DOCUMENT RESUME AUTHOR Giljahn, Jack W.; Matheny, … · The manual is a valuable contribution toward understanding the DESIGN possibilities inherent in our stock of surplus schools.

Page 1

DOCUMENT RESUME

ED 434 485 EF 005 479

AUTHOR Giljahn, Jack W.; Matheny, Thomas R.TITLE A Guide for the Adaptive Use of Surplus Schools.INSTITUTION Columbus Landmarks Foundation, OH.PUB DATE 1981-00-00NOTE 235p.; Photographs and colored pages may not reproduce

adequately.PUB TYPE Guides Non-Classroom (055) Reports Descriptive (141)EDRS PRICE MF01/PC10 Plus Postage.DESCRIPTORS *Building Conversion; *Building Obsolescence; *Educational

Facilities; Elementary Secondary Education; *FacilityGuidelines; *Public Schools

ABSTRACTThis manual provides recommendations for school boards and

communities concerning the leasing, selling, and marketing of schoolbuildings. The reuse potential of each type of school building isinvestigated, and suggestions are made for successful conversions. Designconsiderations and the many aspects of acquiring and developing a schoolreuse project are discussed, including ownership, building codes, feasibilityanalysis, design guidelines, and financing. Finally, successful school reuseprojects from across the country, along with designs developed by theauthors, are cited to further demonstrate the great reuse potential whichschool buildings have. Appendices provide the Secretary of the Interior'sStandards for Rehabilitation and selected funding sources. (Contains 40references.) (GR)

********************************************************************************

Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be madefrom the original document.

********************************************************************************

Page 2

U.S

. DE

PA

RT

ME

NT

OF

ED

UC

AT

ION

Offi

ce o

f Edu

catio

nal R

esea

rch

and

Impr

ovem

ent

ED

UC

AT

ION

AL

RE

SO

UR

CE

SIN

FO

RM

AT

ION

CE

NT

ER

(E

RIC

)T

his

docu

men

t has

bee

n re

prod

uced

as

rece

ived

from

the

pers

on o

r orga

niza

tion

orig

inat

ing

it.

0 M

inor

cha

nges

hav

e be

enm

ade

toim

prov

e re

prod

uctio

n qu

ality

.

Poi

nts

of v

iew

or

opin

ions

stat

ed in

this

docu

men

t do

not n

eces

saril

yre

pres

ent

offic

ial O

ER

I pos

ition

or po

licy.

a gu

ide

for

the

Ada

ptiv

e U

se o

fS

urpl

us S

choo

lsby Ja

ck W

. Gilj

ahn

Tho

mas

R. M

athe

ny

Col

umbu

s La

ndm

arks

Fou

ndat

ion

BE

ST C

OPY

AV

AIL

Ats

LE

3

Page 3

,

Cov

er P

hoto

: The

vaca

nt M

ichi

gan

Ave

nue

Sch

ool,

loca

ted

in C

olum

bus'

his

toric

Vic

toria

n V

illag

ear

ea, h

as r

ecen

tly b

een

conv

erte

d fo

rus

e as

hou

sing

for

elde

rlype

rson

s.P

hoto

by

Jack

W. G

iljah

n.

5

Page 4

6

a gu

ide

for

the

&6-

,'D'U

Wig

U@

@©

Om

Tok

m,

21@

h(D

e)@

by Jack

W. G

iljah

nT

hom

as R

. Mat

heny

publ

ishe

d by

Col

umbu

s La

ndm

arks

Fou

ndat

ion

22 N

orth

Fro

nt S

tree

tC

olum

bus.

Ohi

o 43

215

7

Page 5

Copyright 0 1981 by Jack W. Giljahn and Thomas R. MathenyAll rights reservedPrinted in the United States of America

Printing and distribution made possible by funds from:

Ohio Arts Council

OrdiCDHOZROTO@

YITGZGITVEitnaiiiOff

The printing and distribution of this manual has been financed in part with Federal fundsfrom the Heritage Conservation and Recreation Service, Department of the Interior, admin-istered through the Ohio Historic Preservation Office. However, the contents and opinionsdo not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Department of the Interior, nor doesthe mention of trade names or commercial products constitute endorsement or recommen-dation by the Department of the Interior.

8The Adaptive Use of Surplus Schools

Page 6

Tab

le o

fC

onte

nts

Ack

now

ledg

men

tsP

refa

ceIn

trod

uctio

n

The

Con

serv

atio

nIs

sue

The

Rea

sons

Beh

ind

Sch

ool

Clo

sing

s

Dec

linin

g E

nrol

lmen

tsM

obili

ty a

nd P

opul

atio

n S

hifts

Oth

er R

easo

ns

Mak

ing

the

Dec

isio

n to

Clo

seT

he S

choo

lhou

se a

s C

omm

unity

Cor

ners

tone

Adv

ice

to S

choo

l Boa

rds

Mot

hbal

ling

Lega

l Con

stra

ints

Leas

ing

Sur

plus

Sch

ools

Sel

ling

Sur

plus

Sch

ools

Mar

ketin

g S

urpl

us S

choo

ls

The

Pos

sibi

litie

s fo

r R

euse

Mor

e S

pace

for

Edu

catio

nS

harin

g an

d R

entin

gM

ixin

g S

choo

l and

Com

mun

ityA

dapt

ive

Use

2 C

lass

ifica

tion

of S

choo

l Bui

ldin

gsH

isto

ry a

nd E

volu

tion

of th

e S

choo

l Bui

ldin

gC

lass

ifica

tion

of S

choo

l Bui

ldin

gs

Cre

atin

g N

ew U

ses

Reu

se P

oten

tial

Typ

e. A

Typ

es B

, C &

D

Typ

es E

& F

Bui

ldin

g C

odes

Bas

ic C

ode

Req

uire

men

ts

Bui

ldin

g C

odes

and

Ada

ptiv

e U

se

iii ivB

uild

ing

Cod

es (

con'

t)B

uild

ing

Cod

e O

ffici

als

His

toric

Bui

ldin

gs a

nd B

uild

ing

Cod

es48

Des

ign

Con

side

ratio

ns49

Fou

nd S

pace

49A

dditi

ons

50

3A

cces

sibi

lity

51

3E

nerg

y E

ffici

ency

534

Mec

hani

cal R

etro

fit55

4R

oofin

g56

5M

ason

ry58

6C

eilin

gs60

8W

indo

ws

and

Doo

rs60

8 8(J

J Im

plem

enta

tion

8T

rans

fer

of O

wne

rshi

p65

10T

he D

evel

opm

ent P

roce

ss66

11F

inan

cial

Con

side

ratio

ns67

13P

endi

ng L

egis

latio

n73

13 13g

The

Sta

te o

f the

Art

13S

t. M

ary'

s S

choo

lC

olum

bus,

Ohi

o78

15C

entr

al G

ram

mar

Sch

ool

Glo

uces

ter,

Mas

sach

uset

ts80

DeW

itt J

unio

r H

igh

Sch

ool

Ithac

a, N

ew Y

ork

82Lo

yola

Hig

h S

choo

lB

altim

ore,

Mar

ylan

d84

19O

ld C

entr

al H

igh

Sch

ool

Tul

sa, O

klah

oma

8621

Fel

ton

Ele

men

tary

Sch

ool

Col

umbu

s, O

hio

90T

hurb

er E

lem

enta

ry S

choo

lC

olum

bus,

Ohi

o10

0

37S

umm

ary

111

37C

redi

ts11

238

App

endi

x I

115

43S

ecre

tary

of t

he In

terio

r's S

tand

ards

for

Reh

abili

tatio

n46

App

endi

x II

116

46S

ome

Fun

ding

Sou

rces

46B

iblio

grap

hy11

8

The

Ada

ptiv

e U

se o

f Sur

plus

Sch

ools

0

Page 7

AcknowledgmentsAn undertaking such as this one requires a considerable amount ofhelp from a large number of people. The authors would like toexpress their sincere appreciation to the following three individualswhose varied areas of expertise, dedication to preservation, andwillingness to review countless drafts have been essential to thesuccess of this project.

Paul E. Young, Jr., AIAProfessorDepartment of ArchitectureThe Ohio State University

Judith L. KitchenDepartment Head, Technical Preservation ServicesOhio Historic Preservation OfficeOhio Historical Society

Robert D. Loversidge, Jr., AIAArchitectSchooley Caldwell Associates

Special thanks are also in order for additional advice, informationand counseling contributed by: Frank Maraffa, Assistant Super-intendent, Columbus City Schools; Stephen Vargo, FacilityPlanning, Columbus City Schools; David Jones, Architect, ColumbusCity Schools; Franklin B. Walter, Superintendent of Public Educa-tion, State of Ohio; Dr. Irene Bandy, Executive Director, Depart-ment of Education, State of Ohio; Charles H. Brewer, Jr., ChairmanDepartment of Architecture, The Ohio State University; and HollyFiala, Field Representative, Midwest Regional Office, National Trustfor Historic Preservation. Their support and encouragement aregratefully acknowledged.

