Act 72 School Facilities Assessment

In 2023 the Agency of Education completed the first statewide facilities assessment for all of Vermont's public school buildings. This assessment marks the beginning of a statewide program to support the management and improvement of school facilities as a key part of the Agency of Education's mission to ensure that all Vermont learners have equitable access to high-quality learning opportunities.

Resources

Contact Information

For questions regarding the facilities assessment reports, please contact Bob Donohue, AOE Facilities Program Manager, at bob.donohue@vermont.gov.

You may access and download a facilities assessment report(s) through the School Facilities Assessment webpage.

FAQs

Overview

Why did the Agency of Education undertake a statewide assessment of all public school facilities?

In 2007 state aid for school construction was suspended. This suspension has contributed to a growing backlog of deferred maintenance and renovation projects in Vermont’s public schools and a lack of support and oversight at the state level.

In 2021, the Vermont General Assembly enacted Act 72 to address the needs and conditions of public-school facilities. Act 72 required that the Agency of Education conduct a facilities assessment of the statewide portfolio of public school buildings. This assessment was completed in 2023 and district facilities assessment reports were sent out in early November, 2023.

How will the Facilities Assessments be used?

The facilities assessment gathered baseline data on the overall health of school facilities. In Act 72, the General Assembly recognized that districts are not equally resourced. Therefore, the statewide assessment has allowed for all school districts to have equitable access to a comparable assessment methodology. The data generated from the facilities assessment work will serve two primary purposes:

Help the state understand the varying facility conditions of school buildings, both within districts and across districts. This data may inform the General Assembly should it undertake a state school construction aid program.
Facilitate access to data. The state, and by extension the districts, will have access to the facilities database in perpetuity. This database will be critically important for all districts as they develop the 5-Year Capital Improvement Plans required in Act 72 and actively update the database as renovations and upgrades are undertaken. The database will enable long-term planning for replacement reserve capital expenditures as schools and the AOE move towards implementing proactive and preventive maintenance initiatives.

How detailed or specific are the facilities assessments?

Every public school building (or campus) will receive a facilities assessment and access to the database. By design, the statewide facilities assessment is intended to be the beginning of a long- term effort to address deficiencies in school facilities. The reports that SU/SDs receive are an assessment that capture a specific point in time using established industry standards and definitions. These assessments capture a high-level view and are not intended to have great specificity. They also provide a means for relative ranking of buildings across a large portfolio of buildings.

Our district already completed a comprehensive facilities assessment. Does the statewide assessment replace the district report?

No. By intention, the statewide assessment capture a high-level view and are not intended to have great specificity. SU/SDs that have undertaken facilities assessments on their own to prepare for potential construction projects or long term capital planning, the data generated from this current round of assessments can be viewed as supplemental. Completed assessments tied to construction planning are much more detailed than the statewide facilities assessments.

Where will all the information collected through the statewide Facilities Assessment be stored?

All the information collected will be stored in a database called Asset Calc that the state will have full use of in perpetuity.

How will SU/SDs use the information in the Facilities Assessments?

The results of the study will help the SU/SD’s:

To understand the condition of their buildings relative to each other
To inform decisions about where to target investments
To construct 5-year capital plans as identified in Act 72
To maintain current information about their facilities in the future

How will the information be kept current?

SU/SD’s will have access to their data in an on-line database and software for viewing and planning purposes. As systems are replaced, added or removed, or as new buildings are constructed, the systems and their condition and cost data will be updated and maintained within the database.

Definitions

What is a Facilities Condition Assessment (FCA)?

A Facilities Condition Assessment or (FCA) is a systematic process of evaluating each of the major systems that make up and provide service to a building. Outcomes or products of an FCA are an estimated cost of a Deferred Maintenance backlog (DM), a Facility Condition Index (FCI) and a Depleted Value Index.

What is Deferred Maintenance (DM)?

Deferred Maintenance (DM) is the cost of the systems serving the building that have failed or pose an immediate risk of failure.

What is the Current Replacement Value (CRV)?

The Current Replacement Value (CRV) is the cost value of the major systems that comprise and provide service to a building. The CRV is intended to establish a raw value of all major components and is not intended to represent the cost of building a school.

What is the FCI?

The FCI is the Facility Condition Index. It is the ratio of Deferred Maintenance to the Current Replacement Value (CRV). It can be viewed as a percentage of the building systems that have failed or are at risk of failure.

FCI Ranges and descriptions:

0-5%: In new or well-maintained condition, with little or no visual evidence of wear or deficiencies
5-10%: Subjected to wear but is still in a serviceable and functioning condition.
10-30%: Subjected to hard or long -term wear. Nearing the end of its useful or serviceable life.
30% and above: Has reached the end of its useful or serviceable life. Renewal is now necessary.

What is the Depleted Value Index?

