas leak

⁄8 Emergency shelter need

⁄· Tornado

¤‚ Flood

·· Other

∞¤‹‚ Emergency Repair

A description of the urgent restoration work on a piece of equipment, building, or

grounds to original completeness or efficiency from a worn, damaged, or deteriorated

condition.

∞¤›‚ Name of Response Agency

The local, state, or federal agency other than the LEA that has primary responsibility for

responding to an emergency situation.

∞¤∞‚ Hazardous Materials or Condition Type

The type of hazardous materials or conditions tested for at a site or building.

⁄ Asbestos

¤ Lead

‹ Mold

› Underground storage tanks (USTs)

∞ Radon

6 Pesticides

·· Other

∞¤6‚ Hazardous Material/Condition Testing Date

The month, day, and year that the site or building is tested for a specific hazardous

material.

∞¤‡‚ Hazardous Material/Condition

A description of the seriousness a threat or hazardous material poses.

∞¤8‚ Location of Hazardous Materials/Conditions

The location at which the identified hazardous material is found.

Section

∞‚‚‚

Number Data Element and Definition
62 Facilities Information Management: A Guide for State and Local Education Agencies

∞¤·‚ Expected Remediation Date

The month, day, and year by which a hazardous condition of a site or building is

expected to be remediated.

∞‹‚‚ Safety/Security Violation

A description of the safety and security violation at the site or building.

∞‹⁄‚ Citation Date of Safety/Security Violation

The month, day, and year that the site or building is cited for safety or security 

violation.

∞‹¤‚ Citation Issuing Agency

The name of the agency that issues the safety or security violation to the site or 

building.

∞‹‹‚ Capital Improvement Project Type

The type or phase of a capital improvement project.

⁄ Site acquisition

The exploration, due diligence, and purchase related activities for the land 

acquisition.

¤ Environmental clean-up of site

The due diligence and actual site clean-up of contaminated land.

‹ Planning

The districtwide and site specific planning associated with the implementation of

a capital improvement plan.

› Design

The phase of a capital project whereby the specific space and construction document specifications are developed.

∞ New construction

The creation of a new facility; also the addition, expansion, or extension of space

to an existing facility.

6 Demolition

The complete removal of a structure, whether attached or stand-alone, that is not

associated with a building renovation, remodeling, or new construction project.

‡ Remodeling of interior space

A building project to improve the usability and quality of space.

8 Full modernization

A building improvement project that replaces all systems/components/fixtures to

like-new condition and makes major modification to interior space layout and

organization to meet program requirements, if needed.

· Partial modernization

A building improvement project that involves multiple systems or components

and some modification of interior design, but does not involve the complete

removal and replacement of all systems and components and the complete

redesign of the organization and layout of interior space.

Section

∞‚‚‚

Number Data Element and Definition
Chapter ›: Facility Data Elements 63

⁄‚ Component or systems replacement

The replacement of an individual system or component.

⁄⁄ Exterior modernization

Improvements to "like new" of roof, gutters, flashing, windows, exterior finish,

and exterior doors.

⁄¤ Site improvements

Modifications or improvements to parking lots, walkways, driveways, 

playgrounds, drainage, landscaping, retaining walls, fences, and other outside

areas.

⁄‹ Landscaping

Exterior beautification or landscaping of a site, enhancement of existing exterior

areas, or development of new areas.

·· Other

∞‹›‚ Capital Project Delivery Method

The method for packaging, contracting, and managing capital improvement projects.

⁄ Design-bid-build

The traditional way of procuring public school design and construction services,

where the school district hires an architect to fully design a school or building

improvement, puts the construction documents out for competitive bid, and

awards a construction contract to the lowest responsible bidder, who will build

the school or make the improvement based on the architect's documents and in

accordance with the school system's construction contract.

¤ Construction management

A method by which a project is divided into several bid packages without a general contractor responsible for the overall cost and contract for the project. The

successful bidders for the specific trades or work enter into a direct contract with

the school district. Several bid packages can be bid at one time or spread over

time.

‹ Construction management at risk

A project delivery system whereby the construction manager agrees to a maximum price contract for the satisfactory construction of a project.

› General contractor method

A method by which the general contractor is fully responsible for the selection of

subcontractors and the overall cost of the contract for the project. The subcontractors for the specific trades or work enter into a direct contract with the

general contractor.

∞ Design build

A project delivery method where a single entity is responsible for both designing

and constructing a capital improvement project.

Section

∞‚‚‚

Number Data Element and Definition
64 Facilities Information Management: A Guide for State and Local Education Agencies

Section

∞‚‚‚

6 Fast track

A method by which a project is bid while portions of the project are still in the

design phase. It generally incorporates some aspects of the construction management process.

‡ Job order contracting

Work assigned to approved contractors selected on competitively bid trade-specific but undetermined scope-of-work contracts, on a job order basis, up to a

predetermined contract amount.

·· Other

∞‹∞‚ Capital Project Work Type

The type of work required to complete a major capital project.

⁄ Demographic research

The process of determining the characteristics of the local school system population and its projected changes over time.

¤ Planning

The phase of a capital project when educational specifications, financing, and 

management plans are developed for implementation.

‹ Site acquisition

The phase when land is purchased, assembled, or otherwise secured for new

school construction.

› Architect/engineer selection

The process of selecting the architect and engineers who will develop the design

for a capital project. The architect and engineers may be involved in developing

education specifications and a feasibility study before design.

∞ Feasibility review

The phase of a capital project when the feasibility of meeting education specifications at a particular site, in a particular building, and within a budget or schedule

are assessed.

6 Schematic design

The phase when the architect develops one or more preliminary design solutions,

each showing how program goals will be met. Schematic designs are conceptual,

and are derived from requirements set forth in the educational specifications.

‡ Design development

The approved project concept is developed into a detailed set of drawings tailored

to the realities of the project site. Drawings are to scale and individual spaces are

shown in detail. Input of building occupants is important at this phase to assure a

functional facility.

8 Construction documents

The construction documents include all drawings, specifications, and contract

information necessary to serve as a set of instructions to a contractor. Complete

construction documents allow contractors to provide accurate bids and to construct the project as planned.