11iii The Adaptive Use of Surplus Schools

.

Page 8

Pre

face

Com

mun

ities

acr

oss

the

coun

try

are

faci

ng th

e ch

alle

nge

of r

e-us

ing

scho

ol b

uild

ings

whi

ch a

re n

o lo

nger

nee

ded

for

educ

atio

nal p

ur-

pose

s.T

he C

olum

bus

Land

mar

ks F

ound

atio

n is

ple

ased

to p

rese

nt

A G

UID

E F

OR

TH

E A

DA

PT

IVE

US

E O

F S

UR

PLU

S S

CH

OO

LS,

prep

ared

by

Tho

mas

R. M

athe

nyan

d Ja

ck W

. Gilj

ahn.

The

des

ign

man

ual,

whi

ch h

as g

row

n ou

tof

stu

dies

beg

un a

s a

part

of t

hegr

adua

te s

peci

aliz

atio

n in

Arc

hite

ctur

al a

nd E

nviro

nmen

tal P

rese

r-va

tion

in th

e D

epar

tmen

t of

Arc

hite

ctur

e at

The

Ohi

o S

tate

Uni

ver-

sity

and

whi

ch u

ses

the

Col

umbu

s C

ity S

choo

l sys

tem

as

a la

bora

-to

ry, s

tudi

es th

e im

port

ant

prob

lem

of s

urpl

us s

choo

l spa

ce, t

akes

an in

-dep

thlo

ok a

t the

bui

ldin

gs in

volv

ed a

nd e

xam

ines

the

pote

n-tia

ls fo

r sc

hool

reu

se.

Incl

uded

are

arc

hite

ctur

al a

nd p

rese

rvat

ion

cons

ider

atio

ns, d

evel

opm

ent e

cono

mic

s, r

ecom

men

ded

new

use

san

d ca

se s

tudi

es o

f sch

ool r

e-us

e pr

ojec

ts w

hich

hav

e be

en c

ompl

eted

acro

ss th

e co

untr

y.

The

man

ual i

s a

valu

able

con

trib

utio

n to

war

d un

ders

tand

ing

the

DE

SIG

N p

ossi

bilit

ies

inhe

rent

in o

ur s

tock

of s

urpl

us s

choo

ls. T

hus,

it fil

ls a

n im

port

ant g

ap in

the

liter

atur

e av

aila

ble

on s

choo

l re-

use,

whi

ch h

as g

ener

ally

con

cent

rate

d on

adm

inis

trat

ive

or p

oliti

cal

appr

oach

es. T

he in

tent

of t

he m

anua

l is

to h

elp

scho

ol b

oard

s, c

om-

mun

ity g

roup

s, g

over

nmen

t age

ncie

s,ar

chite

cts,

dev

elop

ers

and

othe

rs b

ecom

e aw

are

of a

trem

endo

us c

omm

unity

res

ourc

e th

atha

s so

ofte

n be

en c

onsi

dere

d a

liabi

lity.

Pub

licat

ion

of th

is m

anua

l is

an a

ctio

n re

spon

se to

the

two

mos

t im

-po

rtan

t goa

ls o

f the

Col

umbu

s La

ndm

arks

Fou

ndat

ion:

I. LE

AD

ER

-S

HIP

(in

volv

ing

pres

erva

tion

prin

cipl

es)

and

II. E

DU

CA

TIO

N (

pres

-er

vatio

n ad

voca

cy, a

war

enes

s an

d vi

sibi

lity)

. CLF

is g

rate

ful t

o th

eO

hio

His

toric

Pre

serv

atio

n O

ffice

and

the

Ohi

o A

rts

Cou

ncil

for

thei

rsu

ppor

t in

mak

ing

this

pub

licat

ion

poss

ible

. Of c

ours

e, w

ithou

t the

time

and

ener

gies

dev

oted

to th

is p

roje

ct b

y T

om M

athe

ny a

nd J

ack

Gilj

ahn

coun

tless

hou

rs s

pent

to r

esea

rch,

writ

e, e

dit,

desi

gn, d

raw

,ph

otog

raph

, rev

ise

and

past

e-up

the

man

ual

ther

e w

ould

be

nopu

blic

atio

n.

Thi

s m

anua

l pro

vide

s th

e ne

cess

ary

tool

s; o

nly

the

imag

inat

ion

ofth

e re

ader

can

ser

ve to

lim

it th

e cr

eativ

ity w

ith w

hich

they

are

ap-

plie

d. S

urpl

us s

choo

ls a

re a

val

uabl

e re

sour

ce.

Rob

ert D

. Lov

ersi

dge,

Jr.

Pro

ject

Dire

ctor

Col

umbu

s La

ndm

arks

Fou

ndat

ion

Col

umbu

s, O

hio

Oct

ober

, 198

1

1 2

The

Ada

ptiv

e U

se o

f Sur

plus

Sch

ools

Page 9

Intr

oduc

tion

Sch

ool d

istr

icts

and

com

mun

ities

thro

ugho

ut th

e co

untr

y ar

e fa

cing

an in

crea

sing

ly d

iffic

ult p

robl

em. D

eclin

ing

birt

hra

tes

and

shift

ing

resi

dent

ial p

atte

rns

have

pre

sent

ed s

choo

lof

ficia

ls w

ith a

sig

nific

ant

num

ber

of s

choo

l fac

ilitie

s w

hich

are

no lo

nger

nee

ded

to h

ouse

the

curr

ent s

tude

nt p

opul

atio

n.T

he is

sue

is a

com

plex

one,

and

toun

ders

tand

it, a

thor

ough

inve

stig

atio

nof

the

root

s of

the

prob

lem

,its

hist

ory,

and

its

effe

cts

on s

choo

l boa

rds

and

com

mun

ities

isre

quire

d.T

houg

h m

any

scho

ol d

istr

icts

reco

gniz

e th

e ne

ed to

find

new

use

s fo

r th

ese

build

ings

, the

yar

e on

ly ju

st b

egin

ning

to id

entif

ypo

tent

ial t

enan

ts a

nd e

xplo

re th

em

any

optio

ns a

vaila

ble.

Vac

ant s

choo

ls c

an b

ecom

ea

new

res

ourc

e, o

ften

alre

ady

paid

for,

inw

hich

a h

ost o

f pub

licpr

ogra

ms

and

activ

ities

can

take

pla

ce; a

nd, i

fno

sui

tabl

e pu

blic

use

exi

sts,

the

priv

ate

sect

or o

ffers

stil

l fur

ther

poss

ibili

ties

for

deve

lopm

ent.

Imag

inat

ion

on th

e pa

rt o

fan

ow

ner

and

arch

itect

, -cr

eativ

e in

vest

igat

ion

into

the

avai

labl

e so

urce

s of

finan

cing

, an

appr

ecia

tion

of th

e bu

ilt-in

amen

ities

in a

n ex

istin

gbu

ildin

g, a

nd c

oope

ratio

n fr

om th

e lo

cal

gove

rnm

ent c

an p

rovi

dere

war

ding

res

ults

in a

dapt

ing

surp

lus

scho

ols

to n

ew u

ses.

Thi

s m

anua

l was

des

igne

das

an

awar

enes

s to

ol fo

r ed

ucat

ors,

adm

in-

istr

ator

s, fa

cilit

y pl

anne

rs, d

evel

oper

s,ar

chite

cts,

citi

zens

for

any-

one

face

d w

ith s

urpl

us s

choo

l spa

ce.

Rec

omm

enda

tions

are

pro

vide

dfo

r sc

hool

boa

rds

and

com

mun

ities

conc

erni

ng th

e le

asin

g, s

ellin

gan

d m

arke

ting

of s

choo

l bui

ldin

gs.

The

reu

se p

oten

tial o

f eac

hty

peof

sch

ool b

uild

ing

is in

vest

igat

ed, a

nd s

ugge

stio

ns a

re m

ade

for

suc-

cess

ful c

onve

rsio

ns.

Des

ign

cons

ider

atio

ns a

nd th

em

any

aspe

cts

ofac

quiri

ng a

nd d

evel

opin

ga

scho

ol r

euse

pro

ject

are

dis

cuss

ed, i

nclu

d-in

g ow

ners

hip,

bui

ldin

gco

des,

feas

ibili

ty a

naly

sis,

des

ign

guid

elin

esan

d fin

anci

ng.

Fin

ally

, suc

cess

ful s

choo

lre

use

proj

ects

from

acr

oss

the

coun

try,

alo

ng w

ith d

esig

nsde

velo

ped

by th

e au

thor

s,ar

e ci

ted

to fu

rthe

r de

mon

stra

te th

e gr

eat

reus

e po

tent

ial w

hich

sch

ool

build

ings

hav

e.

