Safe and secure facilities that foster learning are crucial to providing quality education services, and developing and maintaining these facilities requires considerable resources and organization. Facility information systems allow education organizations to collect and manage data that can be used to inform and guide decisionmaking about the…

Proper planning of school facilities is critical for all school districts no matter how large or small, whether major construction is in the works or the district is managing enrollment declines. When school districts properly plan for their school facilities they have better schools, more public use and higher value for public spending. This…

This "Integrated Pest Management Toolkit for Early Care and Education Programs" presents practical information about using integrated pest management (IPM) to prevent and manage pest problems in early care and education programs. This curriculum will help people in early care and education programs learn how to keep pests out of early…

As more institutions respond to the American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment, or are otherwise responsible for campus environmental stewardship, this implementation guide gives educational facilities professionals a practical framework for moving forward in their unique role within this process. The intent is to help facilities…

While a number of excellent campus climate planning resources are available, this guide attempts to fill a gap by providing an abundance of "how-to" information. The goal of the guide is to assist climate action planning teams at schools that are well versed in campus climate issues and well along in the CAP (Climate Action Planning) process as…

The planning guide was developed to help readers better understand why and how to develop, implement, and evaluate a school facilities maintenance plan. The guide is designed for staff at the local school district level, where most facility maintenance is planned, managed, and carried out. This audience includes school business officials, school…

Facility management today is the management of increasingly complex processes with an increasing number of team members. Facility managers must become leaders. (MLF)

Presents background information on the 1998 recipient of the third annual National School Plant Manager of the Year award and those receiving honorable mentions. The recipients are described as exemplifying the evolving role of the school facilities manager. (GR)

Discusses facility managers' preparedness for dealing with the Y2K bug and ways to systematically assess and avoid its impact. Tips for reducing computerized system failure as facility managers make their transition into the next century conclude the article. (GR)

Explores reasons for the decline in the number of fires in college and university residence halls and describes a four-pronged program called PODS (Prevention, Occupant awareness, Detection, and Suppression) to help administrators organize fire-prevention efforts. (EV)

Provides decision-making tips when selecting facilities management software for colleges and universities. It advises to get a program that fits a prepared plan, pay attention to user friendliness, negotiate for changes and modifications in the vendor contract, test run the program before buying it, and determine a vendor's service level…

Discusses buying building products from vendors and how to make the job more productive and beneficial for the facilities manager. Examines building/vendor relationships, establishing product knowledge, and using effective communication. (GR)

Discusses the trend in using intelligent-building technologies to achieve operating efficiencies and cost savings. Explains what an intelligent building is, defines some of the terms, and discusses how the user-friendly aspects of these systems are helping schools convert to them. (GR)

Presents two interviews in which university facilities managers discuss the pros and cons of outsourcing. Outsourcing is presented as one way to cut costs, but one expert warns that administrators may mistakenly use outsourcing as a temporary solution that entails few savings. Describes some of the reasons behind outsourcing and the challenges it…

Examines an approach to school maintenance budgeting that can improve the ability of schools to obtain maintenance and repair funds. The approach is based on the use of the Facilities Condition Index as a budgeting tool, where maintenance is viewed as keeping the physical value of facilities as close to 100% of replacement cost as possible. (GR)