Number Data Element and Definition
Chapter ›: Facility Data Elements 65

Section

∞‚‚‚

Number Data Element and Definition

· Construction procurement

The process of selecting the contractor responsible for implementing the

approved design.

⁄‚ Demolition/site development

The phase of a construction project when the site is prepared for new 

construction.

⁄⁄ Construction

The phase of a capital project when modernization, replacement, or new 

construction is under way.

⁄¤ Beneficial occupancy

The users of a facility are able to occupy the new or improved space, even if all

"punch list" items are not complete.

⁄‹ Close-out

The phase of a capital project when final contract requirements have been met

and the school system relieves the contractor of further responsibility.

⁄› Post-occupancy evaluation

A tool for assessing the quality of a completed capital improvement project. It

usually takes place between 6 and ⁄8 months after completion of a project.

·· Other

∞‹6‚ Capital Project Sequence

A description of the sequence of work required to complete a major capital project.

∞‹‡‚ Capital Project Start Date

The month, day, and year a project is approved for expenditures.

∞‹8‚ Capital Project Scheduled Completion Date

The month, day, and year the project is scheduled for completion.

∞‹·‚ Capital Project Actual Completion Date

The month, day, and year the project is determined to be at substantial completion.
66 Facilities Information Management: A Guide for State and Local Education Agencies

6‚‚‚ Facilities Budget and Finance

This category contains data elements regarding the capital budget and operating

funds of a facility, whether these funds are sufficient, and if the allocation and 

distribution of these funds are done under equitable conditions.

6‚‚‚ Facilities Operations Type

The type of facilities operations coded into the operating budget.

⁄ Utilities

The cost of electricity, gas, oil, water, sewer, communications, and refuse 

collection and disposal.

¤ Custodial personnel services

The cost of salaries and benefits to custodians.

‹ Custodial other than personnel services

The cost of supplies and equipment for custodial services.

› Custodial contracts

The cost of contracts for custodial services.

∞ Maintenance/repair personnel services

The cost of salaries and benefits for maintenance and repair workers, and repair

work.

6 Maintenance/repair other than personnel services

The cost of supplies, materials, tools, and equipment for maintenance and repair

work.

‡ Maintenance/repair contracts

The cost of contracts for maintenance and repair.

8 Management personnel services

The cost of salaries and benefits of management staff of facilities operations.

· Management other than personnel services

The cost of personnel services for facilities management, including information

technology, training, and other nonpersonnel items.

⁄‚ Management contracts

The cost of management contracts to support capital program or facilities 

management.

·· Other

6‚⁄‚ Facilities Operating Budget

The estimated annual budget for the facility operation.

6‚¤‚ Facilities Capital Activity Type

The type of activity that is included in the capital financing and expenditures by virtue

of a bond referendum or an appropriation.

⁄ Site acquisition

Approved budgeted amount to acquire land for expansion or construction of

schools or other school system facilities.

Section

§‚‚‚ Number Data Element and Definition
Chapter ›: Facility Data Elements 67

Section

6‚‚‚

¤ Environmental clean-up of site

Approved budgeted amount for the environmental clean-up of land purchased or

already owned by the school district.

‹ Planning

Approved budgeted amount for districtwide and site specific planning for capital

projects.

› Design

Approved budgeted amount for design of capital projects.

∞ Building demolition

Approved budgeted amount for demolition of facilities.

6 Environmental clean-up of building

Approved budgeted amount for environmental clean-up of buildings, occupied

and not occupied, to comply with health and safety regulations for demolition

and occupancy.

‡ Construction

Approved budgeted amount for the cost of construction.

8 Management contracts

Approved budgeted amount for the cost of construction managers, program 

managers, or other management contracts.

· Furniture, fixtures, and equipment

Approved budgeted amount for the furniture, fixtures, and equipment for new,

modernized, or renovated schools.

·· Other

6‚‹‚ Facilities Capital Budget

The legally approved budget amount for capital finance and expenditures by virtue of

a bond referendum or an appropriation.

6‚›‚ Date of Capital Expenditure

The month, day, and year that the funds for a capital project are encumbered, usually

upon execution of a service or construction contract.

6‚∞‚ Capital Budget Year

The year for which the project has been approved for expenditures.

6‚6‚ Capital Project Expenditure

The expenditure of bond proceeds for approved capital projects.

6‚‡‚ Total Capital Expenditure

The total expenditures related to the acquisition and disposition of property.

6‚8‚ Capital Expenditure per Building

The annual expenditure from capital funds for a building.

6‚·‚ Capital Expenditure per School

The annual expenditure from capital funds for a school.

Number Data Element and Definition
68 Facilities Information Management: A Guide for State and Local Education Agencies

6⁄‚‚ Debt Financing Type

The type of long-term debt instrument, usually applicable to large capital projects,

that obligates the issuer to pay back debt principal over a defined period at an agreedupon rate of interest.

⁄ General obligation bond

A debt for which repayment of principal and interest is a general liability to the

issuing organization; it is legally backed by the full faith, credit, and assets of

that organization.

¤ Municipal bond

A long-term debt instrument of a state or local government and/or its authorities

and agencies; it is generally exempt from federal and state taxes.

‹ Revenue bond

A municipal long-term debt instrument that is secured and repaid from a specified stream of nontax-based revenue sources.

› Certificates of participation

A financing instrument that permits a school district or municipality to commit to

making future payments without incurring "debt" by using a lease payment as

"fees for services" that is subject to appropriate risk.

∞ Tax increment financing

A financing instrument that is used to finance improvements in developing and

redeveloping areas. Taxes levied on the incremental growth in assessed valuation

in the redevelopment district are used for debt repayment.

·· Other

6⁄⁄‚ Bond Term

The length of time in years during which a bond may be repaid.

6⁄¤‚ Bond Year

The year in which a bond must be repaid.

6⁄‹‚ Bond Interest Rate

The interest rate payable by the borrower to the issuer of the bonds.

6⁄›‚ Discount Rate

The interest rate used to assess the present value of future cost and revenue streams.

6⁄∞‚ Finance Options

An alternative method to raise revenue and structure financing of school construction

or improvements.

⁄ Public/private development partnerships

A method of obtaining private sector capital and management to finance, design,

and construct a school by trading public land or dedicating property taxes from

private development or other public assets.