Sin

ce th

is p

roje

ct w

as b

egun

,a

grea

t num

ber

of s

choo

ls h

ave

gone

to th

e au

ctio

n bl

ock

as s

choo

l sys

tem

str

y to

rec

onci

le fu

ture

nee

ds

vT

he A

dapt

ive

Use

of S

urpl

us S

choo

ls14

with

pre

sent

rea

litie

s.S

ome

of th

ese

scho

ols

have

been

suc

cess

-fu

lly a

dapt

ed fo

r co

ntin

ued

use,

whi

le o

ther

s ha

ve s

adly

met

the

wre

ckin

g ba

ll.It

is c

erta

in th

atm

any

mor

e sc

hool

s w

ill b

e sl

ated

for

an u

nkno

wn

futu

reas

enr

ollm

ent p

roje

ctio

ns c

ontin

ueto

forc

esc

hool

boa

rds

to la

bel

even

mor

e sc

hool

s "s

urpl

us".

It is

our

hop

e th

at th

is b

ook

prov

ides

the

info

rmat

ion

and

ince

ntiv

ene

cess

ary

to c

hang

e th

e co

urse

of t

hose

surp

lus

scho

ols

whi

chm

aybe

hea

ded

tow

ard

negl

ect

and

dem

oliti

on, t

oon

e of

suc

cess

ful r

e-us

e an

d an

ext

ende

d lif

e.

Jack

W. G

iljah

nT

hom

as R

. Mat

heny

Col

umbu

s, O

hio

Oct

ober

, 198

1

15

Page 10

the

con-

5erv

abon

,is

sue

17

Page 11

The

Rea

sons

Beh

ind

Sch

ool C

losi

ngs

Dec

linin

gE

nrol

lmen

ts

Dur

ing

the

1950

's a

nd 1

960'

s th

e gr

eat m

ajor

ity o

f sch

ool d

istr

icts

in th

is c

ount

ryex

perie

nced

eno

rmou

s st

uden

t gro

wth

dire

ctly

ass

oci-

ated

with

the

post

WW

II ba

by b

oom

. Tha

t gro

wth

pro

duce

d tw

ode

cade

s of

unp

rece

dent

edsc

hool

bui

ldin

g as

the

need

for

addi

tiona

l

spac

eex

ceed

ed th

e fa

cilit

ies

avai

labl

e.S

choo

l dis

tric

ts c

augh

t up

in

this

exp

losi

on fo

und

them

selv

es c

ontin

ually

pur

suin

g la

rger

bud

gets

.ad

ditio

nal o

pera

ting

levi

es,

and

new

bon

d is

sues

, and

con

sequ

ently

,

wer

e co

mpl

etel

yun

prep

ared

for

the

dile

mm

a th

at w

as p

rodu

ced

whe

n en

rollm

ents

beg

an to

dro

pin

the

1970

's.

In 1

959,

the

aver

age

U.S

. fam

ily h

ad3.

7 ch

ildre

n, to

day

the

aver

age

fam

ily c

onta

ins

1.8

child

ren.

1In

197

1, th

ere

wer

e 18

birt

hs p

er10

00 p

opul

atio

n w

hile

in 1

976

ther

e w

ere

only

14.7

.2T

he 1

970'

sen

rollm

ent i

ncre

ase

pred

icte

d as

pos

twar

bab

y bo

om w

omen

reac

hed

mat

urity

has

nev

er m

ater

ializ

ed.

Sin

ce 1

961,

the

risin

gnu

mbe

r of

wom

en o

f chi

ldbe

arin

g ag

e ha

s be

en o

ffset

by

a de

clin

ing

fert

ility

rat

e (t

he n

umbe

r of

birt

hs p

er 1

000

wom

en a

ged

15-4

4.S

ee F

igur

e 1)

.

A lo

ok a

t som

e st

atis

tics

unde

rsco

res

the

pres

ent d

rop

in s

choo

len

rollm

ent.

The

Cou

ncil

of E

duca

tiona

l Fac

ilitie

s P

lann

ers,

in it

spu

blic

atio

n, S

UR

PLU

S S

CH

OO

L S

PA

CE

---

TH

E P

RO

BLE

M A

ND

TH

E P

OS

SIB

ILIT

IES

, sta

tes:

The

Uni

ted

Sta

tes

Offi

ce o

f Edu

catio

n pr

edic

ts th

at s

choo

ls in

the

Uni

ted

Sta

tes

will

face

a 1

2% d

rop

in e

nrol

lmen

t bet

wee

n 19

72 a

nd19

82.

The

ave

rage

for

scho

ol e

nrol

lmen

t in

all g

rade

s pe

aked

in19

70 a

t 51.

3 m

illio

n st

uden

ts.

Ele

men

tary

sch

ool e

nrol

lmen

t has

been

dec

linin

g si

nce

the

1969

figu

re o

f 36.

79 m

illio

n, a

nd is

ex-

pect

ed to

con

tinue

dec

linin

g; 1

980

proj

ectio

ns in

dica

te a

n ap

prox

-im

ate

30.9

mill

ion

stud

ents

will

be

enro

lled

in e

lem

enta

ry s

choo

ls.

(It s

houl

d be

not

ed, t

oo, t

hat n

atio

nal e

nrol

lmen

t pre

dict

ions

now

18

indi

cate

the

poss

ibili

ty o

f inc

reas

ed K

-8 e

nrol

lmen

ts a

fter

abou

t19

83.

Alth

ough

del

ayed

, the

effe

ct is

the

sam

e fo

r se

cond

ary

scho

ol e

n-ro

llmen

ts (

grad

es 9

-12)

. Hav

ing

peak

ed in

197

6 w

ith 1

5.6

mill

ion

stud

ents

, sec

onda

ry s

choo

l enr

ollm

ents

are

exp

ecte

d to

dim

inis

h to

12 m

illio

n in

198

9. T

he p

ictu

re fo

r bo

th e

lem

enta

ry a

nd s

econ

dary

scho

ol e

nrol

lmen

ts s

how

s 51

.3 m

illio

n st

uden

ts in

197

0; 4

9.8

mil-

lion

in 1

974,

and

44.

8 m

illio

n in

198

4. T

hus,

dur

ing

the

four

teen

year

per

iod

from

197

0 to

198

4, w

e m

ay w

itnes

s a

12.7

% e

nrol

l-m

ent d

rop.

4

Fig

. 13

Fer

tility

Rat

es4 3 2 1 '6

0'6

2'6

4'6

6'6

8'7

0'7

2'7

4'7

6

The

12.

7% e

nrol

lmen

t dro

p fig

ure

used

her

e is

a n

atio

nal a

vera

ge.

Mor

e in

dica

tive

of th

e m

agni

tude

of t

he p

robl

em is

the

fact

that

man

y ur

ban

area

s ar

e re

port

ing

enro

llmen

t dec

lines

as

high

as

25%

.

19T

he A

dapt

ive

Use

of S

urpl

us S

choo

ls3

Page 12

Fig

. 2 6

Enr

ollm

ent P

roje

ctio

ns60 50 40 20 10

K-1

2

K-8

9-12

'68

'70

'72

'74

'76

'78

'80

'82

'84

4T

he C

onse

rvat

ion

Issu

e

20

The

se e

nrol

lmen

t tre

nds

can

be s

een

mor

e cl

early

in F

igur

e 2.

The

stea

dy d

eclin

e of

thes

ecu

rves

indi

cate

s a

gene

ral d

ecre

ase

in e

nrol

l-m

ent s

ince

196

8. A

nat

iona

l sur

vey

of 4

9 sc

hool

dis

tric

ts b

y R

icha

rdA

ndre

ws

of th

e U

nive

rsity

of

Was

hing

ton

show

s th

at a

lmos

t thr

eequ

arte

rs o

f tho

se s

urve

yed

cite

dec

linin

gen

rollm

ent a

s th

e m

ajor

fact

or b

ehin

d sc

hool

clo

sing

s.5

Mob

ility

and

Pop

ulat

ion

Shi

ftsM

obili

ty a

nd p

opul

atio

n sh

ifts

are

also

cau

ses

of e

nrol

lmen

t los

s.N

atio

nally

, mig

ratio

n is

occ

urrin

gaw

ay fr

om th

e ea

ster

n an

d m

id-

wes

tern

sta

tes

to th

e w

arm

er s

outh

ern

and

wes

tern

clim

ates

. Sin

ce19

70, t

hese

are

as h

ave

expe

rienc

ed 8

5% o

fou

r na

tion'

s gr

owth

,w

hile

the

Nor

thea

st a

nd M

idw

est

have

bee

n lo

sing

pop

ulat

ion

and

indu

stry

.7

With

in m

etro

polit

anar

eas,

pop

ulat

ion

is g

row

ing

in s

ubur

ban

area

san

d ne

arby

sm

all t

owns

, lea

ving

inne

rcity

sch

ools

with

few

erst

uden

ts.

