Hopkins Public Schools in Minnesota consists of 13 facilities, totaling over 1.7 million square feet. In 2006, these facilities were showing their age, and ongoing operational and maintenance costs resulted in the need to utilize valuable general fund resources reactively.
Creating Conducive Learning Environments
The District’s facilities needed to be updated to provide educational environments more conducive to learning. Our SitelogIQ Midwest team began working with Hopkins Public Schools in 2006 with a goal to tackle critical facility improvements and deferred maintenance needs. The accumulation of deferred maintenance costs had led to a rise in energy expenditure and operational costs, a decline in air quality, and heightened difficulties in attracting students within a fiercely competitive open-enrollment environment.
With the guidance of our dedicated team, Hopkins Public Schools successfully qualified for the Department of Education’s Alternative Facilities Bonding and Levy Program. This pivotal step paved the way for the formulation of a 10-year master facilities plan geared towards effectively managing operating expenses while curbing tax hikes for district patrons.
Median Facility Age: 40+ years | District Square Ft: 1,826,831 |
No of Facilities: 13
Facilities:
Alice Smith Elementary
Eisenhower Community Center
Eisenhower Elementary
Gatewood Elementary
Glen Lake Elementary
Hopkins Early Childhood
Katherine Curren Elementary
L.H. Tanglen Elementary
Meadowbrook Elementary
Virtual EDU
North Middle School
West Middle School
Building a Master Facility Plan
To begin identifying and prioritizing facility improvements, SitelogIQ conducted a comprehensive facilities study to gain a thorough understanding of their existing conditions and asset improvement needs. The study helped identify a full list of projects that needed addressed as well as how to prioritize those projects based on their current condition, impact on learning environment, financial impact, and life safety.
“From the beginning, I was impressed with all of the SitelogIQ staff. Since then, I have come to depend on them for advice and information. They are always eager to help us and I feel they are willing to give us extra attention when we need it. Above all, I trust them implicitly; I consider them to be an extension of my own staff. This has meant a great deal to us at Hopkins School.”
Patrick Poquette, Supervisor of Buildings & Grounds, Hopkins Public Schools
With this information, SitelogIQ developed a long-term, master facility plan to address the aging infrastructure and update the electrical, mechanical, ventilation, and lighting systems throughout the District’s facilities to provide an affordable, sustainable atmosphere. Interior and exterior aesthetics were modernized with a new gymnasium and a remodeled, safe, and secure high school entrance.
The master facility plan and a budget-neutral facility reinvestment allowed the district to address both its short- and long-term facility needs and secure a viable future for the school.
Moreover, because of strategic financing and debt equalization, district taxpayers realized a reduction in taxes. SitelogIQ utilized its facility intelligence software, mySiteIQ, to help Hopkins Public Schools allocate their budget over an ongoing 10-year master facility plan to prioritize and tackle the critical facility improvement projects.
SitelogIQ and Hopkins Public Schools began making critical facility improvements to help tackle their deferred maintenance needs and create a warm, safe, and dry learning environment to remain operational and efficient.
A crucial aspect of the District’s transformation involved the reconfiguration of existing facilities to establish more dynamic learning spaces capable of adapting to evolving demographics, retaining current students, and enticing new enrollees in an increasingly cutthroat market.
Initial improvements to achieve warm, safe, and dry spaces included tuckpointing, mechanical ventilation improvements, roofing improvements, window replacements, domestic water piping improvements, chiller improvements, systems upgrades (life safety, fire alarms, and EMS).
The outcomes of these efforts have accumulated in over $240 million invested in facility enhancement initiatives over the past two decades.
Across the past two decades, the District also completed numerous projects to upgrade each of its buildings, including:
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These endeavors empowered Hopkins Public Schools to rank among school districts with the lowest annual operating expenses slashing costs by an impressive 22% and broadening program offerings across the entire district. Collaborating closely with district leadership, SitelogIQ played a pivotal role in crafting a comprehensive long-term master facility management strategy.
From Reactive to Proactive Facility Maintenance
Today, SitelogIQ continues to partner with Hopkins Public Schools to assist with maintaining and improving the quality and safety of their schools by addressing critical infrastructure needs that support their master facility plan. With the mySiteIQ tool, Hopkins Public Schools is able to store and update their facility condition assessments, identify and prioritize infrastructure projects.
Central to this ongoing transformation, the master facility management plan undergoes regular review, updates, and annual approval
by both the school board and the Minnesota Department of Education. Securing endorsement from the Minnesota Department of Education for participation in the Alternative Facilities Bonding and Levy program was a significant milestone for the district. This critical initiative unlocked essential funding vital for revitalizing 11 key facilities within the district, marking a significant stride towards the sustained enhancement of Hopkins Public Schools’ educational infrastructure and environment.