Section

6‚‚‚

Number Data Element and Definition
Chapter ›: Facility Data Elements 69

¤ Energy saving performance contract

An agreement with a third party in which the overall performance of installed

energy conservation measures is guaranteed by that party. A type of contract 

in which the contractor guarantees to meet certain standards for lighting, space 

conditioning (temperature and humidity), and other services over a period of 

time at a guaranteed price.

‹ Sale-lease back

A project financing and development method that enables the school district to

acquire a new school building through private financing and procurement. The

school district sells the school property and then leases the improved school and

site from a private owner/developer.

·· Other

6⁄6‚ Indebtedness Amount

The amount of indebtedness allowed by law to be carried by the school district.

6⁄‡‚ Debt Amount

The amount of debt currently being carried by the school district.

6⁄8‚ Date of Last Bond Referendum

The month, day, and year of the last request to the public for approval to raise revenue

that will enable borrowing by a school district, as is required and prescribed by law.

6⁄·‚ Percent Voters For Bond Question

The percent of voters who voted in favor of the most current bond referendum 

question(s).

6¤‚‚ Percent Voters Against Bond Question

The percent of voters who voted against the most current bond referendum

question(s).

6¤⁄‚ Tax Revenue Type

The tax revenue designated for repaying school construction bonds.

⁄ Local property tax

¤ City commuter income tax

‹ County or city sales tax

› State property tax

∞ State sales tax

6 State personal income tax

‡ State corporate income tax

8 State lottery proceeds

· State alcohol tax

⁄‚ State cigarette tax

⁄⁄ Tobacco settlement revenue

Section

6‚‚‚

Number Data Element and Definition
70 Facilities Information Management: A Guide for State and Local Education Agencies

Section

6‚‚‚

Number Data Element and Definition

⁄¤ Federal income tax

⁄‹ Developer impact fees

·· Other

6¤¤‚ Nontax Revenue Type

The source of revenue for capital projects that are voluntarily contributed.

⁄ Individual contributions

¤ Corporate contributions

‹ Foundation contributions

› Payments in lieu of tax contributions

·· Other

6¤‹‚ Public Education Mill Rate

The millage rate used to calculate property tax revenue for K-⁄¤ public education.

6¤›‚ Total Assessed Value

The total assessed value of property that constitutes the basis for public borrowing.

6¤∞‚ Lease Type

The type of agreement that allows the use and possession of equipment or equipment

systems from a third party in return for a regularly scheduled installment payment over

an agreed-upon period.

⁄ Capital lease

A lease agreement in which all costs of the equipment and financing are paid in

equal installments during the lease period. At the end of the period, the lessee can

purchase the equipment at a nominal value (often $⁄.‚‚); also called a financing

lease or a lease-purchase agreement.

¤ Master lease

A single operating or capital lease agreement negotiated to authorize multiple

capital equipment procurements over time; reduces transaction time and spreads

financing costs over a larger base than is possible with the procurement of separate lease agreements for individual projects.

‹ Operating lease

A lease agreement in which the lessee is not required to pay the full costs of

equipment and financing by the end of the lease period. Instead, the lessee may

buy the equipment for its residual fair market value, or return the equipment to

the lessor; also called a true lease.

6¤6‚ Life-Cycle Cost

The total cost of acquiring, owning, operating, and disposing of a building, facility, or

piece of equipment over its useful life.

6¤‡‚ Facility Replacement Value

The estimated cost of replacing a facility using current per square foot estimates of

total project costs.
Chapter ›: Facility Data Elements 71

Section

6‚‚‚

Number Data Element and Definition

6¤8‚ Expected Life of Facility

The time, in years, of the expected useful life of a facility for the purposes of 

depreciation.

6¤·‚ Emergency Transportation Cost

The cost of transporting students who are temporarily served in other facilities 

pending repairs to a building to comply with federal, state, or local requirements.

6‹‚‚ Insurance Deductible

The dollar amount a school district must pay before its insurance will compensate 

it for loss.

6‹⁄‚ Audit Type

The type of systematic review or audit.

⁄ Management audit

A systematic review of the decision-making, staffing, contracts, and governing

procedures.

¤ Financial audit

A systematic review of the approved budget and actual expenditures and 

encumbrances.

‹ Performance audit

A systematic review of the quality of work performed and its relationship to 

outcomes.

› Building commissioning

A systematic review of the quality and operation of a new or substantially

improved building to determine adequacy of planning, design, construction, 

and operation.

∞ Fiscal audit

A systematic review of the capacity of a school district or municipality to generate

and sustain funds to support plans, projects, or other requirements.

6 Process audit

A systematic review of procurement procedures and decision-making.

·· Other

6‹¤‚ Date of Last Audit

The month, day, and year of the latest review of the process, finances, or quality of

work associated with capital projects.
72 Facilities Information Management: A Guide for State and Local Education Agencies

Data Element Name Data Element Number

Data Elements Index

Administrative Space Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .‹⁄·‚

Apartment/Room/Suite Number . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .⁄‚›‚

Architectural Firm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ‹‚⁄‚

Art Specialty Space Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ‹⁄‚‚

Assembly Space Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ‹¤⁄‚

Assigned Space . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .›‚∞‚

Attendance Area Code . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ›⁄‡‚

Audit Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6‹⁄‚

Authorizing Entity Name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ⁄⁄·∞

Authorizing Entity Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ⁄⁄·‚

Baseline Utility Cost . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .∞‚8‚

Baseline Utility Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ∞‚‡‚

Basic Classroom Design Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .‹‚8‚

Block Number Area (BNA) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .⁄⁄∞‚

Bond Interest Rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6⁄‹‚

Bond Term . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6⁄⁄‚

Bond Year . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6⁄¤‚

Building Addition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ⁄‹‚‚

Building Addition Code . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .⁄¤·‚

Building Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ⁄‹¤‚

Building Design Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .‹‚‹‚

Building Identification Code . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ⁄⁄8‚

Building Name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ⁄⁄‡‚

Building Permanency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ⁄‹⁄‚

Building/Site Number . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ⁄‚∞‚

Capacity Factor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .›‚›‚

Capital Budget Year . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6‚∞‚

Capital Expenditure per Building . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6‚8‚

Capital Expenditure per School . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6‚·‚

Capital Improvement Project Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ∞‹‹‚
Chapter ›: Facility Data Elements 73