The

mor

e re

cent

"bac

ktot

heci

ties"

mov

emen

t,sp

arke

d by

a r

enew

ed in

tere

stin

urb

an n

eigh

borh

oods

,do

es n

otse

em to

be

sign

ifica

ntly

cha

ngin

g th

ese

urba

n tr

ends

. Man

y of

thes

ene

w u

rban

dw

elle

rs a

re e

ither

youn

gmar

rieds

put

ting

off h

avin

gch

ildre

n or

"em

ptyn

este

rs"

beyo

nd c

hild

bear

ing

year

s. A

dditi

on-

ally

, the

dis

plac

emen

t cau

sed

as m

ultif

amily

bui

ldin

gs (

man

y ol

dur

ban

hom

es w

ere

conv

erte

dto

apa

rtm

ent b

uild

ings

as a

nei

ghbo

r-ho

od d

eclin

ed)

are

conv

erte

dba

ck to

sin

gle

fam

ily r

esid

ence

sco

n-tr

ibut

es to

enr

ollm

ent l

oss

with

inth

e co

mm

unity

.

Oth

er R

easo

nsM

any

citie

s ha

ve r

ecen

tly b

een

forc

ed to

inst

itute

des

egre

gatio

npl

ans

whi

ch h

ave

cont

ribut

edto

the

surp

lus

mos

tpr

oble

m. C

ourt

orde

red

busi

ng, a

n in

tegr

alpa

rt o

f mos

t des

egre

gatio

n pl

ans,

has

allo

wed

sch

ool d

istr

icts

to c

onso

lidat

e st

uden

ts fr

om p

artia

llyus

edbu

ildin

gs in

to a

sm

alle

r nu

mbe

rof

fully

util

ized

faci

litie

s, th

usle

avin

g ad

ditio

nal v

acan

t sch

ool

build

ings

.

21

Page 13

Rec

ent d

eseg

rega

tion

plan

s in

man

y ci

ties

have

res

ulte

d in

the

busi

ng o

f som

e st

uden

tsou

tsid

e th

eir

neig

hbor

hood

.

Com

poun

ding

this

pro

blem

is th

e un

plea

sant

pro

spec

t of e

ven

furt

her

enro

llmen

t dec

lines

as

mor

e pe

ople

look

with

gre

ater

inte

rest

tow

ard

priv

ate

scho

ols

for

educ

atin

g th

eir

child

ren

in m

any

case

sa

dire

ct r

esul

t of d

eseg

rega

tion.

Als

o, la

rge

city

sch

ool s

yste

ms

have

a re

puta

tion

(des

erve

d or

not

) fo

r a

stea

dily

dec

reas

ing

qual

ity o

fed

ucat

ion8

, res

ultin

g, a

gain

, in

incr

ease

d pr

ivat

e sc

hool

enr

ollm

ent.

In s

ome

case

s, s

choo

l bui

ldin

gs a

re a

band

oned

due

to p

hysi

cal d

eter

i-or

atio

n.In

stil

l oth

er c

ases

, the

bui

ldin

g ha

s be

com

e fu

nctio

nally

obso

lete

, bei

ng in

adeq

uate

for

cert

ain

type

s of

edu

catio

nal p

rogr

ams,

or n

ot e

asily

ada

pted

to n

ew te

acki

ng p

hilo

soph

ies.

The

se a

resm

alle

r, th

ough

stil

l pre

vale

nt p

robl

ems.

22

Mak

ing

the

Dec

isio

n to

Clo

seT

he r

educ

tion

in th

e en

rollm

ent r

ate

was

at f

irst w

elco

med

by

scho

olbo

ards

as

a re

spite

from

the

grow

th p

robl

ems

of th

e pr

evio

us tw

ode

cade

s.H

owev

er, h

arsh

rea

litie

s so

on h

ad to

be

conf

ront

ed a

s it

quic

kly

beca

me

appa

rent

that

dec

linin

g en

rollm

ents

did

not

pro

duce

a co

rres

pond

ing

redu

ctio

n in

cos

ts. I

n fa

ct, a

n in

flatio

nary

eco

nom

yco

mbi

ned

with

a d

eclin

ing

stud

ent b

ase

sent

per

pup

il co

sts

soar

ing.

Exp

endi

ture

s fo

r E

duca

tion

914

00

1200

C +c/

i 100

0

a. to 8

00cu

ac

Co 6

600

0 -40

0

200 '3

7'4

3'4

7'5

3'5

7'6

3'6

7'7

3'7

7

The

Ada

ptiv

e U

se o

f Sur

plus

Sch

ools

5

23

Page 14

The

cos

ts o

f ope

ratin

g ha

lfem

pty

scho

ols

is p

artic

ular

ly w

aste

ful.

Man

y ba

sic

expe

nses

of o

pera

ting

unde

rutil

ized

sch

ools

con

tinue

as th

ough

the

build

ing

wer

e fu

lly o

ccup

ied.

Alm

ost a

s m

any

teac

hers

and

cust

odia

l wor

kers

are

req

uire

dto

sta

ff a

part

ially

use

d sc

hool

,an

d ne

ither

util

ity b

ills

nor

debt

ser

vice

char

ges

fall

with

dec

reas

eden

rollm

ents

.

Fac

ed w

ith d

ram

atic

ally

dec

linin

gen

rollm

ents

and

adm

inis

trat

ive

stud

ies

pred

ictin

g th

at th

epa

ttern

will

con

tinue

, sch

ool d

istr

ict

offic

ials

hav

e ge

nera

lly r

ecom

men

ded

the

clos

ing

of o

neor

mor

esc

hool

s as

the

sim

ples

t and

leas

tex

pens

ive

imm

edia

te s

olut

ion.

As

men

tione

d, d

eseg

rega

tion

plan

s, w

hich

are

bein

g in

stitu

ted

in m

any

scho

ol d

istr

icts

, hav

e al

low

edm

ore

latit

ude

in w

hich

sch

ools

can

be

clos

ed.

Con

solid

atio

n of

stu

dent

s an

ded

ucat

iona

l res

ourc

es h

as im

med

iate

educ

atio

nal b

enef

its.

It al

low

s:10

bala

ncin

g of

cla

ss s

izes

shar

ing

of e

duca

tiona

l mat

eria

lsst

aff r

educ

tions

bette

r us

e of

spe

cial

ists

easi

er s

uper

visi

on o

f the

prog

ram

few

er d

olla

rs s

pent

on

fuel

,m

aint

enan

ce, a

nd p

erso

nnel

Thi

s la

st fa

ctor

, how

ever

, is

muc

h le

ss s

igni

fican

t tha

n is

com

mon

lyas

sum

ed.

The

maj

or c

riter

ia u

sed

by s

choo

l boa

rds

in d

eter

min

ing

whi

chsc

hool

s ar

e to

be

clos

edar

e:

the

enro

llmen

tpa

ttern

s an

d ch

ange

s in

the

scho

olag

e po

pula

tion

in th

e ar

ea s

erve

d by

the

scho

ol.

the

flexi

bilit

y an

d ad

apta

bilit

yof

the

build

ing

for

vario

uspr

esen

tan

dfu

ture

educ

atio

nal

prog

ram

s.F

unct

iona

llyob

sole

tebu

ildin

gs a

re u

sual

ly c

lose

d fir

st.

the

age

and

stru

ctur

al c

ondi

tion

of th

e bu

ildin

g. O

lder

build

ings

in n

eed

of c

onsi

dera

ble

repa

irar

e pr

ime

cand

idat

es fo

r cl

osin

g.

6T

he C

onse

rvat

ion

Issu

e

24

mai

nten

ance

cos

ts.

Som

e bu

ildin

gsar

e in

here

ntly

mor

e ex

-pe

nsiv

e to

mai

ntai

n th

an o

ther

s.

tran

spor

tatio

n co

sts.

Thi

s is

a fa

ctor

der

iven

dire

ctly

from

dese

grat

ion.

Sch

ool b

oard

s m

ust

now

look

at w

hich

com

bin-

atio

n of

util

ized

bui

ldin

gs w

illre

sult

in th

e lo

wes

t tra

nspo

rtat

ion

cost

s.

size

.G

iven

a c

hoic

e be

twee

ncl

osin

g tw

o sc

hool

s in

the

sam

ear

ea, t

he s

choo

l boa

rd w

ill g

ener

ally

clos

e th

e sm

alle

r of

the

two.

The

phe

nom

enon

of

empt

y de

sks

is u

sual

ly n

ot c

onfin

edto

one

scho

ol, a

lthou

ghon

e se

ctio

n of

a d

istr

ict m

ay d

eclin

eea

rlier

than

othe

rs.

