Needs Assessment

A needs assessment is a systematic process for determining and addressing needs, or “gaps”, between current conditions and desired conditions or “wants”. Needs assessment is part of the planning process. It can be used to clarify problems and help identify appropriate solutions. Needs assessments require sufficient data to provide useful feedback.

As applied to the school District, a needs assessment functions to provide District leadership with a quantifiable measure of the condition of school facilities, systems, or equipment, in comparison to known or required benchmarks or standards of performance. That knowledge can then be used to help craft and inform a Capital Improvement Program (C.I.P.), or Capital Improvement Plan.

Facility
Condition
Assessment

Capacity
of
School

Forecast
of
School

Facility Condition Assessments

All facilities in the District are being assessed by experienced building professionals in disciplines including architecture, mechanical, plumbing, and electrical.

Components of the Needs Assessment

Facility Condition Assessment

The facility condition assessment evaluates each building’s overall condition, including its site, roof, exterior building envelope, interior, and the mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems. Architectural, mechanical and electrical building professionals observed conditions at the facilities in DCSD. Conditions were evaluated from a visual observation that did not include intrusive measures, destructive investigations, or testing. Additionally, input provided by District facilities and maintenance staff was incorporated where applicable. Facility deficiency costs and life cycle forecasts are combined to produce the total cost of facility needs.

Ten-Year Life Cycle Forecast

Life cycle data predicts future facility costs based on the expected remaining life of individual building systems (e.g., roofing, exterior, interior, etc.). While a particular building component may not require immediate replacement, it is quite possible for it to reach its end of useful life before or during the commencement of a planned capital construction project. This results in additional costs that must be accounted for in the planning process. For example, if a chiller is currently functioning but will require replacement in the next few years, DCSD will need to plan for its replacement.

Facility Deficiency Cost

Facility deficiency costs are associated with bringing current systems and components back to a functional state as installed, but do not account for additional funds required to adapt facilities to new construction standards or address capacity.

Facility Long-Range Plan

Based on information collected during the assessment, the District can begin a long-range facilities plan to address deteriorating buildings. Many different scenarios are possible that consider facility condition, capacity, attendance zone utilization, and other factors. Each scenario would have a different impact on the actual cost related to facility condition improvements, five-year and ten-year life cycle costs, and costs of replacing some facilities in poor condition with new buildings. It is important to note that developing actual potential scenarios would involve reviewing these factors, as well as additional planning involving key stakeholders.

Combined Ten-Year Need

Combining the current facility deficiency costs with the ten-year life cycle renewal forecast indicates total District need. These figures exclude any expansion for classroom additions or new construction for additional enrollment growth. Also, not included are costs for programmatic changes, school consolidations, and replacements. These items should be determined as part of different scenarios developed during planning.

Capacity

School capacity is essential to facilities planning and capital improvement planning. The capacity of schools in the district informs decisions about where to build or decommission facilities, about how to redistrict students, and about where to locate special programs. The capacity of a school facility is defined as the number of students the facility can host in instructional programs. Capacity in this context does not mean the maximum occupancy of the building as determined by the fire marshal, but rather the number of students who can receive instruction without adding portable classrooms or taking other measures.

Capacity is the number of students a facility can host without adding portable classrooms or taking other measures. The type of school – elementary, middle, or high – and the number of classrooms are used to calculate a school’s capacity.

Capacity a classroom is any permanent instructional room that is larger than 600 square feet including labs, gyms, and media centers.

Forecast

District’s demographics using a range of data sources including the census, IRS Migration Studies, New Home Sales and Existing Home Sales. These will be used to develop enrollment projections by attendance area, school, and grade level. This analysis will in turn help the District evaluate current school utilization and forecast future utilization relative to existing facilities. These forecasts will also be used to inform future redistricting scenarios.

The forecast of enrollment at each school and in each grade is based on the most recent data available at the time. This data includes detailed enrollment and student geographic information for several previous years from the District’s student information system (Infinite Campus), as well as birth data from the Georgia Department of Public Health and housing development information taken from a variety of sources including city and county governments. The ultimate purpose of the DCSD Enrollment Forecast is to inform decisions for the fair allocation of resources and the provision of an excellent learning environment for the students of the DeKalb County School District.