Capital Project Actual Completion Date . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .∞‹·‚

Capital Project Delivery Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .∞‹›‚

Capital Project Expenditure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6‚6‚

Capital Project Scheduled Completion Date . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .∞‹8‚

Capital Project Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .∞‹6‚

Capital Project Start Date . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .∞‹‡‚

Capital Project Work Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .∞‹∞‚

Career-Technical Education Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .‹⁄›‚

Census Tract . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ⁄⁄›‚

Circulation Space Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .‹¤¤‚

Citation Date of Safety/Security Violation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .∞‹⁄‚

Citation Issuing Agency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .∞‹¤‚

City . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .⁄‚6‚

Classroom Identification Code . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .‹‚·‚

Classroom Use Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .›¤¤‚

Cleaning Standard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .∞‚∞‚

Communications Management Component System . . . . . . . . . . . . .¤‚8‚

Community Use Space Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .‹¤‚‚

Compliance Determination Date . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .¤¤‹‚

Compliance Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .¤¤¤‚

Component Deficiency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ¤¤⁄‚

Component Identification Code . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .¤‚¤‚

Condition of System or Component . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .¤¤‚‚

Construction Date . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .⁄¤‹‚

Construction Date Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .⁄¤›‚

Construction Material Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .⁄¤∞‚

Cooling System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .¤‚6‚

Country Code . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ⁄⁄‚‚

Current Building Use Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .›‚‚‚

Date of Capital Expenditure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6‚›‚

Date of Certificate of Occupancy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .⁄¤6‚

Data Element Name Data Element Number
74 Facilities Information Management: A Guide for State and Local Education Agencies

Date of Last Audit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6‹¤‚

Date of Last Bond Referendum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 ⁄ 8 ‚

Debt Amount . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 ⁄ ‡ ‚

Debt Financing Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6⁄‚‚

Discount Rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6⁄›‚

Electrical System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .¤‚›‚

Emergency Repair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ∞ ¤ ‹ ‚

Emergency Transportation Cost . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6¤·‚

Energy Conservation Measure (ECM) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .∞‚·‚

Energy Service Company (ESCo) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ∞ ⁄ ¤ ‚

Energy Source . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ∞⁄⁄‚

Estimated Cost to Eliminate Deferred Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . ∞⁄‹‚

Expected Life of Facility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6¤8‚

Expected Remediation Date . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ∞¤·‚

Exterior Finish Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ¤⁄‡‚

Facilities Capital Activity Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6‚¤‚

Facilities Capital Budget . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6‚‹‚

Facilities Management Emergency Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ∞¤¤‚

Facilities Operating Budget . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6‚⁄‚

Facilities Operations Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6‚‚‚

Facilities Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ∞‚‹‚

Facilities Plan Cost . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .∞‚›‚

Facilities Plan Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .∞‚¤‚

Facility Capital Program Management Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . .∞‚⁄‚

Facility Operations Management Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .∞‚‚‚

Facility Replacement Value . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6¤‡‚

Facility Standard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .‹‚›‚

Federal Mandate Interest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ¤¤8‚

Federal Mandate Name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ¤¤°∞

Finance Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6⁄∞‚

Fire Protection System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ¤⁄⁄‚

Data Element Name Data Element Number
Chapter ›: Facility Data Elements 75

Food Service Space Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .‹¤›‚

GIS Location . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ⁄⁄¤‚

Grade of Student Enrollment or Membership Number . . . . . . . . . . . .›‚·‚

Hazardous Material/Condition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .∞¤‡‚

Hazardous Material/Condition Testing Date . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .∞¤6‚

Hazardous Materials or Condition Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .∞¤∞‚

Heating Distribution System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .¤‚∞‚

Historic Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .⁄¤¤‚

Hours of Public Use per Week . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .›¤›‚

Indebtedness Amount . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6⁄6‚

Indoor Athletic/Physical Education Space Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . ‹⁄6‚

Installation Date . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ¤⁄·‚

Institution Identification Code . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .⁄‚¤‚

Instructional Space Factor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .›‚‹‚

Insurance Deductible . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6‹‚‚

Interior Finish Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ¤⁄8‚

Job Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ∞⁄∞‚

Last Check Date . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .¤¤6‚

Last Service Date . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .¤¤‡‚

Lease Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6¤∞‚

Library/Media Center Specialty Space Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .‹⁄∞‚

Life-Cycle Cost . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6¤6‚

Location of Hazardous Materials/Conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .∞¤8‚

Maintenance Standard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .∞‚6‚

Mechanical System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ¤⁄¤‚

Name of Architect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .‹‚‚‚

Name of County . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .⁄‚‡‚

Name of Institution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ⁄‚⁄‚

Name of Response Agency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .∞¤›‚

Net Area of Instructional Space . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .›‚8‚

Next Service Date . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .¤¤›‚

Data Element Name Data Element Number
76 Facilities Information Management: A Guide for State and Local Education Agencies

Nontax Revenue Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6¤¤‚

Number of Stories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ⁄¤‡‚

Number of Students in Substandard Space . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .›¤‚‚

Number of Teaching Stations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ›¤⁄‚

Operations/Maintenance Space Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ‹¤‹‚

Outdoor Athletic/Physical Education Space Type . . . . . . . . . . . ‹⁄‡‚

Ownership Entity Name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ⁄¤‚∞

Ownership Entity Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ⁄¤‚‚

Percent Voters Against Bond Question . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6¤‚‚

Percent Voters For Bond Question . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6⁄·‚

Performing Arts Specialty Space Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ‹⁄⁄‚

Plumbing System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .¤‚‹‚

Public Education Mill Rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6¤‹‚

Public Use Policy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .›¤‹‚

Requested Date of Completion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ∞⁄6‚

Roof Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .¤⁄6‚

Safety/Security Violation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ∞‹‚‚

School Assignment Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ›⁄·‚

School Attendance Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ›⁄8‚

School Design Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .‹‚¤‚

School District Subdivision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ⁄⁄6‚

School Use Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ›‚⁄‚

Science Specialty Space Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ‹⁄¤‚

Security System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ¤⁄‚‚

Service Population . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ›⁄6‚

Site Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ⁄‹‡‚

Site Descriptors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ⁄ ‹ 8 ‚

Site Identification Code . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ⁄‹›‚

Site Identifier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ⁄⁄‹‚

Site Improvement Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .⁄‹6‚

Site Improvement Location . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ⁄‹∞‚