All

the

elem

enta

ry s

choo

lsin

a d

istr

ict w

ill fe

el th

e ef

fect

s,as

will

the

inte

rmed

iate

and

hig

hsc

hool

s in

a fe

wye

ars

whe

n th

een

rollm

ent d

eclin

e re

ache

sth

e up

per

grad

e le

vels

.F

acin

g th

ese

futu

re p

robl

ems

early

will

giv

esc

hool

dis

tric

ts m

ore

time

to p

repa

re.

The

Sch

oolh

ouse

asC

omm

unity

Cor

ners

tone

Man

y pr

oble

ms

aris

e w

hen

a sc

hool

bui

ldin

g is

clo

sed,

but

per

haps

the

ultim

ate

liabi

lity

ofa

tota

lly c

lose

d bu

ildin

g is

the

impa

cton

its

neig

hbor

hood

.

A s

choo

l bui

ldin

g is

a co

mm

unity

cor

ners

tone

.It

is a

sym

bol o

fco

n-tin

uity

and

sta

bilit

y fr

omon

e ge

nera

tion

to a

noth

er. T

o re

side

nts,

asc

hool

rep

rese

nts

thei

rpr

oper

ty ta

xes,

the

educ

atio

n of

thei

rch

il-dr

en, a

nd a

n in

stitu

tion

arou

nd w

hich

a m

ultit

ude

ofco

mm

unity

activ

ities

and

inte

ract

ions

take

pla

ce.

The

nei

ghbo

rhoo

d sc

hool

build

ing

freq

uent

ly b

ecom

esha

llow

ed g

roun

d in

the

min

ds o

f tho

sedi

rect

ly e

ffect

ed b

y th

ede

cisi

on to

clo

se.

25

Page 15

At

The

insc

riptio

ns fo

und

abov

e th

e en

tran

ces

to m

any

scho

ols

are

indi

cativ

e of

thei

r im

por-

tanc

e to

the

com

mun

ity.

Whe

n th

e w

indo

ws

are

boar

ded

up o

n th

at fa

mili

ar r

ed b

rick

build

-in

g, it

mea

ns to

man

y pe

ople

that

the

com

mun

ity is

cha

ngin

g, a

ndpr

obab

ly n

ot fo

r th

e be

tter.

Res

iden

ts in

the

com

mun

ity fe

ar th

atcl

osin

g a

scho

ol w

ill c

ause

the

com

mun

ity to

go d

ownh

ill a

ndde

clin

e.

Em

pty

scho

ol b

uild

ings

are

ofte

n ta

rget

s fo

r va

ndal

ism

, cre

atin

gco

m-

mun

ity e

yeso

res.

"You

ng fa

mili

es, m

any

of w

hom

ran

k pr

oxim

ityto

goo

d sc

hool

s as

a h

igh

prio

rity

in s

elec

ting

a ho

me,

may

inte

n-tio

nally

avo

id th

ose

neig

hbor

hood

s in

whi

ch s

choo

ls h

ave

been

clos

ed. S

ome

area

s ha

ve e

xper

ienc

ed a

dec

line

in r

eal

esta

te v

alue

sfo

llow

ing

a sc

hool

aba

ndon

men

t as

a re

sult

ofyo

ung

coup

les

'ski

p-pi

ng o

ver'

the

neig

hbor

hood

."11

No

conc

rete

figu

res

yet e

xist

on

this

phe

nom

enon

, how

ever

.

Kee

ping

a s

choo

l bui

ldin

g an

act

ive

vita

l par

t of t

he c

omm

unity

inth

e fa

ce o

f dec

linin

g en

rollm

ents

isps

ycho

logi

cally

ver

y im

port

ant

to th

at c

omm

unity

. Thi

s ca

n be

acc

ompl

ishe

d by

usi

ng th

e sc

hool

for

a ho

st o

f alte

rnat

ive

educ

atio

nal

prog

ram

s; le

asin

g th

e bu

ildin

gto

one

of m

any

publ

ic o

r pr

ivat

e no

npro

fitor

gani

zatio

ns lo

okin

gfo

r ec

onom

ical

spa

ce;

or, a

fter

care

ful c

onsi

dera

tion

of fu

ture

need

s, le

asin

g or

sel

ling

the

build

ing

to th

e pr

ivat

e se

ctor

.

27T

he A

dapt

ive

Use

of S

urpl

us S

choo

ls7

Page 16

Dec

linin

g en

rollm

ents

can

lead

to a

pos

itive

and

con

stru

ctiv

e re

-or

gani

zatio

n of

the

dist

rict a

nd a

cha

nce

to im

plem

ent n

ew e

duca

-tio

nal o

ppor

tuni

ties.

In a

dditi

on, t

here

are

a r

apid

ly in

crea

sing

num

ber

of s

choo

l bui

ldin

g re

use

proj

ects

.S

choo

l clo

sing

s ca

n be

-co

me

aca

taly

stfo

r ed

ucat

iona

l and

com

mun

ity im

prov

emen

tsw

hich

mig

ht n

ever

hav

e ot

herw

ise

occu

rred

.T

hese

new

opt

ions

keep

vac

ant b

uild

ings

from

ser

ving

as

pain

ful m

onum

ents

to a

neig

hbor

hood

's d

emis

e by

inje

ctin

g ne

w li

fe in

to th

e co

mm

unity

.

Adv

ice

to S

choo

l Boa

rds

Mot

hbal

ling

Wha

t hap

pens

to a

ll of

thes

e ab

ando

ned

scho

ol b

uild

ings

? S

ome

vaca

nt s

choo

ls a

re d

emol

ishe

d as

a r

esul

t of a

fals

e pe

rcep

tion

that

the

build

ing'

s ad

apta

bilit

y to

oth

er u

ses

is r

elat

ivel

y lim

ited

and,

inm

any

case

s, th

at th

e bu

ildin

g its

elf i

s a

liabi

lity

only

the

land

(pro

pert

y)is

an

asse

t.S

ince

dem

oliti

on is

obv

ious

ly ir

reve

rsib

le,

all

othe

r op

tions

sho

uld

be th

orou

ghly

inve

stig

ated

bef

ore

this

cour

se o

f act

ion

is ta

ken.

Man

y sc

hool

s ar

e si

mpl

y bo

arde

dup

and

"mot

hbal

led"

unt

il th

esp

ace

is n

eede

d ag

ain

or th

e bu

ildin

g's

futu

re d

ispo

sitio

n ca

n be

dete

rmin

ed.

The

van

dalis

m a

nd p

hysi

cal d

ecay

ass

ocia

ted

with

com

plet

e m

othb

allin

g, a

s w

ell a

s its

effe

cton

the

surr

ound

ing

neig

h-bo

rhoo

d, m

ake

this

a le

ss th

an p

erfe

ct s

olut

ion.

Som

ewha

t bet

ter

is th

e m

etho

d us

ed in

Col

umbu

s, O

hio,

whe

resc

hool

offi

cial

s ha

ve e

lect

ed to

kee

p m

aint

enan

ce h

eat i

n th

eir

vaca

nt s

choo

lbu

ildin

gs, a

long

with

min

imal

cus

todi

al s

ervi

ces.

Acc

ordi

ng to

sch

ool o

ffici

als,

this

pra

ctic

e co

sts

betw

een

$10,

000

and

$15,

000

per

year

per

sch

ool (

1979

), b

ut a

void

s m

uch

of th

ese

vere

det

erio

ratio

n an

d va

ndal

ism

acc

ompa

nyin

g co

mpl

ete

mot

h-ba

lling

.

8T

he C

onse

rvat

ion

Issu

e28

Ofte

n, th

e sa

ving

s ex

pect

ed fr

om c

losi

ng a

sch

ool n

ever

mat

eria

lize.

Siri

ce m

any

scho

ol c

osts

are

on

a pe

r pu

pil b

asis

, clo

sing

a s

choo

ldo

es n

ot a

lway

s br

ing

all o

f the

exp

ecte

d de

crea

ses

in c

osts

. The

nth

ere

are

the

initi

al c

osts

of m

othb

allin

g as

wel

l as

ongo

ing

cost

sfo

r m

inim

al m

aint

enan

ce, u

tiliti

es, s

ecur

ity a

nd r

epai

r.

In th

e lig

ht o

f the

se a

nd m

any

othe

r pr

oble

ms

caus

ed b

y sc

hool

aban

donm

ent,

scho

ol a

dmin

istr

ator

s, lo

cal o

ffici

als

and

com

mun

itygr

oups

are

rec

omm

endi

ng th

at a

ltern

ativ

e us

es fo

r su

rplu

s sc

hool

sbe

foun

d.

Lega

lC

onst

rain

tsT

here

may

be

cert

ain

lega

l con

stra

ints

whi

ch w

ill e

ffect

a d

ecis

ion

to a

band

on a

sch

ool b

uild

ing.

Dis

tric

ts in

som

e st

ates

lose

con

trol

of th

eir

build

ings

whe

n th

ey a

re n

o lo

nger

use

d as

sch

ools

.In

Cal

iforn

ia, f

or in

stan

ce, a

ny p

rofit

mad

e fr

om th

e sa

le o

f a s

choo

lgo

es to

the

stat

e tr

easu

ry.

