Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Capital Planning topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
District unveils capital-budget prioritization methodology; equity lens and portable safety among criteria
Summary
District staff presented a new, data-driven prioritization process for the capital budget that scores facilities across condition, deferred maintenance, maintenance activity, health and safety, utilization and educational sufficiency; equity will be applied as a cross-cutting lens.
Howard County Public Schools staff presented a new capital-budget prioritization process and scoring methodology to the Board of Education on March 27 that scores every facility on condition, utilization and educational sufficiency and uses an equity lens to guide choices.
Dan Lubley, executive director of capital planning and construction, described an approach that groups criteria into two weighted categories: facility condition (55 percent) and facility utilization and space (45 percent). The condition category includes State Facility Assessment (SFA) facility condition index (FCI), deferred maintenance, maintenance tracking, health and safety and a feed-pattern condition metric. The utilization/space category includes capacity/utilization, feed-pattern utilization and educational sufficiency.
Staff said the methodology yields a numerical priority order for more than 82 facilities; it is intended as a starting point for capital planning, not a scope-setting tool. The district will update criterion data annually and use the results in its Educational Facility Master Plan and to prepare the Interagency Commission submission.
Health and safety metrics will include quantifiable items such as lead-in-water fixtures, PFAS testing for well schools, secure vestibules and separated bus/car loops. The presentation noted that relocatable classrooms (portables) would be scored for safety and that remediation options may vary by site (removal, fenced pathways, enclosed walkways or modular replacement). The district said it will work with diversity, equity and inclusion staff and with community stakeholders to apply equity questions from MABE (Maryland Association of Boards of Education) as a review lens.
Board members asked follow-up questions about how the presence of portables would be scored, how transportation costs might be factored into decisions and whether the district would hold additional public hearings. Staff said the prioritization produces a facility ranking; the next step will be defining project scopes and costs for the highest-priority facilities and returning to the board for project-level decisions.