Data Element Name Data Element Number
Chapter ›: Facility Data Elements 77

Site Name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .⁄‹‹‚

Space Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .‹‚‡‚

Space Design Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .‹‚∞‚

Space Identification Code . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .‹‚6‚

Space Use Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .›‚¤‚

Space Utilization Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .›‚‡‚

Special Education Specialty Space Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ‹⁄‹‚

State Abbreviation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .⁄‚8‚

State or Local Mandate Interest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .¤¤·‚

State or Local Mandate Name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ¤¤·∞

Status of Work Order Request . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .∞¤‚‚

Street Number/Name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .⁄‚‹‚

Student Enrollment Number . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .›⁄‚‚

Student Enrollment Projection Number . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .›⁄›‚

Student Enrollment Projection Year . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .›⁄∞‚

Student Membership Number . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .›⁄¤‚

Student Support Space Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ‹⁄8‚

System Identification Code . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .¤‚⁄‚

System Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .¤‚‚‚

Tax Revenue Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6¤⁄‚

Technology Wiring System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .¤‚·‚

Total Assessed Value . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6¤›‚

Total Capital Expenditure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6‚‡‚

Unassigned Space . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .›‚6‚

Useful Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .¤¤∞‚

Utility Provider Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ∞⁄‚‚

Ventilation System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .¤‚‡‚

Vertical Transportation System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ¤⁄‹‚

Window Design Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ¤⁄›‚

Window Frame Material . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .¤⁄∞‚

Work Order Date of Completion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .∞¤⁄‚

Data Element Name Data Element Number
78 Facilities Information Management: A Guide for State and Local Education Agencies

Work Order Date Scheduled . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ∞⁄8‚

Work Order Priority . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ∞⁄‡‚

Work Order Time Scheduled . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ∞⁄·‚

Work Request Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .∞⁄›‚

Year Built . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ⁄¤⁄‚

Year of Last Modernization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .⁄¤8‚

Zip Code. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .⁄‚·‚

Data Element Name Data Element Number
Chapter 5: Resources and Connections 79

Chapter 1

Purpose and Scope

Following is a resource list, including web sites, of professional organizations, federal agencies and programs, and state education agencies. Every effort has been made

to verify the accuracy of all URLs listed in this Guide at the time of publication. If a

URL is no longer working, try using the root directory to search for a page that may

have moved.

Professional Organizations

 American Institute of Architects Committee on Architecture for

Education (AIA/CAE)

http://www.aia.org/PIA/cae

The AIA/CAE is one of 22 professional interest areas of the American

Institute of Architects. The CAE aims to serve architects interested in design

of educational facilities and help them stay abreast of the most current

trends. The committee puts on several conferences each year where members

can obtain up-to-date information and network with each other.

 Association of School Business Officials International (ASBO)

www.asbointl.org

ASBO International provides programs and services to promote the highest

standards of school business management practices and professional growth,

and the effective use of educational resources. It also provides a forum for

the exchange of information among school management executives and public and private school districts. ASBO collaborated with Johnson Controls, Inc.

on two publications to assist school business officials with the challenges of

improving school facilities: Financing School Facilities and Maintenance &

Operations Solutions: Meeting the Challenge of Improving School Facilities.

In another cooperative endeavor, ASBO International joined forces with the

National Forum on Education Statistics to create the School Facility

Management Task Force, which developed the Planning Guide for Maintaining

School Facilities. This practical guide stresses the importance of safe and

healthy facilities as tools for supporting effective education and communicates the vital role that appropriate facilities maintenance planning can play

in ensuring safe and clean facilities.

Chapter 5

Resources and

Connections
80 Facilities Information Management: A Guide for State and Local Education Agencies

 California’s Coalition for Adequate School Housing (CASH)

www.cashnet.org

CASH promotes, develops, and supports the enactment of statewide and local

funding alternatives for construction, maintenance, and modernization of

public K-12 schools. Its web-based School Facilities Resources Center provides useful "how-to" materials that represent best practices in the planning,

design, construction, occupancy, and maintenance of schools in California.

 Council of Educational Facility Planners International (CEFPI)

www.cefpi.org

CEFPI fosters, promotes, and disseminates best practices in school planning,

maintenance, and operations. Through its publications, the Issuetrak, The

Communicator, and the Educational Facility Planner, CEFPI provides practitioner-based information related to education facilities.

 National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) 

www.nassp.org

NASSP is a support organization for principals and others involved in the

education field. It provides professional resources to promote effective

change within the educational community. Its publication Safe Schools: A

Handbook for Practitioners provides step-by-step instructions for assessing

security at schools.

 National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities (NCEF)

www.edfacilities.org

Funded by the U.S. Department of Education, NCEF is an information

resource for people who plan, design, build, operate, and maintain K-12

schools. Its web site provides links to a wide variety of organizations and catalogues information on facility-related topics. Many of the resources in this

Guide were obtained from the NCEF web site.

 National Education Association (NEA)

www.nea.org

NEA is America's oldest and largest organization committed to advancing the

cause of public education. Founded in 1857, NEA represents more than 2.5

million members who work at every level of education, from preschool to

university graduate programs. The NEA addresses issues such as class size

reduction and school modernization.

 National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS) 

www.nibs.org

NIBS is a nongovernmental, nonprofit organization established by the

Congress to serve the public interest by promoting a more rational regulatory

environment for the building community, facilitating the introduction of new

and innovative technology, and disseminating nationally recognized technical

information. NIBS manages the National Clearinghouse for Educational

Facilities.
Chapter ∞: Resources and Connections 81

 National School Plant Management Association (NSPMA) 

www.nspma.com

NSPMA is a membership organization that facilitates the exchange of information on school plant management, maintenance, and care, and promotes

the professional advancement of school plant management personnel. Its

web site provides links to its state affiliates.

 NetDay

www.netday.org

NetDay is a national education technology nonprofit organization whose mission is to help educators effectively use technology to boost educational

results. NetDay began in 1995 as a grassroots volunteer effort by companies,

educators, families, and communities to wire the nation's K-12 classrooms for

Internet access. The first National Wiring Event was held on March 9, 1996,

in California, where an estimated 50,000 volunteers wired 4,000 schools—

approximately one-third of California's K-12 schools. Since then, NetDay has

expanded to 40 states and mobilized over 500,000 volunteers to wire more

than 75,000 classrooms across the country. Its web site contains information

on how to organize a NetDay and provides an installation guide for wiring

classrooms.