In M

assa

chus

etts

, sch

ools

are

con

trol

led

by th

e ci

ties,

ther

efor

e ab

ando

ned

scho

ols

rem

ain

the

prop

erty

of

the

city

rat

her

than

the

dist

rict.

In N

ashv

ille,

Ten

ness

ee, a

ny b

uild

-in

g de

clar

ed s

urpl

us b

y th

e bo

ard

of e

duca

tion

is to

be

adm

inis

tere

dby

the

Pub

lic P

rope

rty

Adm

inis

trat

ion,

whi

ch m

ay c

hoos

e to

ren

t,le

ase,

or

sell

the

build

ing

at p

rivat

e au

ctio

n.12

And

in C

olum

bus,

Ohi

o, w

here

the

scho

ol d

istr

ict o

wns

the

scho

ol b

uild

ings

,m

oney

from

the

sale

of a

sch

ool c

anno

t be

used

tow

ard

oper

atin

gex

pens

es,

but m

ust b

e pl

aced

into

a c

apita

l im

prov

emen

ts fu

nd.

Sta

te la

ws

shou

ld b

e ch

ecke

d fo

r re

stric

tions

whi

ch m

ay c

ontr

olal

tern

ativ

es.

In s

ome

stat

es, a

sch

ool b

uild

ing

cann

ot b

e us

ed fo

rot

her

than

sch

ool p

urpo

ses

with

out a

com

mun

ity r

efer

endu

m. A

nd,

assu

min

g a

build

ing

can

be le

ased

or

sold

, che

cks

shou

ld b

e m

ade

for

rest

rictio

ns o

n th

e ac

tiviti

es th

at c

an b

e ca

rrie

d ou

t with

in it

.In

som

e st

ates

, sch

ools

can

not b

e le

ased

to a

rel

igio

us g

roup

, pol

itica

lgr

oup,

or

a pr

ivat

e sc

hool

.

Leas

ing

Sur

plus

Sch

ools

Onc

e a

scho

ol b

oard

has

dec

ided

to s

earc

h fo

r al

tern

ativ

e us

es fo

r its

29

Page 17

surp

lus

scho

ols,

one

of t

he fi

rst q

uest

ions

con

fron

ting

it is

whe

ther

to le

ase

or s

ell t

he b

uild

ing.

If al

l or

a m

ajor

por

tion

of a

faci

lity

isto

be

used

by

a no

nsch

ool a

genc

y or

org

aniz

atio

n, o

wne

rshi

p co

n-si

dera

tions

are

ver

y im

port

ant.

Som

e di

stric

ts h

esita

te to

sel

l bui

ld-

ings

bec

ause

pos

sibl

e fu

ture

enr

ollm

ent i

ncre

ases

may

mak

e th

emon

ce a

gain

nee

ded

as s

choo

ls.

Leas

ing

prov

ides

a h

edge

aga

inst

the

day

scho

ol s

pace

is n

eede

d ag

ain.

And

, lea

sing

is p

oliti

cally

pop

ular

beca

use

the

scho

ol s

yste

m is

not

giv

ing

anyt

hing

aw

ay.

Ano

ther

opt

ion

exis

ts s

houl

d th

e in

tend

ed p

rimar

y us

er o

f a fa

cilit

ybe

ano

ther

gov

ernm

ent a

genc

y. T

he s

urpl

us s

choo

l cou

ld b

e le

ased

to th

is a

genc

y fo

r a

toke

n pa

ymen

t, an

d si

nce

the

new

use

r w

ould

be ta

x su

ppor

ted,

the

inte

rest

s of

the

taxp

ayer

s w

ho b

uilt

the

build

-in

g or

igin

ally

wou

ld b

e se

rved

.

Leas

es c

an b

e w

ritte

n so

that

the

dist

rict r

etai

ns it

s ba

sic

right

to th

epr

oper

ty, w

hile

the

tena

nt a

ssum

es a

ll co

sts

of u

pkee

p an

d op

era-

tions

.13

Als

o, le

ases

can

be

arra

nged

in e

xcha

nge

for

subs

tant

ive

inki

nd s

ervi

ces.

Ren

t pay

men

ts to

the

scho

ol s

yste

m c

ould

be

mad

e th

roug

h se

rvic

es to

the

syst

em, t

here

by fr

eein

g a

subs

tant

ial

amou

nt o

f the

sys

tem

's c

apita

l for

oth

er u

ses.

Adv

anta

ges

of L

easi

ng

Bui

ldin

gs c

an b

e re

clai

med

aga

in if

nee

ded

sinc

e ow

ners

hip

isre

tain

ed.

Inex

pens

ive

spac

e ca

n be

mad

e av

aila

ble

to g

over

nmen

tal,

non-

prof

it, a

nd c

omm

unity

org

aniz

atio

ns.

Leas

ing

is a

hed

ge a

gain

st fl

uctu

atin

g en

rollm

ents

.

Inco

me

is o

btai

ned

from

unu

sed

spac

e.

Dis

adva

ntag

es o

f Lea

sing

Man

y ow

ners

hip

cost

s, s

uch

as m

aint

enan

ce, c

ontin

ue.

Tho

ugh

not u

sed

as a

sch

ool,

prop

erty

stil

l gen

erat

es n

o ta

xre

venu

e.

Sch

ool s

yste

ms

are

usua

lly n

ot p

repa

red

to b

e pr

oper

tym

an-

ager

s.

J.

1."y

,

31>

117t

;

.al

teA

MM

O'

ST

OU

TIN

7S11

11;:

tit II

I 0 0

110

4' -

:::

I19

2,

The

Col

umbu

s D

epar

tmen

t of R

ecre

atio

n an

d P

arks

has

con

vert

ed th

e fo

rmer

Thi

rd S

tree

tS

choo

l for

use

as

a G

olde

n A

ge H

obby

Sho

p.

3 0

BE

ST C

OPY

AV

AIL

AB

LE

31T

he A

dapt

ive

Use

of S

urpl

us S

choo

ls9

Page 18

Sev

eral

alte

rnat

ives

exi

st fo

rth

e fu

ture

disp

ositi

on o

f a s

urpl

us s

choo

l,an

d ea

chm

ust b

e in

vest

igat

ed fo

rits

par

ticul

arad

vant

ages

and

dis

adva

ntag

esbe

fore

ade

term

inat

ion

can

be r

each

edco

ncer

n-in

g w

hich

is b

est i

n a

part

icul

arsi

tuat

ion.

10T

he C

onse

rvat

ion

Issu

e

Sel

ling

Sur

plus

Sch

ools

Whe

n al

ldi

stric

t nee

ds h

ave

been

acco

unte

d fo

r, a

nd a

ll pu

blic

agen

cies

that

cou

ld im

med

iate

lyus

e av

aila

ble

spac

e ha

ve b

een

satis

-fie

d, a

n in

crea

sing

num

ber

of s

choo

l dis

tric

tsar

e ch

oosi

ng to

sel

lth

eir

prop

erty

to th

e pr

ivat

ese

ctor

, ofte

n w

ith a

gua

rant

eeth

at th

ebu

ildin

g w

ill b

e re

habi

litat

edfo

r a

spec

ific

use.

It is

unw

ise

to d

is-

pose

of e

very

bui

ldin

g do

wn

to th

e m

inim

um n

umbe

rre

quire

d to

hous

e th

e cu

rren

t stu

dent

popu

latio

n.If

this

wer

e do

ne a

nden

roll-

men

ts w

ere

to c

limb,

a s

choo

lbo

ard

mig

ht fi

nd it

self

inth

e em

bar-

rass

ing

posi

tion

of fa

cing

the

vote

rs s

ever

al y

ears

hen

ce w

itha

bond

issu

e fo

r a

new

bui

ldin

gat

wha

t wou

ld u

ndou

bted

lybe

ten

to tw

enty

times

the

sale

pric

e of

the

one

rece

ntly

sol

d!S

ome

exce

ss s

pace

mus

t be

reta

ined

for

flexi

bilit

yin

cop

ing

with

fluc

tuat

ing

enro

ll-m

ents

.C

ompr

ehen

sive

and

long

rang

epl

anni

ng b

y sc

hool

offi

cial

sis

ess

entia

l.

Man

y la

rger

sch

ool d

istr

icts

have

30-

40 o

rm

ore

vaca

nt s

choo

l bui

ld-

ings

, how

ever

. Tho

ugh

the

num

ber

will

vary

from

are

a to

are

a, w

hen

the

mag

nitu

de o

f the

prob

lem

rea

ches

this

poi

nt, a

nd d

etai

led

enro

ll-m

ent p

roje

ctio

ns s

how

no fu

ture

nee

d fo

r th

e bu

ildin

gsas

sch

ools

,pl

acin

g so

me

of th

ebu

ildin

gs u

p fo

r sa

le is

cert

ainl

y a

plau

sibl

eso

lutio

n.

