Question 1

How many years has SchoolWorks, Inc. been in business?"

Accepted Answer

SchoolWorks, Inc. was founded in 2002 and has been in business for 16 years.  Our founder Ken Reynolds has been in the facility planning industry for over 25 years.

Question 2

How can I pay for the services provided by SchoolWorks, Inc.?"

Accepted Answer

Most districts utilize their developer fee funds to pay for the majority of our services.  Our eligibility clients can use funds they receive from the State for projects.

Question 3

Do I have to charge the maximum developer fee shown in the study?

Accepted Answer

No.  The study (either Level 1 or Level 2) simply states the maximum the district can charge.  The School Board may decide to implement a lower fee.

Question 4

What are the developer fee public notice requirements?

Accepted Answer

When implementing or increasing Level 1 fees, there must be a public notice at least 14 days before the board meeting.  For Level 2 fees, the requirement is a 30 day public notice. The notice must be posted, and published in a local paper.  SchoolWorks, Inc. provides a detailed timeline and sample resolution with each study.

Question 5

What is a demographic study?

Accepted Answer

It is an in depth analysis for the school districts enrollment and attendence data to determine the historic trends and attendance patterns in order to forcast or project future enrollment.  It also takes into account birth rate data, census data, and new housing data.

Question 6

How many years into the future should I look when doing enrollment projections?

Accepted Answer

Many districts need to look a minimum of three years for budget purposes.  One and two year projections are helpful for determining staffing needs and also indicate if there are facility overcrowding issues that need to be addresses.  Looking out five or six years is useful to determine if a new school or an addition to a school is needed.  The further you look into the future, the less accurate the projections will be as their is a higher likelihood of the trends changing.  SchoolWorks, Inc. typically projects six years into the future and averages a 1% or less error rate in the one year projections.

Question 7

How much money can my school district get from the State Building Program to build a school?

Accepted Answer

For new construction projects, the State pays a grant amount that assumes 50% is paid by the district and 50% by the State.  However, the State funding is a grant amount based on an eligibility formula and is not based on 50% of the actual cost of the facility.  Therefore, for most projects the State funding averages around 40% of the total cost of the school.

Question 8

What can my school district do with modernization funding?

Accepted Answer

Modernization projects include various scopes of work.  Many of the projects include items such as lighting, plumbing, HVAC, classroom interiors, restrooms, ADA accessibility, electrical upgrades for technology, doors and windows.  You should have an architect to determine what is needed and what can be accomplished within the funds available.

Question 9

How does a school district qualify for financial hardship funds?

Accepted Answer

If the district has eligibility for projects but does not have the local funds to match the State contribution, you may qualify for hardship assistance.  The standard test is to have current capital facility debt in the amount of 60% of the district's bonding capacity.  Typical debt sources are local GO bonds or COP's.  County Offices of Education are not required to meet this debt requirement.  The amount of hardship assistance provided by the State will depend on how much local money is available for the projects and therefore how much money is needed by the district based on the State definition of the project budgets.

Facility Problem Solvers

Frequently Asked Questions