Healthy Community Design
Updated September 2005
School Siting: How Far Away Makes Sense?
NCSL 2005 Annual Meeting
Where schools are built can have major financial, transportation, land use and public health consequences. This session will examine the factors that influence whether a new school goes up on the edge of town or an older school is rebuilt in the center of an existing community.
Moderator: Senator Barbara Cegavske, Nevada [Opening remarks]
Speakers: John DelVecchio, Maine State Planning Office, Augusta, Maine [Slide Show]
Neal Kaufman, M.D., Professor of Pediatrics and Public Health, UCLA Schools of Medicine and Public Health, Los Angeles, California [Slide Show]
David Peterson, Director of Operations, Mesa Public Schools, Mesa, Arizona [Slide Show]
Resources
"The ABC's of School Site Selection"
(Maine Department of Education; State Board of Education; State Planning Office and Department of Administrative and Financial Services; Bureau of General Services, 2000)
This brochure outlines the steps to take when making decisions about school siting: 1)consider renovation or expansion in a central location; 2)follow community's comprehensive plan; 3)site ancillary facilities such as playing fields creatively; 4) select a site where students can walk or cycle to school; 5) use existing services and facilities; 6) tap into community resources to plan school expansion; and 7) consult with site selection experts. This brochure urges school districts to avoid sprawl; consider school renovations or expansions in central locations; analyze school sites for their proximity to village centers and established neighborhoods; and select sites served by adequate roads, utilities, and other essential services.
TO ORDER: Maine Department of Education, 23 State House Station, Augusta, ME 04333. Tel: 207-624-6600.
"Schools for Successful Communities: An Element of Smart Growth"
Council of Education Facility Planners International, United States Environmental Protection Agency (September 2004)
This report examines how communities can employ smart growth planning principles to build schools that may better serve and support students, staff, parents, and the entire community.
"School Site Size-How Many Acres Are Necessary?"
Weihs, Janell
(Council of Educational Facility Planners International, Scottsdale, AZ , Sep 2003)
This fact sheet summarizes CEFPI's acreage guidelines for elementary, middle and high schools; lists the acreage requirement formulas for all fifty states; and provides contact information, comments and documentation resources for each state. Information was collected from state facility reports and manuals and verified through direct contact with personnel from state educational agencies and practitioners.
"New Schools for Older Neighborhoods"
This publication, produced by the Local Government Commission and the National Association of Realtors, focuses on new and innovative approaches to create good new schools in existing neighborhoods.
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