The Delicate Balance of Facilities Planning: Part II

By Jim Schiele

Overall, declining birth rates have impacted school districts in Texas already, with the Texas state demographer estimating a significant decline in the state’s four-year-olds from 2020 to 2025, impacting incoming kindergarteners in the coming years.

How to Plan for New Facilities in a Growing Environment

Increasing enrollment is exciting, but requires careful, proactive planning.

1. Establish A Vision

In last month’s blog, we discussed how to define the four cornerstones of a long-term plan including grade configurations, school sizes, feeder pattern plan, and facility use. These decisions shape what you will build—and where.

2. Accept That Change Takes Time

If you aim for pure feeder patterns or redesigned attendance boundaries, full implementation may take years of planning, construction, and community communication to achieve. Pure feeder patterns may be the goal, but until a construction plan is complete, feeder patterns in growing districts may split cohorts of students for several years.

3. Purchase Land or Negotiate Early

Securing land in developing areas is a critical first step. Include land acquisition in both your long-range capital plan and your bond proposals. Home developers seeking to build in a certain area, may donate land or space for local schools, easing the way for new facilities to be built in growing areas. Working with developers in your district can be beneficial even if you must pay for the land, because the district may be able to influence the addition of facilities.

Land rarely gets cheaper and in rapidly growing areas; prices often increase sharply as new neighborhoods are platted. It is hard to purchase land exactly where you will eventually need it, but if you have the land, you can consider land swaps or a sale and purchase with minimal additional costs to the district.

4. Leverage Demographer Data

A qualified demographer helps districts determine where growth is expected to occur, when new students may arrive, and how those changes will impact specific grade levels. These analysists will evaluate housing growth, housing turnover, and regional birth trends to develop a model for growth.

If a demographer predicts that a new school is needed, the next step is to determine the capacity of the school, the location, and the attendance zone.

5. Develop Facility Plans and Cost Estimates

Architects can help districts build for student capacity, design school prototypes, and prepare construction cost estimates. Those elements are critical to building a bond package that incorporates land, school facilities (building with furniture, fixtures, and equipment), and any infrastructure needs, such as roads and utilities.

How to Plan Responsibly within Declining Enrollment

Declining enrollment introduces a distinct set of challenges—but the process should be just as strategic.

Your plan may include campus closures and consolidations, repurposing or leasing unused facilities, or even selling surplus property. For some facilities, new building codes and standards make it economically unfeasible to continue to operate the facility.

1. Identify Where Enrollment Is Declining and Why

Even in shrinking districts, some areas may be growing. Demographic studies are essential to pinpoint the sections of a district that might be experiencing enrollment decline, stability, and even growth. Are the areas declining due to part of the life cycle of a neighborhood? Is the decline temporary or predicted to be long-term? If revitalization happens in the area, will the demographic forces reverse?

In the short term, an adjustment of attendance zones can help balance and accommodate the pockets of growth or decline.

2. Evaluate Facility Utilization

A facility use plan should be developed for each building.

• What is the current usage? How much of the facility is being utilized?
• Will future enrollment impact the utilization of the facility?
• What are the trends in adjacent attendance zones?
• What other needs might be met by using this facility? Options include childcare, administrative offices, storage, recreation, and community centers.

3. Prepare a Long-Range Plan and Communication Strategy

Just like a growing district, declining ones need a vision that has community support.

Preparation of a long-range plan with detailed financial justifications should be published to solicit community input and recommendations. Not everyone is going to be happy. Even if constituents disagree with the recommendations, the process of communication and transparency will serve the district well through the process.

4. Avoid “Mothballing” Unless Necessary

Empty buildings still cost money. Maintenance, utilities, and security costs mount even though the building is providing little or no benefit to the district. Having said that, it is generally cheaper to “mothball” a facility than to underutilize it. If you have buildings that simply do not need to be used, look for other uses and possibilities. 

• Sale of the property
• Community partnerships
• Nonprofit or private leasing
• Redevelopment opportunities

Moving Forward with Your Long-Term Plan

Whether your district is experiencing increased student enrollment or a decline in student attendance, communication and careful planning are key to a successful long-term facilities plan. Not only should you engage your administrative leadership, school board members, and staff, a clear and concise long-term plan should be presented to the community and parents for their input. As feedback comes in, whether through community engagement or new demographic data, revisit your plan annually to adjust to latest information.

Questions? I am here to help. Contact me at the link below.

Jim Schiele is Linebarger’s School Financial Consultant. He offers free assistance to Linebarger school district clients as they navigate budgets and meet financial deadlines. He can be reached at jim.schiele@lgbs.com.

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