The Depleted Value index is a measure of the building’s overall amount of consumed system life. The Depleted Value FCI ratings scale indicates the estimated condition of the system. Like FCI, the higher the Depleted Value, the greater the need to repair or replace building systems.

What is the difference between FCI and Depleted Value?

FCI is a measure of the amount of Deferred Maintenance (systems serving the building that have failed or pose an immediate risk of failure). Depleted Value Index is a measure of how much of the collective system life has been consumed by time, on a percentage basis (0% to 100%).

What is Expected Useful Life (EUL)?

Expected Useful Life is the estimated number of total years a new system can be expected to perform in service before requiring replacement.

What is Remaining Useful Life (RUL)?

RUL is the estimated number of years until a system will need to be replaced as of the date assessed or observed. When a system is new, the EUL and the RUL will be equal.

What is a Condition Rating?

Condition ratings are descriptive terms used to indicate the operating state of an asset. Condition ratings generally correlate with the Remaining Useful Life (RUL) where a lower RUL will generally indicate worse overall condition.

Condition Ratings and descriptions:

Excellent: New or very close to new; component or system typically has been installed within the past year, sound and performing its function. Eventually repair or replacement will be required when the component or system either reaches the end of its useful life or fails in service.
Good: Satisfactory as-is. Component or system is sound and performing its function, typically within the first third of it’s lifecycle. However, it may show minor signs of normal wear and tear. Repair or replacement will be required when the component or system either reaches the end of its useful life or fails in service.
Fair: Showing signs of wear and use but still satisfactory as-is, typically near the median of its estimated useful life. Component or system is performing adequately at this time but may exhibit some signs of wear, deferred maintenance, or evidence of previous repairs. Repair or replacement will be required due to the component or system’s condition and/or its estimated remaining useful life.
Poor: Component or system is significantly aged, flawed, functioning intermittently or unreliably; displays obvious signs of deferred maintenance; shows evidence or previous repair or workmanship not in compliance with commonly accepted standards; has become obsolete; or exhibits an inherent deficiency. The present condition could contribute to our cause the deterioration of contiguous elements of systems. Either full component replacement is needed, or repairs are required to restore to good condition, prevent premature failure, and/or prolong useful life.
Failed: Component or system has ceased functioning or performing as intended. Replacement, repair, or other significant corrective action is recommended or required.
Not Applicable: Assigning a condition does not apply or make logical sense, most commonly due to the item in question not being present.

What is a Plan Type?

The Plan Type is the primary reason or rational for why a system is being recommended for replacement.

Plan Types and descriptions:

Safety: An observed or reported unsafe condition that if left unaddressed could result in injury; a system or component that presents potential liability risk.
Performance/Integrity: Component or system has failed, is almost failing, performs unreliably, does not perform as intended, and/or poses risk to overall system stability.
Accessibility: Does not meet ADA, UFAS, Safety and/or other handicap accessibility requirements.
Environmental: Improvements to air or water quality, including removal of hazardous materials from the building or site.
Retrofit/Adaption: Components, systems, or spaces recommended for upgrades in in order to meet current standards, facility usage, or client/occupant needs.
Lifecycle/Renewable: Any component or system that is not currently deficient or problematic but for which future replacement or repair is anticipated and budgeted.

What are Immediate Needs?

Immediate Needs are line items that require immediate action as a result of: (1) material existing or potential unsafe conditions, (2) failed or imminent failure of mission critical building systems or components, or (3) conditions that, if not addressed, have the potential to result in, or contribute to, critical element or system failure within one year or will most probably result in a significant escalation of its remedial cost.

What are Key Findings?

Key Findings typically include repairs or replacements of deficient items within the first five-year window, as well as the most significant high-dollar line items that fall anywhere within the ten-year term. Note that while there is some subjectivity associated with identifying the Key Findings, the Immediate Needs are always included as a subset.

Why is my Current Replacement Value (CRV) $250 per Square Foot?

The CRV is used to estimate the value of the collective systems being evaluated in the FCA process. It is used in the calculation of the Facilities Condition Index to gauge relative condition and to allow for “apples to apples” comparisons across systems and across buildings in a district or statewide portfolio.

However, this cost is only a one-to-one replacement cost (often referred to as “hard costs”) and does not include “soft costs” like labor, upgrades to meet new building code requirements or achieve new efficiencies, or the hidden costs that often arise when systems are replaced.

The AOE acknowledges that actual construction costs are much higher in today’s environment of high inflation and a tight market for labor and equipment.

What cost value should a district use for future planning, if not the $250 per Square Foot?

To support school capital expenditure planning processes, the AOE is working with our vendor to provide cost tables that reflect the current market conditions for construction and will provide districts with these cost tables in January 2024. These costs will be based on conversations with a variety of industry experts and reflect recent construction projects in Vermont. The AOE is also researching construction cost index changes over time to come up with a rate of inflation that better reflects the current environment that can be applied when districts are forecasting future expenditures.