Prioritization model for rehabilitation of public school buildings in California

The condition of the nation's kindergarten through 12th (K-12) grade public school buildings is considered to be in bad shape. To bring back the condition of the American K-12 schools to an acceptable level, it is estimated that about $320 billion may be required. As a starting effort, $40 billion was allocated by the Federal Government to improve the current condition of public school buildings. To properly manage the expenditure of this fund, a prioritization system is required. Existing school prioritization systems in the State of California are based on the subjective judgment of decision-makers and their manual interpretation and manipulation of data collected by their subordinates. This current prioritization practice lacks a structured methodology that rationalizes its outcomes. It may also lead to misleading conclusions, and accordingly, misuse of available resources, especially in challenging cases where the conditions of multiple school buildings may be very similar. This article presents a computer-based prioritization system for the rehabilitation of school buildings in the State of California. The system augments the current school condition data collection process, uses the experience of industry experts, and assists in allocating rehabilitations funds in a rational manner that assures addressing the most deteriorated schools.