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<br />School Construction Standards <br />County/School Collaboration Work Group Apri12007 Update <br />Orange County's current elementary and middle school construction standards have <br />been in place since 1996, and its high school standards since 1999. While these <br />standards have served as a model for many schools constructed in both the Chapel Hill- <br />Carrboro City and the Orange County Schools, it has become increasingly difficult to <br />adhere to the standards due to economic factors such as rising construction costs as <br />well as educational reforms such as changes in state mandated class sizes for grades <br />kindergarten through third. In addition, land use regulations and environmental <br />considerations that incorporate sustainable building components and smart growth <br />elements are becoming more prevalent in the construction industry. Two separate <br />School Facilities Task Forces, convened in 2000 and 2002, identified a number of <br />standards that required clarification and/or updating (e.g. baseline estimates for per <br />square foot cost, an appropriate inflation factor, percentage of project budget that <br />should be set aside for contingency, etc.). To that end, the Boards of County <br />Commissioners and Education recognized the need to update and refine Orange <br />County's current School Construction Standards, and last year requested that the <br />School/County Collaboration Work Group review existing School Construction <br />Standards with the intent of bringing them more in line with today's practices, <br />regulations, and construction market. <br />At the time that Orange Commissioners adopted the County's existing School <br />Construction Standards, the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI) <br />had Facilities Standards in place that established minimum construction criteria for <br />individual school districts to adhere to when they constructed new facilities or renovated <br />older ones. Since that time, the State has moved away from the "standards concept" <br />and now has "Facilities Guidelines" in place. <br />While the intent of the Guidelines remains consistent with the previously enacted State <br />Standards - to ensure that school systems provide adequate space for instructional <br />classes and activities -the Guidelines now allow for flexibility and allow for more <br />consideration of local situations such as availability of land or other limitations that <br />school districts may face. <br />The report that follows offers the Work Group's proposal. <br />4 <br />