Architect describes room-by-room utilization study to guide Penn Yan capital planning

Rich Little, an architect with SCI Design Group, told the board his team will evaluate every room in district buildings—who is in the room, why, and whether the space is adequate—then compare those counts with enrollment, program adjacencies and state aid formulas. "What we're talking about is how do you use every space in the building?" Little said, describing the method that feeds into Maximum Cost Allowance and building-aid calculations.

Little explained the study ties into state aid mechanics (VAUs and MCA) and district preferences such as board-adopted class-size guidance. He emphasized the process includes meetings with building principals to verify data, a review of support services (psychologists, social workers, special education spaces), and iterative spreadsheets that let administrators explore scenarios. On special education he cautioned formulas cannot fully capture specialized space needs and said some gains in aided units have been secured in other districts after sharing historical course and graduation data with the state. Little said the district will receive charts identifying undersized rooms or interchangeable classrooms and that many issues can be addressed by moving programs or reconfiguring space rather than large construction.

Board members asked about community use and evening scheduling; Little said the study can include evening/community-use data on request but noted community use does not drive state aid calculations. He offered to circulate the full charts and follow up with principals before delivering the district report.