Car

e m

ust b

e ta

ken

to a

ssur

e th

at th

ene

w u

se is

not

dis

rupt

ive

orob

ject

iona

ble

to th

e su

rrou

ndin

gar

eas.

The

res

iden

tial c

hara

cter

of

the

neig

hbor

hood

s in

whi

ch m

any

scho

ols

are

loca

ted

has

enco

urag

edre

cycl

ing

as h

ousi

ng u

nits

,al

thou

gh r

edev

elop

men

tfo

r of

fice

or c

om-

mer

cial

use

s ha

s be

ensu

cces

sful

, esp

ecia

lly w

ithbu

ildin

gs-lo

cate

d on

arte

rial s

tree

ts o

rne

ar c

omm

erci

al a

reas

.

Adv

anta

ges

of S

ellin

g

Upk

eep

cost

s to

the

scho

olsy

stem

are

elim

inat

ed.

The

pro

pert

y is

ret

urne

dto

the

com

mun

ity ta

x ro

lls.

If re

use

of th

e bu

ildin

gis

spe

cifie

d at

the

sale

,pr

eser

vatio

n of

the

build

ing

is e

nsur

ed.

33

Page 19

New

use

of t

hebu

ildin

g ca

nto

the

com

mun

ity.

The

sch

ool s

yste

m o

btai

ns a

no lo

nger

need

ed.

prov

ide

a ps

ycho

logi

cal a

dvan

tage

finan

cial

ret

urn

on s

pace

whi

ch is

Dis

adva

ntag

es o

f Sel

ling

Sch

ool b

uild

ings

usu

ally

hav

e lo

w m

arke

t val

ues.

The

zon

ing

of s

choo

l pro

pert

y is

ofte

n lim

ited.

The

sch

ool s

yste

m m

ight

nee

d th

e bu

ildin

g ag

ain

as a

sch

ool.

The

sch

ool s

yste

m m

ay b

e un

able

to d

eter

min

e a

build

ing'

sim

pact

on

the

com

mun

ity a

fter

the

sale

.

Mar

ketin

g S

urpl

usS

choo

ls

The

re a

re th

ree

maj

or c

ompo

nent

s in

det

erm

inin

g th

e po

tent

ial

mar

ket f

or a

sch

ool b

uild

ing.

"Firs

t, is

the

asse

ssm

ent o

f the

ob-

ject

ives

of t

he s

choo

l dis

tric

t and

a d

escr

iptio

n of

the

maj

or b

uild

-in

g fe

atur

es.

Sec

ondl

y, is

an

eval

uatio

n of

wha

t kin

d of

act

ivity

isne

eded

at t

he lo

catio

n of

the

prop

erty

hous

ing,

mun

icip

al s

ervi

ces,

recr

eatio

n, c

omm

erci

al o

ffice

spa

ce, e

tc.

And

fina

lly th

ere

is th

ene

ed to

mea

sure

the

suita

bilit

y of

a p

rope

rty

with

spe

cific

cha

ract

er-

istic

s to

the

user

iden

tifie

d."1

4

A d

ispo

sitio

n ch

eckl

ist s

imila

r to

the

one

deve

lope

d by

Per

kins

&W

ill, C

hica

go,

Illin

ois

(see

bel

ow)

shou

ld b

e co

mpl

eted

by

the

scho

ol b

oard

ear

ly in

the

mar

ketin

g pr

oces

s.T

he c

heck

list w

illse

rve

to g

uide

and

rec

ord

the

deci

sion

s w

hich

nee

d to

be

mad

e, a

ndw

ill a

llow

thos

e in

volv

ed to

be

awar

e of

thei

r op

tions

.

Dis

posi

tion

Che

ckl i

st 1

5W

ould

we

pref

er to

sel

l or

rent

the

prop

erty

? W

hat a

re th

ead

vant

ages

of e

ach?

How

muc

h in

com

e th

roug

h sa

le o

r le

ase

reve

nue

wou

ld w

e lik

eor

nee

d?

34

Sho

uld

the

rent

cov

er u

tiliti

es o

r no

t?

Wou

ld w

e be

will

ing

to p

rovi

de a

pot

entia

l ten

ant w

ithan

allo

w-

ance

for

impr

ovem

ent o

r re

nova

tion

of th

e pr

oper

ty a

nd a

mor

-tiz

e th

is c

ost i

n th

e te

nant

's le

ase?

Is it

like

ly th

at w

e ca

n ge

t a te

rm o

f lea

se (

leng

th)

long

eno

ugh

to c

over

thes

e "t

enan

t im

prov

emen

ts"?

In o

rder

to c

ompe

te w

ith th

e pr

ivat

e re

al e

stat

e m

arke

t will

this

be a

nec

essa

ry a

ccom

mod

atio

n?

Wou

ld w

e be

will

ing

to le

ase

to m

ore

than

one

tena

nt?

Do

we

wan

t to

mar

ket t

his

prop

erty

our

selv

es o

r do

we

wan

tto

use

an

agen

t?

If w

e le

ase,

do

we

wan

t to

man

age

the

prop

erty

our

selv

es o

r hi

rean

age

nt?

Sho

uld

we

try

to in

clud

e eq

uipm

ent (

cabi

nets

, boo

kcas

es, e

tc.)

with

in th

e ba

sic

sale

or

leas

e pa

ckag

e? S

houl

d w

e tr

y to

pric

eit

sepa

rate

ly?

Sho

uld

we

reta

in it

?S

houl

d w

e tr

y an

d se

ll it

sepa

rate

ly?

Fur

ther

mor

e, a

n in

vent

ory

of e

ach

indi

vidu

al b

uild

ing'

s fe

atur

essh

ould

be

kept

on

file

for

each

sch

ool.

Incl

uded

in th

is in

vent

ory

shou

ld b

e:

Nam

e of

sch

ool

Add

ress

Yea

r co

nstr

ucte

d, in

clud

ing

addi

tions

Num

ber

and

size

of c

lass

room

s

Num

ber

of o

ffice

s

Spe

cial

faci

litie

s su

ch a

s la

bora

torie

s, g

ymna

sium

s, a

udito

rium

s,lib

rarie

s, a

nd s

hops

Bui

ldin

g co

nfig

urat

ion

and

type

of c

onst

ruct

ion

incl

udin

g ag

ean

d ph

ysic

al c

ondi

tion

(eac

h co

mpo

nent

)

Flo

or a

rea

per

floor

Nei

ghbo

rhoo

d co

ntex

t, in

clud

ing

prox

imity

to s

hopp

ing

cent

ers,

hom

es, a

nd b

usin

esse

s

35T

he A

dapt

ive

Use

of S

urpl

us S

choo

ls11

Page 20

Acc

essi

bilit

y to

pub

lic a

nd p

rivat

etr

ansp

orta

tion

Ava

ilabl

e pa

rkin

g

Zon

ing,

incl

udin

g po

ssib

lech

ange

s an

d re

al e

stat

eta

xes

in th

ezo

ne

Acr

eage

of t

he e

ntire

site

Typ

e of

fuel

and

util

ityco

sts

Fire

rat

ing

and

exis

tenc

e of

sprin

kler

sE

xist

ence

of e

leva

tors

Acc

essi

bilit

y to

han

dica

pped

pers

ons

His

toric

/arc

hite

ctur

al s

igni

fican

ce

Whe

n co

mpl

eted

, thi

s in

vent

ory

will

be

avai

labl

e to

aid

deci

sion

sco

ncer

ning

indi

vidu

alca

ses,

and

will

be

extr

emel

y va

luab

lela

ter

inth

e m

arke

ting

proc

ess.

Mos

t sch

ool d

istr

icts

will

hav

eal

l of t

his

info

rmat

ion

in o

ne p

lace

or a

noth

er, a

nd o

nly

its c

ompi

latio

nin

toon

e co

ncis

e lis

t and

sub

sequ

ent a

naly

sis

will

nee

d to

be

done

.

"Sch

ool b

oard

s co

nsid

erin

gth

e sa

le o

f sch

ool p

rope

rty

mig

ht d

ow

ell t

o in

vest

igat

e in

adva

nce

the

pote

ntia

l for

zon

ing

chan

ge to

am

ore

com

mer

cial

ly m

arke

tabl

ecl

assi

ficat

ion

and,

if fe

asib

le,

petit

ion

for

such

a c

hang

e be

fore

putti

ng th

e pr

oper

tyon

the

mar

ket."

