Summary

The Summary Phase is intended to present the results of the Master Planning efforts.  These results are to assist with developing the project priorities. The following summary data is provided:

1. Summary of Master Plan costs.  This section includes the district-wide summary of the master planning needs. These are a Rough Order of Magnitude costs (or unit costs) that have been derived from current bid data with the assistance of H.L. Construction, Inc.  The cost also includes anticipated soft costs (targeted at 27% of the hard construction costs), contingencies and escalation. The escalation number is preset at 4.5% per year to mid-point of program (anticipated to span ten years).  Escalation costs change monthly and reflect the economy which is affected by elements such as inflation, recession, tariffs or trade wars.
2. The summary table includes the Master Plan costs, Facility Repair costs and potential State of California matching funds available by school.
3. Click on the “VIEW INTERACTIVE SUMMARY OF MASTER PLAN COSTS” to have the ability to view the costs through any of the cost categories (modernization only, new construction only, site work only, elementary schools only, etc.).  This tool is intended so visitors to this site can see how costs are compiled and what the costs are for specific areas of interest.
4. Facility Repair Costs.  These are derived from the Facility Assessment Reports.  They represent the anticipated maintenance and repair costs for each campus for the next twenty (20) years.  These costs are separated into three categories:

a. Seismic Repair Costs (AB 300) – This is a list of buildings that were determined by the Division of the State Architect to require structural analysis due to the age and building type.

b. Immediate Needs – Items identified that require immediate action as a result of potential unsafe conditions, failed or imminent failure of mission critical building system or conditions that may have the potential to result in critical element or system failure.

c. Replacement Reserves – Cost for recurring probable renewals or expenditures, which are not classified as operation or maintenance expenses.  

Click on the “VIEW INTERACTIVE SUMMARY OF FACILITY REPAIR COSTS” to view specific components of the assessment costs.

Finally, there is an“EXECUTIVE SUMMARY” of the findings and observations of the Facilities Master Plan.

Community Survey Results

Cost Summary

Facility Repairs Costs

Implementation

The implementation strategy and plan is still under development. Check back soon for updates.

Executive Summary

A Long Range Facilities Master Plan (LRFMP) is an important part of the Escondido Union School District’s planning for future facility improvements. The primary element of this endeavor is to ‘right-size’ the district’s facilities in alignment with the projected district enrollment.  To achieve this goal, the LRFMP team visited each site to record the current use of all existing instructional space and the amount of time each space is utilized for educational activities.  This process allowed us to calculate the existing capacity at each campus and compare it to the projected future enrollment through 2025 (prepared by Davis Demographics).  Using the demographic study, we began developing the campus specific master plans correctly sized for the district’s future enrollment projections. 

The ongoing operations and maintenance costs for the district is directly proportionate to the amount of facilities in the district’s inventory.  To best utilize district’s financial resources, it is imperative that the district not maintain and operate surplus facilities not needed to deliver the district’s educational goals.  To determine the probable cost of maintenance expenditures, the LRFMP team conducted a thorough Facilities Condition Assessment of each campus to identify these project cost for the next twenty years (the projected timeline for which most major building components will need to be replaced). 

Some Important data and results of this LRFMP effort are:

1. Relocatable Classrooms – The district has a total of 549 permanent classrooms and 435 relocatable classrooms.  Thus, relocatables account for 44% of the district’s available educational space.  One of the primary objectives of this LRFMP is to replace or remove the relocatables at all the district’s school sites.  Relocatables are less efficient to maintain and operate than permanent buildings and have a substantial reduced useful lifespan.
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2. Enrollment Projections – The district’s current 2018-2019 enrollment for the district was 15,977 students.  The 2025 projected enrollment is 13,210 students, a decline of 2,767 students.  This indicates that the district will continue to experience declining enrollment at nearly all its campuses.  It is important to note that most of California school districts are experiencing a similar decline in enrollment.
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   Our approach to planning for the declining enrollment was to size the schools according to the projected enrollment for each school.  As an additional consideration, the district may explore the plausibility of consolidating some of its existing campuses to further reduce the district’s operational expenditures.  
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3. Facilities Funding Sources – The LRFMP team has identified that the district is eligible for $50,989,815 of modernization matching funds through the State School Facilities Program.  These funds must be matched by district funds (60% state/40% district).  The district is considering the pursuit of a General Obligation Bond to qualify for the available state funding.
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   Often questions are asked about how much a school bond would impact property taxes.  To answer this question, we have included a tool on the “Discovery” section of this master plan where you can find out what the maximum impact would be on your property tax.  Go to the Demographic portion of the Discovery tab and click on the “EUSD TAX ASSESSMENT MAP – FIND YOUR ASSESSED VALUATION”.  Zoom in on the map until you can clearly distinguish the parcel you are interested in, click on that parcel, and the calculated tax will pop up.
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4. Priorities – We have developed a Summary of our findings to assist with prioritizing the LRFMP.   With all Long Range Facilities Master Plans, the identified need is always greater than the available funding.  To help prioritize how to best spend the funding available, we have developed a matrix of data for the district to use in their prioritization process.  The matrix can be sorted by any criteria listed.  Depending on the importance of each criteria, the projects with the most need can be identified and prioritized through this open and transparent tool.
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5. ‍Educational Specifications – DLR Group has updated the district’s educational specifications.  We have included a square footage recommendation to each type of space and an adjacency requirement (if applicable).  The spaces are organized by size, how each space is intended to be used, the types of materials to be used, and the preferred furniture, equipment, and technology.
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   Although there are new construction projects proposed at several sites, the educational specifications take into consideration that most of the future work will be implemented primarily in existing buildings consisting of traditional-sized classrooms.  Our approach was to use a full-size classroom (960 gross square feet) as our base and create the additional specified spaces by dividing these spaces into the desired size (480 square feet, 240 square feet, and 120 square feet).  
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   Spaces outlined in the educational specifications are developed with gross square feet.  This is measured from center-line of walls and includes elements such a mechanical chases, structural elements and wall thickness.  The actual usable square footage or ‘net’ square footage is often 5-8% less that the gross square footage. 

A great deal of work and collaboration went into producing this Long Range Facilities Master Plan for the Escondido Union School District. DLR Group very much appreciated the opportunity to assist with such an important endeavor.  We are confident this material will greatly benefit the district as it moves forward with the planning of its future facility needs.