CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM INTRODUCTION

CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM INTRODUCTION The philosophy of the Harford County Public School System is determined by the citizens of the county and evo...
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CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM INTRODUCTION The philosophy of the Harford County Public School System is determined by the citizens of the county and evolves through expressions and interactions of the various agencies, organizations, governmental bodies, individuals, and lay advisory groups within the County. The local philosophy is guided by Constitutional requirements, legislation, and court rulings. The Board of Education, as the public's representative, gives voice to this evolving philosophy as it directs the Harford County Public Schools through policy development and enactment. The educational philosophy evolves not only from the processes described above but also from the students, parents, and professional personnel as they work together to effect improvements in the educational setting, in curricula, in teaching, and in learning. Specific statements of philosophy have been and are developed by broad-based committees assigned for that purpose by the Superintendent of Schools or his designee. The broad goals of education in the Harford County Public Schools are determined through the combined efforts of professional personnel, citizen advisory groups, students, and the Board of Education. Establishing the goals of specific educational programs is a primary responsibility of the Superintendent of Schools and those professional personnel to whom such authority is delegated by the Superintendent. It has long been recognized in the statement of educational philosophy that "the responsibility for educating youth in Harford County is shared by the entire community--the home, religious organizations, the school, and other agencies." Furthermore . . . "We firmly believe that each segment of society must assume responsibility to make a full contribution to its children and must simultaneously cooperate with all people and agencies to achieve this purpose." Consequently, the Board of Education and its professional personnel have cooperatively developed effective working relationships with the Health Department, the Department of Public Works, the Planning Department, the Department of Parks and Recreation, the Human Relations Commission, Maryland Office of Planning and various agencies such as Juvenile Services and Social Services. Such departments, groups, and agencies assist in planning capital improvements. When it has been determined that an existing facility should be renovated, additional capacity should be added, or that a new facility is required, an educational specifications committee is appointed by the Superintendent of Schools. This committee seeks recommendations from educators -- teachers, supervisors, associate principals, principals, etc. - and representatives of the State Public School Construction Program regarding space needs, characteristics and other facility requirements. Parents and other interested citizens are also involved in the planning process. The committee obtains recommendations from other agencies which might have cause to use the facility. From the comments of all interested parties, the committee determines the recommendations to be included and develops specifications for the facility. The specifications are reviewed and revised by the Superintendent of Schools and executive staff and are ultimately presented to the Board of Education for approval. As the chronological age of existing facilities increases focus on modernizing older facilities must be balanced with capacity needs. These facilities have been evaluated on the basis of their physical and technical components as well as their programmatic status. The Board of Education recognizes that it must maintain and improve its current infrastructure while continuing to address system growth. Toward that end, the Master Plan provides a framework for the systematic modernization of its existing, older facilities.

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Renovations and Modernizations Planning the needed renovation and modernization of school buildings requires continuous study and evaluation of not only the adequacy of the building to accommodate a modern educational program but also for the structural and environmental features of the school. Priority of need, cost considerations, project timing, and school site evaluations are included in the overall study of each facility. Adequacy of Core SpacesAnalysis of the adequacy of educational space requires an examination of the school and a comparison with the current standards for school facilities. Schools built a number of years ago include auxiliary facilities sufficient to accommodate the enrollments at that time. Subsequently, as enrollments have increased and classrooms have been added, the media center, kitchen and cafeteria, auditorium, gymnasium or multipurpose area, teacher work areas, storage space, and other general use facilities have become inadequate. Adequacy for InstructionChanges in curriculum and paralleling developments in instructional strategies require educational buildings which will facilitate new programs and instructional methodologies. Some of the more recent and prominent changes which have had profound implications for school facilities include: (1) greater use of electronic interactive teaching and learning equipment at all levels; (2) variable class size ranging from groups as small as two or three up to groups which combine two or more classes; (3) the addition of art specialists in the elementary schools; (4) more and greater varieties of instructional materials requiring more sophisticated installations in schools and increased amounts of storage space; and (5) the expanding role of the media center and its inclusion of all types of instructional media. Changes in staffing patterns also have noticeable effects upon facilities, especially in the provision of adequate administrative, guidance, special education, and health spaces. Age of the School PlantSchool buildings age during the same time that new educational demands are being made upon them. If it is determined that a school plant can be renovated to house a contemporary educational program, the feasibility of making these changes must be determined from an engineering point of view. Consideration in renovation projects includes the evaluation of roof, floor, window frames, ceilings, the adequacy of electricity, as well as heating and ventilating systems, and alarm systems. The total structure of the building is also evaluated. When components such as roofs, floors, and ceilings are to be updated within an existing school building, the change must meet current code requirements, which may differ from those in place during initial construction. Environmental Considerations-Health and SafetyAn elementary school pupil spends about one-half of his/her waking hours in a school building, and a secondary school pupil spends up to one-third of his/her waking hours in school. Therefore, the health and safety of the pupil are among the paramount factors to be considered in acquiring, developing, and improving sites and facilities. In the realm of health, the matters of heating, cooling, ventilation, and temperature control are considered as are lighting, water supply, sewage disposal, asbestos and other hazardous materials, air quality, and site adequacy. Also, such factors as the use of fire resistant materials within a building; traffic control and protective devices such as fences, guard rails, and sidewalks; play equipment and its location; conditions of the site including erosion; and traffic hazards on adjacent streets are given careful attention in the planning and development of sites and facilities.