 21st Century School Fund

www.21csf.org 

The 21st Century School Fund is a national nonprofit organization that works

to build public will and capacity to modernize urban school facilities through

research, constituency building, and communications.

Federal Agencies and Programs

 EnergySmart Schools

www.eren.doe.gov/energysmartschools

This program of the U.S. Department of Energy provides information on

reducing energy costs through better school design and management practices. The EnergySmart Schools campaign offers schools training workshops,

publications, recognition, direct technical assistance, financing options, and a

host of other resources. Some of these resources are provided directly by

DOE but many come from its public and private sector partners in Rebuild

America. Its web site provides how-to guides for improving energy conservation in existing school buildings and designing energy-efficient new schools.

 Energy Star for Schools

http://yosemite1.epa.gov/estar/business.nsf/webmenus/Schools

Energy Star for Schools is a program sponsored by the U.S. Environmental

Protection Agency to help schools and school districts track and manage

energy use, evaluate facility financial performance, and locate energy-efficient products and services for use in new school construction. Free software

and technical guidance are offered. Its Technical Description for K-12 Schools,
82 Facilities Information Management: A Guide for State and Local Education Agencies

which is available on its web site, describes a Portfolio Manager approach to

evaluation of schools in the portfolio manager, including the statistical basis

of the calculations that result in a benchmark score for K-12 school buildings.

 E-Rate

www.ed.gov/Technology/eratemenu.html

The Schools and Libraries Universal Service Fund, popularly known as "ERate," was created as part of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 to make

telecommunications services affordable for every school and library. Through

this fund, eligible schools and libraries receive discounts of 20 percent to 90

percent on telecommunications services, internal connections, and Internet

access. Although the Fund does not directly pay for desktop computers,

learning software, or teacher/librarian training, schools and libraries can use

the funds they save on telecommunications infrastructure to support these

elements of a comprehensive technology plan. The E-Rate web site, a program of the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Educational Technology,

provides general information, publications, and training conferences on the

E-Rate program.

 General Accounting Office (GAO)

www.gao.gov

The GAO has produced several widely quoted reports on school facilities.

These reports can be located either on the GAO web site or by using the

search function on NCEF’s home page, http://www.edfacilities.org/

 Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) in Schools

www.epa.gov/iaq/schools

IAQ in Schools is a program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

(EPA) that provides information on improving air quality through better

school design and management practices. EPA’s Indoor Environments

Division developed the IAQ Tools for Schools to provide guidance and action

items for facility managers, teachers, administrators, and heath officials. Also

provided are tips on community sponsorship of IAQ programs in schools.

Another publication, Mold Remediation in Schools and Commercial Buildings,

presents guidelines for building managers, custodians, and others for dealing

effectively with mold and moisture problems so as to protect the health of

both building occupants and remediators. This publication can be downloaded from www.epa.gov/iaq/molds/index.html

 International Code Council

www.iccsafe.org/index.html

The International Code Council leads a cooperative effort to bring national

uniformity to building codes. Among other standards documents, the ICC

publishes the International Building Code, International Energy Conservation

Code, International Fire Code, International Fuel Gas Code, International

Mechanical Code, International Plumbing Code, International Private Sewage

Disposal Code, International Property Maintenance Code, International

Residential Code, International Zoning Code, and ICC Electrical Code

Administrative Provisions.
Chapter ∞: Resources and Connections 83

 National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)

nces.ed.gov

NCES, within the Institute of Education Sciences of the U.S. Department of

Education, is the primary federal entity for collecting and analyzing data

related to education in this country and around the world. It supports the

National Forum on Education Statistics, which commissioned this Guide. To

download NCES data handbooks from its web site, search for "Handbook" in

its electronic catalog. Finance information for elementary/secondary public or

private education can be found at nces.ed.gov/edfin

 Sandia National Laboratories

www.sandia.gov

Under the U.S. Department of Energy, the Sandia laboratories conduct programs to increase school security. Its popular publication An Appropriate

and Effective Use of Security Technologies in U.S. Schools, available at

www.ncjrs.org/school/home.html, discusses various types of security measures, such as video surveillance, metal detection, entry-control technologies,

and duress alarm devices, that can be used in schools.

 The U.S. Access Board 

www.access-board.gov

The Access Board is an independent federal agency that advocates for accessibility for people with disabilities. Key responsibilities of the Board include

developing and maintaining accessibility requirements for the built environment, transit vehicles, telecommunications equipment, and electronic and

information technology; providing technical assistance and training on these

guidelines and standards; and enforcing accessibility standards for federally

funded facilities. The Board’s web site provides guidelines and standards for

implementing the requirements under the Architectural Barrier Act, a law

requiring access to facilities designed, built, altered, or leased with federal

funds; the Rehabilitation Act, which created the Access Board, and the

Rehabilitation Act Amendments, which require access to electronic and

information technology in the federal sector; the Americans with Disabilities Act, a major civil rights law prohibiting discrimination on the basis of

disability in the private and public sectors; and the Telecommunications Act

(Section 255), which requires access to new telecommunications and customer premises equipment where "readily achievable."
84 Facilities Information Management: A Guide for State and Local Education Agencies

State Education Agencies

 Alaska Department of Education and Early Development 

www.eed.state.ak.us/facilities/home.html

This web site provides information on Alaska school capital projects, forms,

costs, bond reimbursement and grant review, and facility renewal and

replacement schedules.

 Arizona School Facilities Board

www.sfb.state.az.us/sfb/sfbmain/core-home.asp

This web site contains board policies, facilities assessment forms and documents, district data, and meeting summaries.

 Arkansas Department of Education

arkedu.state.ar.us/directory/publicschool_finance_p2.html#financial

This web site provides information on financial accountability, local fiscal

services, school insurance, and contact information for additional state facilities programs and services.

 California Department of General Services, Office of Public School

Construction

www.opsc.dgs.ca.gov

This state-level office manages school construction, lease-purchase arrangements, and maintenance of schools. Its web site provides information about a

construction cost index, the California Codes, and the Deferred Maintenance

Program Handbook.

