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School Facilities Services/Transportation Team

SCHOOL FACILITIES MANAGEMENT

 

Maintenance and Capital Improvement Program Overview


In 1998, the Maine State Legislature passed LD 2252 authorizing the Maine Department of Education (20-A §4001 and §15918) to require school administrative units to develop and implement a maintenance and capital improvement program for school buildings. These programs include elements like routine, preventive, and predictive maintenance and capital improvements such as replacement and upgrades of building components. Additionally, school administrative units should designate a certain percentage of their operating budgets toward maintenance and capital improvement programs. The Maine Department of Education has assisted schools with these efforts in terms of financial and technical assistance including web-based software and templates.


Funding from the State Revolving Renovation Fund (SRRF) was provided for the development and hosting of a web-based capital asset management database. The SRRF also provided funding for school systems for the initial evaluation of assets and subsequent input of that data.   In 2009 School Facility Management System (SFMS) software was purchased by the Department for use by districts.  The purpose of SFMS is to encourage Maine’s school districts to establish and practice sound management policies which develop, preserve, and protect capital facilities assets used for educational purposes. Educational facilities assets are long-term investments, which require long term management plans.  VFA, Inc. of Boston, MA is supplying VFA.facility and VFA.auditor software.  In order to access the SFMS software, school personnel must attend a training session hosted by the Department. Once the training session is complete, the attendee will receive a password, which will allow them to access their data and the features of the software.


The Maine Department of Education has established a guideline for school units to reinvest in capital renewal of their school buildings. The guideline establishes a benchmark of 2% of the current replacement value of the building. School systems are advised to appropriate this amount annually for building maintenance.   The School Facility Management System (SFMS) software and the State/Local Reinvestment Expectation (S/LRE) are intended to provide districts with a capital asset management tool and data in order to meet the expectation that districts are annually committing appropriate resources for the preservation of their facilities.


The Maine Department of Education has also created web-based maintenance templates for use by school units to assist with the evaluation and assessment of their facilities regarding custodial, operations, grounds, vehicle, and maintenance services.


For a more detailed explanation, refer to State Board of Education rules Chapter 64 – “Maine School Facilities Program and Revolving Renovation Fund.”

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School Facility Management System (SFMS)


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Free one-day SFMS training available to school facilities personnel.

 

DATE:  December 8, 2009

TIME:  8:15 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

LOCATION:  Augusta, Maine

REGISTRATION DEADLINE:  Friday, November 20, 2009

To register please go to:  https://vfa.webex.com/vfa/onstage/g.php?p=3&t=m

 


Connect to SFMS Software

 

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Facility Condition Assessment Cost Reimbursement

 

For those school units that had facility condition assessments conducted prior to December 31, 2007, and to date have only received reimbursement for one-half of the costs, you may be eligible for reimbursement of the second half of the costs.  Please review the requirements listed in the Reimbursement Form below.

 

Facility Condition Assessment Reimbursement Form - Due date:  May 31, 2010

 

 

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Maine School Facilities Maintenance Plan (MeSFMP)

 

Documents below are provided in Microsoft Word format. To view MS Word documents, you will need Microsoft Word or the free Word Viewer.


Definitions & Introduction

 

Custodial Services  (Microsoft Word format)


Grounds Services  (Microsoft Word format) 

Maintenance Services  (Microsoft Word format) 

Operations Services  (Microsoft Word format)

Vehicle Service  (Microsoft Word format) 

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Library of Useful Documents and Information

 

Playground Information and Guidelines (Updated May 27, 2004 )


U.S. Environmental Protection Agency - Healthy School Environments

National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities - Resource List

 

 

Carbon Footprint


The MAINE GREEN SCHOOLS - Energy Use/Greenhouse Gas Survey project is a collaborative effort between Maine DEP Bureau of Air Quality and the Maine Energy Education Program (MEEP).  This spreadsheet will help you calculate and document your energy use and greenhouse gas emissions: this is the first step to begin to make reductions.

 

Maine GHG School Template                               Maine GHG Administrative Buildings Template

 

Step 1:   Download excel spreadsheet, there is one spreadsheet for schools and one for administrative buildings;

Step 2:   Enter facility information, stationary fuel use, electricity data, school fleet and commuter fuel.  The spreadsheet will automatically do calculations and create graphs.  Click through the tabs to see what you have and if there is any additional information necessary.

Step 3:   Create an energy efficiency improvements wish list;

Step 4:   Generate a report to document energy management needs for administration, using the data from the spreadsheet;

Step 5:   Contact Efficiency Maine to see if you qualify for financial and technical assistance.

Step 6:   Update spreadsheet each year to document savings and emission reduction trends.

 

Contact Beth Otto at beth.otto@maine.gov or 207-287-6096 for additional assistance.

 

School Facility Management System (SFMS) carbon footprint entry – Amount to enter is found under the ”results” tab:  Total “GHG Emissions (lbs CO2 Equivalent)”.

 

Maine Green Schools' School Energy Self Audit Guide

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School Facilities Services Listserve

 

The School Facilities Services Team is sponsoring an email listserve for school facilities personnel.  The Department will use this list for providing State facilities updates.  School facilities staff can use the list for the exchange of ideas, questions and solutions.  To subscribe to the listserve, please visit:


http://mailman.informe.org/mailman/listinfo/schoolfacilities

 

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