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Site Improvements The school site is an important part of the total educational facility and must receive appropriate consideration. These considerations include: (1) entrance and turn-around requirements for school vehicles and service vehicles; (2) increased need for faculty-staff parking made necessary by changing staffing standards and modifications to buildings; (3) control of both vehicular and pedestrian traffic from the standpoint of efficiency and safety; (4) grading, drainage, and turf conditions of physical education fields; (5) screen plantings and other shrubbery; (6) construction of walkways; (7) erosion and storm water control; (8) increased demand for more student and public parking space; (9) adequate lighting to insure security for the school; (10) pollution control and environmental factors; and (11) equipment and facilities for physical educational and athletic programs.

Site Selections The primary purpose of the site acquisition program is to provide the Harford County Public Schools with school sites in various areas of the County in advance of the need for new school facilities. Such advance acquisition is financially desirable since population pressures, with resulting residential and commercial development, inevitably lead to rising land values. Location of school sites in an undeveloped area cannot be accurately determined until the future land use in that area is ascertained. Whether the area will develop as industrial, commercial, or residential land is an important consideration in site acquisition. If an area is planned as residential, the number of dwelling units planned per acre constitutes a major determinant of educational facility site needs. Early development of area master plans, therefore, is basic to intelligent site selection for future schools. Staff members of the Harford County Public Schools work very closely with staff members of the Planning Department in evaluating the impact of master plans on immediate and future school site needs. Effort also is made to work with developers and their land planners on the location of needed school sites in new subdivisions. Serious problems can occur when applications for rezoning which result in higher density development than was approved in the master plan are granted. This often results in the need for additional school sites. In such cases, last minute acquisition of additional land may necessitate having to use the last available land in developed areas and can result in poor location, excessive costs, and limited acreage for school sites. It is, therefore, a goal of the Harford County Public Schools to continue to work cooperatively with all individuals and agencies involved in the overall work of identifying growth areas, which will require additional sites within the County. The following chart represents a recommended school development site size for each educational level. School Unit

Usable Acreage

Elementary (450 - 800 students) Middle (900 - 1200 students) High (1000 - 1600 students) Special (150-200 students)

15 - 20 30 - 40 40 –50 15 - 20

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PARAMETERS FOR DECISION-MAKING 1. The 2010 Facilities Master Plan, the approved FY-11 State and Local Capital Improvement Program, and the approved recommendations of the Superintendent’s Technical Advisory Committee shall be considered and/or implemented in the development of the plan. 2. Enrollment projections from September 2009 shall be utilized to develop this plan. 3. Projects addressing capacity needs shall be given priority over other projects. Within the stated project categories (capacity, modernization, renovation/expansion, and site/program improvements) projects shall be ranked in order of priority. 4. Capacity projects shall be placed on the schedule based on an occupancy date established by a comparison of capacity and projected enrollments within the catchment area used for justification. 5. Catchment areas are based on the established feeder patterns created by high school and middle school attendance areas. The plan seeks to maintain or improve this secondary feeder pattern if possible, as well as to balance enrollments. 6. Modernizations and renovations shall be placed on the schedule based on a thorough comparative review of building conditions and program requirements. 7. Specific site and program improvements shall be introduced to, or continued in, the capital program based on available state and local funding mechanisms. 8. The plan assumes that projects will be funded as requested, but annual review and approval processes will adjust the plan to reflect actual funding, land acquisition needs, changes in priority, and unforeseen critical needs. 9. Projects utilizing alternative financing, procurement or delivery methods shall be clearly noted on the plan.

