Policies for Public School Facilities Include Facilities Management Guidelines

The Building Educational Success Together (BEST) collaborative, led by the 21^st Century School Fund and supported by the Ford Foundation, has developed a set of model policies to provide guidance and recommendations to state, local, and school district officials and administrators.

BEST is a consortium of the following groups: 21^st Century School Fund, the Education Law Center, Neighborhood Capital Budget Group, the Knowledgeworks Foundation, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities, New Schools Better Neighborhoods, New Visions for Public Schools, and Mark Schneider of the State University of New York at Stony Brook.

The BEST partners developed a 4-part policy agenda:
    Section 1: Public School Facilities Planning Policies.
    Section 2: Schools as Centers of Community Policies.
    Section 3: Public School Facilities Management Policies.
    Section 4: Public School Facilities Funding Policies.

According to the BEST white paper, the purpose of the policy is “to improve facilities management in order to support and enhance the delivery of educational programs and services for students and teachers.” The premise of the policies is that high-quality, high-performing, and well-designed and well-maintained school facilities have a direct and indirect impact on students' learning and instructors' teaching capabilities.

To read the complete paper, visit the National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities website (www.edfacilities.org).