16S

ince

man

y de

velo

pers

mak

e th

eir

offe

rs to

buy

cont

inge

nt o

nge

tting

the

prop

er z

onin

g,th

is r

educ

es th

e po

tent

ial

buye

r's r

isk

and

may

hav

e a

favo

rabl

e im

pact

on th

e se

lling

pric

e.F

urth

erm

ore,

zoni

ng b

oard

sm

ay r

eact

mor

e fa

vora

bly

to th

ere

ques

t of a

sch

ool

boar

d th

an th

at o

fa

priv

ate

deve

lope

r.

Mos

t im

port

antly

, mar

keta

ble

asse

ts m

ust b

e id

entif

ied

befo

rese

lling

or le

asin

g. T

he m

arke

t nee

dsto

be

show

n th

e pr

oper

ty's

loca

tiona

lor

phy

sica

l adv

anta

ges

for

othe

rpu

rpos

es. A

lso,

it m

ust b

e sh

own

that

the

build

ing'

s pr

actic

ality

for

its n

ew u

seco

mpa

res

favo

rabl

yw

ith o

ther

bui

ldin

gs, b

oth

old

and

new

.

Sch

ool d

istr

icts

can

stim

ulat

e in

tere

st b

ym

akin

g su

gges

tions

on

pote

ntia

l re-

use,

by

doin

gso

me

hom

ewor

k on

pot

entia

lco

sts,

by

deve

lopi

ng p

relim

inar

y gr

aphi

cre

pres

enta

tions

of

new

use

s, c

iting

12T

he C

onse

rvat

ion

Issu

e 36

Uni

que

feat

ures

suc

has

tow

ers

shou

ld b

e id

entif

ied

and

mar

kete

d as

ass

ets

whi

chca

n be

conv

erte

d in

to u

niqu

e sp

aces

.

BE

ST

CO

PY

AV

AIL

AB

LE

Page 21

exam

ples

of r

e-us

e pr

ojec

ts in

oth

er c

ities

, and

per

haps

even

sug

gest

-in

g so

me

mea

ns o

f fin

anci

ng.1

7S

ince

' man

y sc

hool

dis

tric

ts d

o no

tha

ve e

xper

tise

in m

any

of th

ese

area

s, it

may

be

wis

e to

con

sult

ate

am o

f exp

erts

, con

sist

ing

of a

n ed

ucat

iona

l pla

nnin

g co

nsul

tant

,an

arc

hite

ct, a

nd a

rea

l est

ate

agen

t. T

hese

pro

fess

iona

lsca

n su

rvey

the

build

ing

and

mak

e su

gges

tions

con

cern

ing

pote

ntia

lne

w u

ses.

The

cos

ts in

volv

ed h

ere

are

usua

llym

ore

than

offs

et b

y an

incr

ease

in th

e sa

le p

rice.

Sch

ool b

oard

s ha

ve a

mor

al o

blig

atio

n to

thei

r co

mm

unity

to r

ealiz

eth

e hi

ghes

t ret

urn

on th

e ta

x do

llars

inve

sted

in e

ach

scho

ol.

As

are

sult,

sch

ool b

oard

s sh

ould

not

be

too

hast

y w

hen

itco

mes

tim

e to

sell

a bu

ildin

g. In

the

case

of S

t. Lo

uis

Par

k, M

inne

sota

, for

inst

ance

,a

year

's w

orth

of n

egot

iatio

ns b

y th

e su

perin

tend

ent a

nd b

oard

with

the

pote

ntia

l buy

er m

eant

an

incr

ease

of $

250,

000

over

the

initi

alof

fer

and

the

appr

aise

d va

lue

of o

ne o

f its

sur

plus

sch

ools

.18

A p

rope

r ap

proa

ch to

mar

ketin

g va

cant

sch

ools

, alo

ng w

ithim

agi-

natio

n an

d en

thus

iasm

by

the

dist

rict,

can

go a

long

way

tow

ard

ensu

ring

the

top

dolla

r re

turn

on

the

man

y ta

x do

llars

inve

sted

inth

ese

prop

ertie

s.

The

Pos

sibi

litie

s fo

r R

euse

Mor

e S

pace

for

Edu

catio

nM

any

soun

d sc

hool

bui

ldin

gs a

re b

eing

clo

sed

sim

ply

beca

use

ther

ear

e no

t eno

ugh

stud

ents

.H

owev

er, f

or m

any

imag

inat

ive

scho

oldi

stric

ts, s

urpl

us s

pace

is b

eing

vie

wed

as

an o

ppor

tuni

ty, r

athe

r tha

nth

e di

fficu

lt pr

oble

m it

app

ears

to b

e in

itial

ly. C

onvi

ncin

ga

com

m-

unity

to v

iew

the

prob

lem

this

way

isa

chal

leng

e, h

owev

er.

Sch

ool a

dmin

istr

ator

s ca

n th

ink

of u

sing

extr

a sp

ace

to h

ouse

new

scho

ol a

ctiv

ities

or

expa

nd fa

cilit

ies

for

exis

ting

prog

ram

s. U

nuse

dsp

ace

mig

ht b

e co

nver

ted

into

cra

ft sh

ops,

mus

ic s

tudi

os, a

rt s

tudi

os,

hous

ing

for

ongo

ing

scie

nce

proj

ects

, bus

ines

ssi

mul

atio

n ar

eas,

38

prod

uctio

n or

man

ufac

turin

gse

t-up

s, e

xhib

it sp

ace,

or

kind

erga

rten

sw

here

they

are

not

alre

ady

prov

ided

.19

Lefto

ver

faci

litie

s ca

n al

sobe

turn

ed in

to s

peci

aliz

ed tr

aini

ngfa

cilit

ies

to e

xpan

d th

e co

mm

u-ni

ty's

adu

lt, v

ocat

iona

l, an

dca

reer

edu

catio

nal p

rogr

ams.

Ano

ther

cho

ice

is to

hou

se n

ew a

ppro

ache

sto

edu

catio

n. A

ltern

a-tiv

e sc

hool

s ar

e be

ing

inst

itute

d in

man

y ci

ties.

The

se a

ltern

ativ

esc

hool

s ar

e no

t all

the

sam

e, b

ut m

ost c

onta

inpr

ogra

ms

whi

ch c

ould

not b

e co

nduc

ted

with

in th

e re

gula

r sc

hool

cur

ricul

umor

bui

ldin

g.B

ecom

ing

mor

e co

mm

on a

lso

are

com

mun

ity c

olle

ges

whi

ch h

ave

mov

ed in

to c

lose

d sc

hool

s w

ith a

col

lege

prog

ram

des

igne

d to

mee

tth

e ne

eds

of th

e pe

ople

in th

e su

rrou

ndin

g co

mm

unity

.

Sha

ring

and

Ren

ting

A s

choo

l sys

tem

cou

ld k

eep

a bu

ildin

g op

en fo

r its

own

use

and

offs

et o

pera

ting

cost

s by

find

ing

appr

opria

te te

nant

s to

rent

sur

plus

spac

e in

the

build

ing.

With

com

mer

cial

offi

ce s

pace

leas

ing

for

the

rate

s it

does

, sch

ools

can

offe

r a

subs

tant

ial s

avin

gs to

cer

tain

type

sof

gro

ups

and

agen

cies

.E

xam

ples

of p

oten

tial t

enan

ts in

this

cat

e-go

ry c

ould

incl

ude

publ

ic n

onpr

ofit

agen

cies

(-s

uch

as th

e U

nite

dW

ay),

gov

ernm

enta

l gro

ups

and

com

mis

sion

s, a

ndso

me

priv

ate

grou

ps th

at o

pera

te o

n lim

ited

fund

s an

d fo

r w

hom

plu

sh o

ffice

spac

e is

not

a p

rime

cons

ider

atio

n.O

ther

pos

sibl

e us

ers

are

smal

lpr

ivat

e sc

hool

s an

d pr

e-sc

hool

s fo

r w

hom

the

spac

e is

usu

ally

idea

llysu

ited.

2°

The

se s

ame

type

s of

gro

ups

may

als

o le

ase

a w

hole

bui

ldin

g, o

r pa

rtof

a b

uild

ing

in c

onju

nctio

n w

ith o

ther

tena

nts.

Mul

tiple

use

of a

build

ing,

thou

gh p

rese

ntin

g se

curit

y pr

oble

ms

whi

chm

ust b

e ov

er-

com

e, m

ay b

e de

sira

ble

beca

use

ther

e ar

e us

ually

mor

e sm

all u

sers

than

larg

e us

ers.

Mul

tiple

leas

ing

may

ther

efor

e re

sult

in th

egr

eate

stfin

anci

al r

etur

n fo

r th

e sc

hool

dis

tric

t.21

Mix

ing

Sch

ool w

ith C

omm

unity

Sch

ool h

ouse

s ha

ve tr

aditi

onal

ly b

een

cent

ers

of c

omm

unity

act

ivity

.T

he n

eigh

borh

ood

focu

s an

d re

side

ntia

l loc

atio

n of

man

y sc

hool

39T

he A

dapt

ive

Use

of S

urpl

us S

choo

ls13