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ASSUMPTIONS: STATE ELEMENTARY CAPACITY 1. Pre-kindergarten classes are calculated based on the formula of 20 students per classroom. 2. Kindergarten classes are calculated based on the formula of 22 students per classroom. 3. Regular classrooms (grades 1-5) are calculated based on the formula of 23 students per classroom. 4. Some elementary schools shall have two (2) rooms assigned as Special Education Primary and Intermediate Resource rooms. In some circumstances, a room will be designated for this purpose. These rooms will not count toward capacity. 5. Regional self-contained special education services (60% of the school day in this classroom) such as Early Childhood Intervention, Classroom Support Program (CSP), and General Special Needs are provided at certain designated schools. These classrooms are counted as a special education capacity, based on the formula of 10 students per classroom. These students are included in FTE enrollments and projections in order to make equitable capacity comparisons. 6. In certain schools, designated reading, intervention and speech rooms will be counted as resource rooms. In some circumstances, a room will be designated for this purpose. These rooms will not count toward capacity. 7. Each elementary school shall have a room assigned for art, a room assigned for vocal music and a room for instrumental music shall also be assigned. If there are no rooms designed for art and/or vocal music, a regular classroom for each shall be removed from the capacity. 8. Art, music, computer labs and gymnasiums are not counted in the capacity at the elementary level. 9. Rooms that are less than 550 square feet, and cannot hold 25 students will not be counted as classrooms. They may be suitable for special subjects or resource rooms with reduced capacities. 10. Rooms that are regular classroom size but present problems of egress, or safety according to local code, will not be counted as classrooms. They may be suitable for special subjects or resource rooms with reduced capacities.

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ASSUMPTIONS: STATE SECONDARY CAPACITY 1.

Capacity calculations shall be based on 25 students per teaching station with a utilization factor of 0.85.

2.

Regional self-contained special education services (60% of the school day in this classroom) such as Early Childhood Intervention, Classroom Support Program (CSP), and General Special Needs are provided at certain designated schools. These classrooms are counted as a special education capacity, based on the formula of 10 students per classroom. These students are included in FTE enrollments and projections in order to make equitable capacity comparisons.

3.

Each secondary school shall have at least one (1) room designated as a Special Education Resource room for providing direct special education services to students with learning disabilities and/or handicapping conditions not in excess of an average of three hours per school. These rooms are counted as special education capacity (10 students per room).

4.

Art, music, computer labs, gymnasiums and miscellaneous physical education rooms are counted as teaching stations in determining capacity. Regular-size gymnasiums are counted as two (2) teaching stations and triplesize gymnasiums are counted as three (3) teaching stations.

5.

Certified Technical Education (CTE) capacity shall be based on 25 students per Teaching Station not including related laboratories with a utilization factor of 100%.

6.

Rooms that are less than 500 square feet, and cannot hold 25 students will not be counted as classrooms. They may be suitable for special subjects or resource rooms with reduced capacities.

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GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF STATE RATED CAPACITY FORMULA

For elementary schools, state-rated capacity is determined by multiplying the number of kindergarten classrooms by 22, regular classrooms by 23, and the number of special education classrooms by 10. Non-scheduled special use facilities such as the media center, cafeteria, art or music room are not included in the capacity counts.

At the secondary (middle and high school) level, state-rated capacity is computed by multiplying the number of teaching stations, including regular classrooms, gymnasiums, labs, and studies by 25 students and special education classrooms by 10 students. Since it is impractical to schedule all spaces at full capacity all periods of the school day, a utilization factor of 85% is applied to the totals to determine effective capacity of the school. Resource spaces such as reading rooms are not included in capacity figures. Swimming pools at Edgewood, Magnolia, and North Harford middle schools are included in capacity figures as teaching stations.

The attached assumptions establish consistent standards for the number and type of rooms to be included in capacity calculations.

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CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS PROCESS BOARD OF EDUCATION OF HARFORD COUNTY 1.

DEVELOPMENT OF THE CIP PROGRAM

Each year, the Board of Education reviews and analyzes the capital needs of the school system. Factors such as the age of existing facilities, student enrollments, school capacity, population trends, residential development, and existing building systems are all studies to develop a list of capital priorities. 2.

THE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS SCHEDULE October 2009 to April 2010 ......... Superintendent’s Technical Advisory Committee January to May 2010 ................................................ CIP Priorities List Developed June 2010 ............................................................Facilities Master Plan Approved July 2010............................................. First Reading of CIP to Board of Education September 2010 ..............................Board of Education Adoption of CIP Priorities September 2010 ..................................... Presentation to Planning Advisory Board October 2010 ................................... Presentation to Harford County Government October 2010

.............................. Submission to Interagency Committee (IAC)

January 2011 .................................... Submission to Harford County Government May 2011 ....................................................... Approved by Board of Public Works June 2011

................................................ Approved by Harford County Council

July 1, 2011 .................................................................................. Funds Available

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PROJECT CATEGORIES, PRIORITIES, AND COSTS

There are four project categories listed in priority order. The categories are designated by letters as listed below: C M B S

= = = =

Capacity Projects Modernization Projects Building/Program Improvement Projects Site/Program Improvements Projects

All projects within a category are in priority order. All costs are estimates only and will be revised at various stages of approval before final submissions to the State and County. State costs will be revised to reflect the annually published State cost per foot figures after August 2010. 8