To renovate or replace? Could West Virginia's tough guidelines help your district make a...

Could West Virginia's tough guidelines help your district make a better decision?

In West Virginia, there were buildings that were so badly in need of repair that students didn't want to go to school. In fact, a survey of school facilities in 1990, when the state established the School Building Authority, found there was an overwhelming need for new buildings.

"We had children going to school in buildings that shouldn't have been occupied by anyone, much less kids," recalls

Certainly, no one wanted responsibility for sending children to school in outdated and dilapidated buildings. By establishing a state agency (a 10-person board - six individuals from private industry appointed by the governor and four state board of education members), the West Virginia government was able to step in and spark what has become a tremendous building program.

To improve facilities, West Virginia taxpayers through the last eight years have spent $822 million, or $456 per pupil per year, to build new school buildings, many of which now include improved science facilities and computer laboratories.

Since 1990, the school construction program has provided the students of West Virginia with 67 new schools, including 18 high schools, 24 middle schools and 25 elementary schools. Major additions and renovations have been completed in 42 schools; renovation projects with SBA funds to date total 780 projects at 415 schools.

At the same time, the state has been able to reduce the total number of schools from 1,042 in 1989-90 to 867 schools in 1996-97.

"We're trying to provide a thorough and efficient education within our means in West Virginia," says David Sneed, SBA chief of architectural services. "Because the student population has declined, we've been consolidating a lot of schools across the state. Many times, what we've been able to do is combine school populations from several old buildings into one new building. At the same time, not all of the empty school buildings are torn down, but we're trying to make sure the counties are able to sell the buildings to other buyers, so they don't have to maintain these buildings."

"Not only have we been able to take kids out of bad situations and place them in new buildings, but we have enabled districts to offer expanded curriculums, with computers, science laboratories and mathematics facilities," adds Williams. "Kids now are excited about going to school, and teachers and staff are happy to be in a building that they're proud of."

A Case in Point

That certainly has been the situation for the Greenbrier County schools. A $9 million junior high school, which opened in 1991, brought together 1,050 students from five smaller schools. "We believe it's been a tremendous success," says Stephen Baldwin, Greenbrier County superintendent of schools. "Although the local communities hated to lose their own school facilities, we've been able to create a new environment, with a diverse, quality curriculum. We're in a new building that's safer, cleaner, has air conditioning and is better equipped to meet the needs of our students and the community."

Criteria and Guidelines

The criteria selection for funding is needs based; each school district submits to the SBA a specific project proposal for funding. In turn, the agency assesses school facilities statewide to identify the extent of physical problems and inadequacies of existing school buildings; establishes a cost for upgrading each existing facility to a state-approved standard; and establishes a cost to implement each district's 10-year, comprehensive educational facilities plan (CEFP), including new construction, additions and renovations.

The SBA has strict guidelines and criteria to help the state's 55 counties evaluate the condition of their school buildings. In fact, it's now a state requirement that all counties, which are in charge of the school systems, do an evaluation of their facilities, every component, every element, every brick and stone, from the ground up, says Sneed.

This kind of stiff examination is necessary, says Sneed, since many counties have hung onto outdated and outmoded buildings far longer than they should have. The SBA learned that many counties have held onto buildings that may not have been structurally sound to begin with and that were not properly maintained. "What we've found is that, in many cases, it makes more sense to start with a new building rather than trying to repair or remodel a building," he says. "It really depends on how the facility was originally constructed."

Sneed points out that, in West Virginia, many school buildings were built as part of the WPA (Workers Progress Administration) effort during the 1930s. Some of these buildings are structurally sound, capable of delivering a modern curriculum and are historically significant. "In some instances, we might consider funding renovation projects, but we rely on common sense and whether a building can really deliver a quality education now and for years to come," he says.

A Clear Mission

The SBA makes no attempt to hide the fact that its primary intent is to consolidate and build new facilities. As such, the agency uses a formula for the restoration and renovations of buildings that allows for funding of only 60 percent of replacement costs for buildings that are 40 years or older; 50 percent for buildings that are 25 to 39 years old; 40 percent for buildings 16 to 24 years old, and for buildings 15 years old or younger, only 10 percent of funding will be allowed. "Our feeling is that newer buildings shouldn't require significant replacement of the building structure," says Sneed. "We concentrate on the buildings that really do require immediate replacement."

At times, this policy has put the SBA at loggerheads with county officials, who want to hang onto their buildings, despite declining enrollments and neglected buildings.

By adhering to strict guidelines - and making district officials handle many of the evaluations themselves - the SBA is able to persuade counties to take steps to improve decrepit buildings. Many of the evaluations are included on a computer software program provided by the SBA. The software includes such criteria checklists as building component inventories and heating systems, down to every fan, belt and motor. By 2000, the agency hopes to include land use, population and community studies as part of the overall evaluation.

In order for counties to receive funding from the SBA, elementary schools must have 300 students in attendance. For middle or junior high schools, 450 students is the number of students that the SBA considers an efficient level, and for high schools grades 10 to 12, 600 students, or for grades nine to 12, 800 students.

"The more support a county can show in its project proposal, the better the chances of receiving funding," notes Sneed. The SBA reviews each project proposal and rates the proposals on a one-to-nine scale. "We verify all the information supplied by the counties, and the districts that have high ratings on our scale usually receive the funding they've requested," he says.

Building on Success

Not all counties believe that the SBA's detailed evaluation process for fund awards is necessary every time a new building is slated for construction. In Greenbrier County, for instance, the county has been able successfully to pass a bond issue for another new junior high school to serve the western part of the county, bypassing the need for apply for SBA funding. This new building will be smaller than the junior high school built almost five years ago, only 75,000 square feet compared to 110,000 square feet.

"The real catapult and reason why we're able to pass a bond for a new $8 million facility is the success of the new junior high school," says Greenbrier's Baldwin. "We believe it passed so easily because the people on the western side of the county want a new school that's as nice as the school on the east side. There's no question we wouldn't have had as much success...if we hadn't gone through the process with the state for the other school."

Meeting Facilities Goals

According to SBA guidelines, school officials must evaluate heir facilities so that they meet the following eight goals:

1. student health and safety;

2. economies of scale, including compatibility with similar schools that have achieved the most economical organization, facility utilization and pupil-teacher ratios;

3. reasonable travel time and practical means of addressing other demographic considerations;

4. multicounty and regional planning to achieve the most effective and efficient instructional delivery system;

5. curriculum improvement and diversification, including computerization and technology, and advanced senior courses in science, mathematics, language arts and social studies;

6. innovations in education;

7. adequate space for projected student enrollments; and

8. to the extent constitutionally permissible, each facilities plan shall address the history of efforts taken by the county board to propose or adopt local school bond issues or special levies.

Laurie Freeman is a freelance writer based in Edina, Minn.