Facility Condition Assessment Report At-A-Glance

What does this report accomplish?

This report is a systemwide assessment of 41 APS (Arlington Public Schools) facilities to address building system needs and potential opportunities to modernize existing buildings. This report will help inform current and future Capital Improvement Plans (CIPs).

What was evaluated at each school site?

Consultants compiled detailed information about each school and assessed building characteristics (educational spaces/common spaces) and major building systems’ condition:

• Major building systems (plumbing, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC), roofing, etc.)
• Educational spaces (classroom size, available pull-out spaces, operable windows, )
• Common spaces (cafeteria, gym, outdoor spaces, )

What will we do with this information?

We will prioritize, schedule, and fund future improvements to our school facilities. This is work that will occur over many years and may be organized into three distinct categories below.

Minor construction and major maintenance, or what APS calls “MC/MM”

• • Includes things like replacing flooring, painting, replacing playgrounds and turf fields, and medium-sized HVAC projects.
  • These are replacement and improvement projects not large enough to require bond funding, but too large to be dealt with through the routine maintenance that is included in our annual operating budget.

Major infrastructure improvements

• • Things like completely replacing an HVAC system, roofing, or
  • Typically requires bond funding due to pricing above $500,000.
  • Improvements are expected to have a useful life range of 10 – 20

Major renovation and/or reconstruction

• • Here, it is often the case that the school’s educational spaces and/or common spaces are inadequate, and we need to do more significant, intensive
  • This work requires significant funding dependent on project

How soon can we make improvements? 

MC/MM: Annual process, separate from the Capital Improvement Plan (CIP)

• • A committee, to include members from APS Facilities & Operations, Finance, Principals, and the FAC, meets to study and recommend projects to be undertaken with available funding.

Major infrastructure improvements: Part of the Capital Improvement Plan (CIP)

• • The CIP is updated every two years and provides a roadmap of when projects will occur over a ten-year period.
  • CIP projects typically funded through bonds approved by Arlington
  • Some of the major infrastructure improvements identified in this recent study may be included in the proposed FY2025-34 CIP, while others may need to be considered in future CIPs (FY2027-36).

Major renovation and/or reconstruction: “Deep dive” studies will be proposed for theFY2025-34 CIP.

• • “Deep dive” studies also known as Feasibility Studies provide more detailed information about how the school should be renovated and/or reconstructed, and they help us estimate total project cost.
  • Each study takes 9-12 months; multiple studies can be done in
  • We usually include these studies in our Capital Improvement Plan. We expect to schedule and allocate funding for 5-10 feasibility studies in the proposed FY2025-34 CIP finalized in June 2024.
  • The proposed FY2025-34 CIP will include only the feasibility studies for 5-10 schools identified as needing major renovation and/or reconstruction.
  • We will incorporate some of the actual renovation and construction work, based on the results of the feasibility studies, in the next CIP (FY2027-36).

What about swing space?

The Facility Condition Assessment Report does not address swing space. Swing space may be needed at some point in the future, and the feasibility (deep dive) studies for schools needing major renovation and/or reconstruction will inform staff if/when swing space will be needed.