The quality of facilities management shapes the conditions of school buildings and outcomes for students and staff
Facilities management is one of the least visible functions in a school district, but it’s one of the most consequential for the condition, safety, and longevity of school buildings. Effective facilities management encompasses a wide range of functions: maintaining and operating building systems day-to-day, planning and overseeing capital projects, managing procurement and contracts, coordinating across facilities, finance, and academic departments, and building the institutional knowledge needed to make sound decisions over time.
Staffing and workforce capacity are foundational. Districts with well-trained, adequately resourced facilities professionals are better positioned to plan proactively, execute projects effectively, and avoid the costly reactive maintenance cycles that result from deferred attention. Data systems and facility condition assessments play an increasingly important role, giving managers and senior leaders the information they need to prioritize repairs, track performance, and make the case for investment to boards and communities. Clear governance structures and coordinated decision-making matter too: when roles are well-defined and departments work in alignment, capital projects move more efficiently and resources are less likely to be misallocated.
Many districts, particularly smaller and less-resourced ones, face real constraints in building this kind of management capacity, making state support, technical assistance, and peer learning networks valuable complements to local effort. Ultimately, the quality of facilities management shapes not just the condition of school buildings, but the degree to which those buildings can reliably serve the students, staff, and communities that depend on them.
Explore resources available in the NCSI library.
Guide/Tool
National Center on School Infrastructure (NCSI), National Council on School Facilities (NCSF), Sturtz & Company
This Facility Condition Assessment (FCA) Manual provides guidance for conducting FCAs, including action steps for assessing exterior and interior conditions, as well as mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems. The accompanying Excel-based FCA Workbook is a tool for compiling and analyzing building data.
Guide/Tool
National Center on School Infrastructure (NCSI)
Watch this webinar, hosted by NCSI on October 21, 2025, to learn about Facility Condition Assessments (FCAs), which evaluate a school’s physical conditions and functional performance.
Voices from the field
Mary Filardo, Executive Director, 21st Century School Fund
Mary Filardo, Executive Director of the 21st Century School Fund, explains how the stewardship key performance indicator (SKPI) can be used by school districts and states to create practical benchmarks for maintaining and renewing public school facilities.
This report evaluates custodial staffing and cleanliness standards across California public schools, identifying significant maintenance deficiencies that risk student safety. It analyzes discrepancies in self-reported Facility Inspection Tool scores and recommends legislative and administrative reforms to funding models and oversight processes to ensure school facilities remain in good repair.
Case Study/Exemplar
BPS IAQ Management Team
The Boston Public Schools Facilities Management plan ensures buildings are welcoming, safe, and clean by overseeing repairs, security, and maintenance of 125 schools and other administrative sites. It emphasizes indoor air quality (IAQ) to promote health, safety, and optimal learning environments.
Do you have a suggestion for a resource that should be included in our library?
Minnesota
Isanti-Chisago County Star – April 30, 2026
With the voter rejection of Cambridge-Isanti Schools’ bond referendum last November, the district is being forced to pick and choose which long-term facilities maintenance projects will be tackled, plus when such projects will take place. According to Finance Director Chris Kampa, at the time of the referendum, the district was looking at $45 million in…
Connecticut
New Haven Register – April 18, 2026
The New Haven Public Schools may soon employ its own staff to help with managing the district’s facilities. Since 2022, the district has outsourced the work of taking care of its facilities to a contractor. However, Paul Whyte, the district’s chief of school operations, told the Board of Education that this has brought some challenges,…
National
NEREJ.com – March 25, 2026
In the world of institutional management, the calendar is deceptive. We talk about summer maintenance, but from an electrical perspective, the most critical work happens while the snow is still melting. The months of March and April are the best strategic window for your facility to plan for the summer. The difference between a chaotic…