 California School Facilities Planning Division

www.cde.ca.gov/facilities 

This web site is designed to assist school districts and their communities in

creating well-planned K-12 learning environments in safe, clean, and up-todate schools.

 Chicago Public Schools Capital Improvement Program

www.csc.cps.k12.il.us/capital

This web site provides information on the Chicago program's operations,

public hearings, and budgets for fiscal years 2000-2004.

 Connecticut State Department of Education, Division of Grants

Management, School Facilities Unit

www.state.ct.us/sde/dgm/sfu/guide02/menus.htm

This web site provides detailed information on the state's construction grant

process, educational specifications, state facilities assessment, school construction priority list, and current school projects and architect listing.
Chapter ∞: Resources and Connections 85

 Florida Department of Education Office of Educational Facilities 

www.firn.edu/doe/cgi-bin/doehome/mcnv-plo

This web site offers basic technical support for facilities-related responsibilities and concerns of Florida public school boards and community colleges. Of

special interest is the publication FISH (Florida Inventory of School Houses),

a state-level facilities assessment system.

 Georgia Department of Education Facilities Services

www.doe.k12.ga.us/schools/facilities/index.asp

This department assists Georgia school systems in developing long-range

capital improvement plans, acquiring funds, and reviewing architectural

plans. Its web site provides data rules and guidelines.

 Illinois School Construction Program

www.cdb.state.il.us/schools/school1.htm

The Illinois State Board of Education and the Capital Development Board are

jointly responsible for administering the School Construction Program, a

state-funded building program for local school districts. Over a 5-year period,

the program will provide $2.5 billion in state funds for local school construction projects. When matched with required local funding, the program is

expected to result in $5 billion in new or improved public school facilities.

 Illinois State Board of Education School Construction and Facility

Services Division

www.isbe.state.il.us/construction/default.htm

This web site focuses on school facilities and programs that affect their construction, expansion, renovation, and maintenance. Its Health, Life, and Safety

Handbook provides checklist items regarding safety in schools.

 Kentucky Department of Education, Division of Facilities Management

www.kde.state.ky.us/kde/Administrative+Resources/facilities/default.htm

The agency is responsible for ensuring sanitary, safe, and accessible construction of public school buildings, playground equipment, and classrooms.

The division assists school districts by reviewing and approving all sites, new

buildings, additions, alterations of existing buildings, and energy-saving projects. It also reviews and approves property disposal and property lease

agreements and assists with hazardous materials and construction finance.

The web site provides useful references and "best practice" materials related

to education facilities.

 Maryland Public School Construction Program

www.pscp.state.md.us

This program provides funding for eligible and justified public school construction projects that are approved by the Board of Public Works. The web

site provides references and facilities inventory information.
86 Facilities Information Management: A Guide for State and Local Education Agencies

 Mississippi Department of Education, Office of School Building

www.mde.k12.ms.us/lead/osos/webpage.htm

The web site provides state construction submission rules and procedures, a

profile of school district construction finance, records of school bond elections, roofing requirements, and department contact information.

 Missouri Division of School Services, School Governance & Facilities

www.dese.state.mo.us/divadm/govern

This web site offers information on student residency, school district boundaries, boards of arbitration, school elections, facility needs, and school safety.

 New Hampshire Department of Education, Office of School Building Aid

www.ed.state.nh.us/buildingAid/building.htm

This site provides information on educational specifications, plans, technical

specifications, costs, site considerations, and financing methodologies.

 New Jersey Department of Education, School Facilities

www.state.nj.us/njded/facilities/index.html

This site offers information and assistance on state educational facility planning, educational specifications, financing, and construction. Facility

Standards for Technology in New Jersey Schools can be downloaded from the

web site.

 New Jersey Economic Development Authority’s School Construction

Program

www.njeda.com/school_mstr.htm

This agency is responsible for the design and construction of school projects

in districts receiving at least 55 percent of their construction costs from the

state. This site provides information about bidding, prequalification of consultants, and contractor classification.

 New Jersey—The Education Law Center 

www.edlawcenter.org

This nonprofit organization is dedicated to the pursuit of equal educational

opportunity for poor children and children with disabilities in New Jersey. Its

web site addresses equity issues in education facilities.

 New Jersey School Construction Initiative

http://www.state.nj.us/njded/news/2001/0301con.htm

The New Jersey Educational Facilities Construction and Financing Act, enacted in July 2000, launched the New Jersey School Construction Initiative—a

comprehensive program for the design, renovation, repair, and new construction of primary and secondary schools. The initiative is the largest school

construction program undertaken by the State of New Jersey and is one of

the largest school construction programs in the United States.
Chapter ∞: Resources and Connections 87

 New York City School Construction Authority 

www.nycsca.org/sca/home.html

This official New York City site contains program descriptions, forms, contact

information, and employment opportunities.

 New York State Education Department, Office of Facilities Planning 

www.emsc.nysed.gov/facplan

This office of the New York State Education Department coordinates

statewide planning, design, and construction for New York Public Schools.

This site provides access to their documents and guidelines.

 North Carolina School Design Clearinghouse

www.schoolclearinghouse.org

This site is designed for school districts that want to use a prototype design

in the construction of school facilities. In addition to many documents on

planning, the site includes cost data and publications.

 North Dakota Department of Public Instruction, School Finance and

Organization

www.dpi.state.nd.us/finance/index.shtm

This site contains information on state aid to schools, school construction

approvals, and federal Qualified Zone Academy Bonds.

 Ohio School Facilities Commission

www.osfc.state.oh.us

The Commission provides funding, management oversight, and technical

assistance to school districts for construction and renovation of school facilities. A school facility survey also is included on this site.

 Pennsylvania Center for Safe Schools

www.center-school.org/training.htm

The Center provides training, technical assistance, a clearinghouse of video

and print materials, and a database of resources to help schools and school

districts implement effective programs. Planning guides to create safe schools

and develop crisis plans are included in this web site.

