FAQ

The Board of Education is seeking to optimize the usage and efficiency of all DCSD facilities by creating a Comprehensive Master Plan (CMP), considering changes to special programs and school choice programs, and implementing Districtwide changes in attendance areas and feeder patterns.

Previous construction/renovation programs have focused more on improvements to individual facilities and less on a comprehensive analysis of the system as a whole. The Board of Education would like to establish strategic, system-wide goals as the basis for future construction expenditures, planned facilities improvements, and redistricting plans. Similarly, there is a need to establish community-wide consensus regarding issues of optimum facility use, special programs, school choice, the number and location of new schools, and school consolidation.

E–SPLOST is the Educational Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax, a one percent sales tax currently paid on the sale of good and services sold in DeKalb County, which has been continuously approved by the voters since 1997 and used for capital improvements. Capital improvements include new school construction and renovation, purchase of new school buses, upgrades to information technology and other school systems.

The Comprehensive Master Plan will help the District determine how, when, where, and why resources will be dedicated to the improvement and modernization of district buildings and infrastructure, including schools. Every resident has an interest in how these resources are used to improve the quality of public education in DeKalb County.

A team of specially trained consultants, architectural, engineering and construction professionals will evaluate every facility and building system according and score it according to a standardized set of criteria. These scores will be used to evaluate the condition of every facility.

A team of Architects who specialize in educational facility design will review every educational facility in the district. Each facility will be scored according to a rubric that is based on the District’s Educational Specifications and that has been developed in coordination with the District’s curriculum and instruction experts.

All assessments will follow a rigorous review and feedback process that includes relevant stakeholders. FCAs (Facility Condition Assessments) will include input (where appropriate) from Principals, maintenance staff, custodial teams and the PAC. Educational Adequacy Assessments (EAA) will include input from Principals and PACs. After assessments and interviews with stakeholders are completed, summary reports and meeting notes will be sent to the campus to verify content. Region/cluster groups will meet to review FCA/EAA scorecards and provide comments. Scorecards by campus will be made available on this website with contact information for additional feedback.

No, the ESA only evaluates a facility in terms of the educational suitability of the space. A separate methodology is uses to determine the capacity of each school building.

Yes, capacity takes into account differing room uses in order to better account for differing class sizes for each use. The amount each classroom type contributes is determined first by taking the maximum class size for that classroom type as approved by the Board, and then adjusting that contribution to account for smaller classrooms that may not be able to hold the maximum number of students.

The Comprehensive Master Plan (CMP) Core Team consist of DeKalb County School District (DCSD) leadership and staff across several divisions that bring knowledge and experience in the CMP process. DCSD has also hired contractors from the Perkins & Will Architecture Firm, Jacobs Engineering Group, and Cropper GIS Consulting who are intricately involved in the project. The Extended Team consists of the core team and additional DCSD staff that provide assistance for specific subject matter. The CMP Governance Committee is a combined group of DCSD leadership that review the data collection and analysis of the comprehensive master plan process. The Governance Committee assists in putting together the recommendations and actions that will be presented to the Board of Education.

Core Team

Name  Title
Mrs. Cheryl Watson-Harris Superintendent
Ms. Melissa Harris Deputy Superintendent Family Engagement, Innovation, & Partnerships
Dr. Constance Stevenson Director of School Option
Mr. Richard Boyd Interim Chief Operation Officer
Mr. Hans Williams Director of Planning and ESPLOST Programming
Mr. Paul Sanon GIS & Planning Analyst
Mr. David Yoke GIS & Planning Analyst
Ms. Rosalyn Brewer GIS & Planning Analyst
Ms. Barbara Crum Perkins & Will – Principal Practice Leader
Mr. Steven Brown Perkins & Will – Senior Project Manager
Mr. Jared Sewer Perkins & Will – Senior Project Designer
Mr. Joey Garcia Jacobs Engineering – Asset Management
Mr. Artemio Garza Jacobs Engineering – Team Lead
Mr. Matthew Cropper Cropper GIS – President


Extended Core Team

Superintendent
Deputy Superintendent Family Engagement, Innovation, & Partnerships
Director of School Options
Interim Chief Operation Officer
Director of Planning and ESPLOST Programming
GIS & Planning Analysts
Perkins & Will Architecture Staff
Jacobs Engineering Staff
Cropper GIS Staff
Director of Facilities
Family Engagement HUB
Director of Communications
Facilities Maintenance Manager
Regional Facility Maintenance Managers
Regional Facility Supervisors
Plant Engineers
Head Custodians
ESPLOST Program Director (AECOM)
ESPLOST Deputy Program Director (AECOM)

CMP Governance Committee

Name Title
Mrs. Cheryl Watson-Harris Superintendent
Mr. Oliver Lewis Associate Superintendent Office of Accountability
Ms. Stacy Stepney Chief Academic Officer
Mr. Charles Burbridge Chief Financial Officer
Dr. Michelle Jones Chief Human Resources Officer
Ms. Monika Davis Chief Information Officer
Mr. Antwyn Brown Chief of Staff
Ms. Melissa Harris Deputy Superintendent Family Engagement, Innovation, & Partnerships
Mr. Joel Thibodeaux Director of Audits and Compliance
Mr. Hans Williams Director of Planning and ESPLOST Programming
Dr. Constance Stevenson Director of School Choice
Mr. Richard Boyd Interim Chief Operations Officer
Dr. Deborah Moore-Sanders Interim Deputy Superintendent Equity & Student Empowerment
Ms. Melanie Pearch Region 1 Superintendent
Mr. Trenton Arnold Region 2 Superintendent
Dr. Sean Tartt Region 3 Superintendent
Dr. Antonette Campbell Region 4 Superintendent
Dr. Triscilla Weaver Region 5 Superintendent
Dr. Candace Alexander Region 6 Superintendent
Dr. Rodney Swanson Region 7 Superintendent

All issues identified by the assessments will be documented. Urgent issues will be addressed immediately while others will factor into the priorities developed at the conclusion of the master planning process.

Members of the public will be asked to participate in a district-wide survey and members of specific school communities will receive an additional survey focused on their particular campus. In addition, a variety of public meetings will be held to share the ongoing results of the evaluation process and to solicit feedback.

GLOSSARY

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

The Educational Suitability Assessment is a scorecard that evaluates the program spaces in each facility and how they align with DCSD standards. Categories include: Non-Instructional Spaces, Outside Spaces, Safety and Security, Technology Readiness, Environmental Quality, Controllability of Systems, Classrooms, Special Education, Fine Arts, Food Services, Media Resources, and Athletics and Wellness.

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.

Over-crowding refers conditions where school enrollment exceeds the calculated student capacity for that facility (see capacity above and the Capacity Determination Guide).

Under-utilization refers conditions where school enrollment is below the calculated student capacity for that facility (see capacity above and the Capacity Determination Guide).

Redistricting refers to the alteration of school attendance areas. School attendance areas may need to be altered for a variety of reasons including, but not limited to, population changes, capacity or operating efficiency concerns, change in the use of a school, closure of a school, and the opening of a new school.