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Subject: FY 2021-2025 Capital Improvement Program

 

 

Staff Contact: Jeffrey K. Platenberg, assistant superintendent, Facilities and Transportation Services

 

 

Meeting Category: February 6, 2020 – Regular Meeting

 

 

School Board Action Required: Action

 

 

Ignite Link: Goal 4 – Resource Stewardship

 

 

Outcome:

 

Fairfax County Public Schools continues to experience uneven growth throughout the division for various reasons, including changes in population, new development, and student transfers. In certain areas, membership is projected to exceed the ability to accommodate students within existing school buildings. To accommodate growing membership needs, the Capital Improvement Program (CIP) annually reviews current and five-year projected student membership and capacity utilization data to identify:

  • future capital requirements

  • new facilities

  • capacity enhancement projects

  • renovations

  • the use of temporary classrooms

  • modular additions, and

  • boundary adjustments

 

The FY 2021-25 CIP identifies the following capital projects:

 

New School Construction: To meet needs beyond the five-year horizon the CIP identifies three new elementary schools: 1) North West County elementary school (funded); 2) Fairfax/Oakton elementary school (funded); and, 3) the Silver Line elementary school (partially funded). Additionally, the following projects have been identified in the CIP: 1) a new western high school (unfunded); 2) Route 1 elementary school (partially funded); and, 3) four new and/or repurposed schools (unfunded).

 

Capacity Enhancements: The CIP identifies additions at West Potomac, Justice, and Madison high schools, which are all funded.

 

Renovations: The CIP identifies renovations at 30 named elementary, six named middle, and five named high schools; which includes funded, partially funded, and unfunded projects. Many of these renovation projects will include capacity enhancements.

 

Site Acquisition: Funds have been provided to acquire land for facilities in the future.

 

The FY 2021–25 CIP includes potential solutions for consideration to alleviate current and projected school capacity deficits. Any options chosen for implementation will be discussed and decided through a transparent process with the appropriate stakeholders, in accordance with School Board Policies and Regulations.

 

 

Summary/Background:

 

The FY 2021-2025 CIP includes five-year student membership projections and capacity calculations, as well as the Capital Construction Cash Flow which identifies plans for new construction, capacity enhancements, renovations, and site acquisition to accommodate capacity needs.

 

Recommendation: That the School Board approve the FY 2021-2025 Capital Improvement Program.

 

Attachments:

Proposed FY 2021-25 CIP (updated CIP will be provided prior to meeting)

FY 2021-25 CIP Presentation

 

Board Member Proposed Amendments:

 

1.  I move to amend the main motion by adding Kent Gardens Elementary School to the new Table 8. (Tholen)

 

2. I move to amend the main motion by revising page 36 of the CIP to begin the process of creating and approving the Renovation Queue by 2022, 1 year earlier than currently anticipated in the CIP 2021-2025. (Tholen)

 

3. I move amend the main motion by including in the CIP document an outline of procedures taken on options A-G for any school to be considered for option H, the boundary/zone adjustment. In this case, the McLean/Langley boundary.(Omeish)

 

4.  I move to amend the main motion by including, in the CIP document, a clear articulation of considerations made about how the concerns of parents and families, as well as the needs of students, are prioritized during and upon significant capacity project changes, especially option H (minimum notice time, grandfathering options, etc.). Examples of such concerns are sibling pairing, counselor switches, school offerings, among others. (Omeish)

 

5.  I move to amend the main motion by including in the CIP (as a potential addendum to page 9), details regarding the public engagement process for major capacity changes, to especially include proposed boundary adjustments, as will be discussed in the Monday family engagement process work session. (Omeish)

 

6.  I move to amend the main motion by adding, in a format comparable to the “Essential Planning Documents” (pg. 17), a delineation of actors/players in capacity decision-making in a way that clearly establishes their roles. This may be folded into the proposed addendum to pg. 9 or to pg. 9 itself to clarify the role of groups like FPAC, the School Board, staff, etc. (Omeish)

 

 

Board Member Proposed Follow-On Motions

 

1.  I move to direct the superintendent to review the condition of bathroom facilities at those schools that do not have near-term plans for overall renovations and do not provide privacy for all students. (Tholen)

 

2.  As part of the joint Fairfax County/FCPS CIP task force, I move to direct the superintendent to convene a working group of county and school staff to develop a consistent method for projecting student enrollment. (Tholen)

 

3.  I move to direct the superintendent to:

1. Identify how FCPS can adopt best practices in energy and resource stewardship in facility design. FCPS staff will prepare for a School Board work session to examine:

a.  Net Zero design. FCPS will identify where the division currently is on any factors that lead towards Net Zero ready; and recommend pathways and associated costs and time to obtain 20-25 Energy Usage Intensity (EUI) per facility, which is a measure of a building’s energy per square foot. Net Zero design and building specifications will provide a superior energy efficient building resulting in lower operating costs over the life of the school compared to the existing specifications. Furthermore, Net Zero buildings can be teaching tools and community examples about the benefits and necessity of energy efficiencies and renewable energy technologies.

 

b. Electrification planning. Present an approach for how FCPS can incorporate the principle of electrification (moving away from fossil-fueled components like heating and cooling), to prepare for the future availability of such technology.

 

c. Circular Economy Practices. Present an approach for FCPS can incorporate practices that plan for how future builds and renovations will be disposed of when their lifetime ends.

 

2. Develop an Operations Energy Strategy. Develop a plan that identifies metrics, timeline, and staff responsibilities for measuring energy use; includes annual goals for energy use; and establishes a regular timeline for reporting to the School Board.

 

3. Establish a plan to regularly independently verify and vet schools in the Collaborative for High Performance Schools (CHPS) program, by a third party. FCPS already participates in CHPS, and having the regular verification will maximize use of this tool to benchmark and foster

 

4. In an effort to more fully ensure that FCPS is following sustainability best practices, we will be Collaborative for High Performance Schools (CHPS) verifying two of our upcoming projects (Meren)

 

4. I move to direct the Superintendent to consider how and if space for early childhood learning spaces can be included in the design of each construction and renovation project and identify costs for the design and maintenance of these spaces in an effort to create needed community space for early learning. (Meren)

 

5. I move to direct the Superintendent to work with the County in examining the economic and equity impact related to the remaining 15 high school stadiums that do not have permanent bathroom facilities, as well as devising a financial plan to address this. The Superintendent is to report back to the Board prior to the completion of the Year-End budget review. (McLaughlin)

 

6. I move to direct the Superintendent to ensure that Instructional Services and Facilities begin to work together to evaluate potential magnet programming options-including performing arts programming-for the bonded Elementary School site in Lee District. I request that potential options be included in the next CIP. (Derenak Kaufax)

 

7.  I move to direct the Superintendent to rearrange funding, process, and public engagement components of the CIP in digestible formats that include infographics for future editions of the document. (Omeish)

 

8.  I move to direct the Superintendent to develop a clear communication plan for any school engaged in a boundary adjustment study that:

1. Explains which option(s) A-G were previously implemented, when option H is also considered to address student capacity concerns and,

2.  Explains how the concerns of families and students are considered and prioritized when developing possible solutions.

This information would be shared as part of the boundary scoping process. (Omeish)

 

9.  I move that the Board request that Superintendent draft a communication plan, for submission to the Board within 30 days, on engaging with school communities on procedures taken on options A-G for any school to be considered for option H, the boundary/zone adjustment. (Omeish)

 

10.  I move that after the boundary study review, the communications plan be modified to include a delineation of decision-makers involved in the process, and that future CIPs include this information. (Omeish)