 Rhode Island Department of Education, Federal and State Funding,

School Construction Aid

www.ridoe.net/funding/construction/schoolconstruction.htm

This web site is designed to enable school districts that need new facilities to

receive help with their needs and planning assessments, as well as assistance

in determining which construction costs may be eligible for state reimbursement. It also provides links to other sites related to school construction.
88 Facilities Information Management: A Guide for State and Local Education Agencies

 Texas Education Agency Facility Funding and Standards

www.tea.state.tx.us/school.finance/facilities/index.html

This web site includes information on the state's Instructional Facilities

Allotment (IFA) program and the federal Qualified Zone Academy Bond program, as well as state school facility standards.

 Washington State Office of Public Instruction, School Construction

Assistance Program

www.k12.wa.us/facilities

This site provides information on state matching funds and technical support

for local school district construction projects and other K-12 school facilitiesrelated programs.

 West Virginia School Building Authority

www.state.wv.us/wvsba/default.htm

This office facilitates and provides state funds for the construction and maintenance of school facilities. The web site provides policies and procedural

manuals.

 Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, School Management

Services

www.dpi.state.wi.us/dpi/dfm/sms/index.html

This site offers school facilities reporting information and a listing of state

resources related to school construction and facilities management.
Glossary of Selected Facilities-Related Terms 89

Bond

A written promise, generally under seal, to pay a specific sum of money, called the

face value, at a fixed time in the future, called the date of maturity, and carrying

interest at a fixed rate, usually payable periodically.

Building

One continuous enclosed structure that may or may not be connected with other

structure by passageways. It includes the structure itself, together with all plumbing,

sanitary, heating, ventilating, mechanical, and electrical systems in the structure,

and all fixed equipment.

Capital Project

The acquisition or construction of major facilities, e.g., land, improvement, improvements to land, easements, building, or building improvements.

Custodian

A staff member who performs plant housekeeping and servicing activities consisting

of the cleaning; operation of the heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning systems;

and the servicing of building equipment.

Equipment

Any instrument, machine, apparatus, or set of articles that: ⁄) retains its original

shape and appearance with use; and ¤) is nonexpendable (i.e., if the article is damaged or some of its parts are lost or worn out, it is usually more feasible to repair it

than to replace it with an entirely new unit).

Facility

All buildings, structures, and other stationary items that are located on a single site

or on contiguous or adjacent sites and that are owned by and/or used for activities

of an organizational unit such as a school or system.

Full-Time Equivalency (FTE)

The amount of time required to perform an assignment stated as a proportion of a

full-time position, and computed by dividing the amount of time employed by the

time normally required for a full-time position.

Glossary of Selected 

Facilities-Related Terms
90 Facilities Information Management: A Guide for State and Local Education Agencies

Landmark (Historic Building)

A building, district, site, or object that holds historical, cultural, or architectural 

significance on a local, state, or national level.

Local Education Agency (LEA)

An administrative unit at the local level which exists primarily to operate schools or

to contract for educational services. These units may or may not be coextensive with

county, city, or town boundaries.

Maintenance

The activities to keep the facility open, comfortable, and safe for use, and keep the

grounds, buildings, and equipment in effective working condition and state of

repair.

Repair

The construction or renewal of any part of an existing building for the purpose of its

maintenance.

Room

A space enclosed with walls or partitions, of fixed or movable type, that provide an

acceptable sound barrier.

School

An institution that provides preschool, elementary, and/or secondary instruction and

may provide other education-related services to students; has one or more teachers;

is located in one or more buildings; and has an assigned administrator.

Site

The land and all improvements on the land, other than structures, such as grading,

drainage, drives, parking areas, walks, plantings, play-courts, and play-fields.

Space

An area within a building that is bounded by a floor, a ceiling at least 6 feet 6 inches

in height, and on the sides by vertical planes that may be real (walls, partitions) or

imaginary (e.g., open classroom spaces, separated by floor markings only).

State Education Agency (SEA)

The agency of the state charged with primary responsibility for coordinating and

supervising public instruction, including the setting of standards for elementary and

secondary instruction programs.
Appendix: Calculated Data Elements 91

The calculated data elements in this section are considered important components 

of an education facility’s data system. They are useful for comparisons between various entities as well as for measuring the health and status of the education facility.

The calculated data elements are built through computations of unit records or data

elements, including those from student, staff, finance, and facilities information systems.

Area per Student

The area, in net or gross square feet, divided by the number of assigned students

per area.

Assessed Value per Student

The total assessed value of taxed property divided by the number of students.

Average Class Size

The total membership of classes of a given type, as of a given date, divided by the

number of such classes.

Average Work Order Completion Time

The average duration of time between initiation and completion of work orders.

Building Age

The age of the building as defined by the current calendar year minus the year built.

Capital Expenditure per Square Foot

Total annual capital expenditure per building divided by the total gross square

footage of the building.

Capital Expenditure per Student

The annual or multiyear aggregate of capital expenditures at a school divided by the

membership as of a specific date or average annual membership of students.

Debt Ratio

The amount of indebtedness allowed by law compared to the amount of debt currently being carried by the school district.

Facility Operating Expenditure per Building

The total annual expenditures of all facilities-related operating budget items aggregated per building.

Appendix:

Calculated Data Elements
92 Facilities Information Management: A Guide for State and Local Education Agencies

Facility Operating Expenditure per Square Foot

The total operating facility expenditure divided by the total gross floor area of the

building.

Facility Operating Expenditure per Student

The total operating facility expenditure of a school divided by the total enrollment

of the school.

Hours of Facilities Staff Training

Total hours per year of staff development required for facilities maintenance. Hours

are unduplicated; for example, if ⁄‚ custodians each receive ¤‚ hours of mandatory

training this comprises ¤‚ hours of staff development.

Number of Buildings

The number of separate buildings, both permanent and nonpermanent, on a site.

Number of Classrooms

The number of rooms in a school that are dedicated to the organized instruction of

course content to groups of students.

Number of Emergency Repairs Completed Each Year

The number of repairs completed each year that were determined to be emergencies.

Number of Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) Facilities Staff

The number of FTE persons employed by a school district who perform functions

related to facilities.

Number of Nonpermanent Buildings 

The number of separate nonpermanent buildings.

Number of Outstanding Work Orders

Number of uncompleted requests for service or repair work.

Student Enrollment Capacity

The maximum number of students that a school building can satisfactorily accommodate at one time for the particular educational program and curriculum offered,

as determined by a formula.

Student-Teacher Ratio

The number of students divided by the total teacher FTE count.
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