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Facility Master Planning

Facilities Steering Committee

Starting in January 2016, Piedmont Unified’s Facilities Steering Committee has been meeting regularly to review the District’s educational goals and Facilities Master Plan, consider various concept designs and preliminary budgets, and develop recommendations concerning implementation of the Master Plan.

The Steering Committee’s mandate has been to: study the Facilities Master Plan; help develop various options to prioritize and phase the work in anticipation of one or more facilities bond measures; scrutinize detailed cost estimates developed by District staff in conjunction with general contractors specializing in school construction; and develop recommendations for the Board of Education. The Committee was guided by considerations of how to accomplish the most pressing educational goals and how to get the best value for the investment of bond funds.

On March 20, 2016, at the PUSD Board of Education Meeting, the Facilities Steering Committee unanimously recommended that the Board of Education seek voter approval of $66 million in bonds at the November 2016 general election, to allow the District to address some of the most critical educational objectives and building deficiencies identified in the Facilities Master Plan.

The following is a link to the PUSD Facilities Steering Committee Recommendation.

The Facilities Steering Committee plays a significant role in bringing community viewpoints and professional expertise into the management and oversight of the District’s capital projects. The Committee, which has changed in composition over time, now consists of: Grier Graff; Brad Hebert; Robert Hendrickson; John Gibbs;  Angel Fierro; Rick Raushenbush; Doug Ireland: Rebecca Posamentier; Clark Thiel; Jason Meil; John Welch; Julie Moll; John Lambert; Stacy Merickel and Bernard Pech. District staff who serve on the Committee include: Assistant Superintendent Ruth Alahydoian; Director of Facilities Pete Palmer; and Board of Education Members Hillary Cooper and Cory Smegal. This group represents a diversity of viewpoints about how best to implement the Facilities Master Plan.

Facility Master Plan

The Facilities Master Plan process combines the goals of PUSD’s Education Specifications and the information collected by the design team (including facility assessments) into a comprehensive plan for the schools of the Piedmont Unified School District. The main product of the facility needs assessment and Facilities Master Plan is a detailed proposal for renovations and/or additions to be made at each school campus.

Click on the following link for the PUSD Facilities Master Plan: 

Piedmont Unified School District Master Plan - Part I

Piedmont Unified School District Master Plan - Part 2 (with appendices)

PUSD Conceptual Proposals – Facilities Master Planning

In order to help the community understand the various issues surrounding the Facilities Master Plan, the District developed a Frequently Asked Questions document.  Please click on the following link to learn more about master planning across the District:

PUSD Facilities Master Planning FAQ

The facilities master planning process takes into account all of the information on the District’s facilities, the needs and desires of faculty, staff and the community and projections about future District needs and creates a comprehensive plan for each campus that addresses these issues. The plan looks at issues holistically and creatively to find unique and inventive solutions that fit the specific needs of each campus and community. The final Facilities Master Plan document provides a clear narrative and graphic summary of the proposed facilities improvements for each campus and also provides the detailed information necessary to successfully plan and implement the improvements.

Facilities Master Planning Goals

Our goals for the Facilities Master Plan document are as follows:

  • Support the District’s Educational Specifications for expanding and enhancing 21st century learning environments.
  • Create a long-term vision for the facilities of each school campus that aligns with the Educational Program.
  • Provide a detailed, prioritized list of facilities needs for each site with cost information.
  • Provide a clear Implementation Plan that prioritizes and identifies how the improvements could be funded and constructed.
  • Provide clear documentation of the Master Plan and the process of developing it.
  • Clearly document and illustrate facilities needs to support and guide a bond measure.

Working closely with QK Architecture, PUSD has completed the initial phases of facility master planning: Facility Site Assessment, Education Specification Meetings, and Site Planning Meetings.

Facility Site Assessment

QKA Architects, Pete Palmer – PUSD Director of Facilities, and PUSD Maintenance staff performed a facility site assessment at each campus. The purpose of the assessment is to identify those improvements and remedial up-grades, along with their associated costs, required to provide safe, secure and well-maintained campuses, appropriate to the needs of current and future educational programs for the foreseeable future.

The team visually surveyed the existing conditions at each campus, with follow-up reviews at selected sites that were more complex, or had a greater number of issues. For documentation, the team took on-the-spot notes and photographs of each site during the walkthroughs, with the aim of illustrating typical examples of facility deficiencies, and Division of State Architect (DSA) non-compliant construction or Code requirements.

Additionally, the District provided the architects with electronic scans of drawings for each of the campuses. These drawings documented the school’s original buildings, as well as modernization projects added over the years.

Click here to review the Facilities Assessment Reports:

Facility Assessment Report – Part 1

Facility Assessment Report – Part 2

Educational Specifications

Educational Specifications comprise the educational vision of a school district. They are a map of how teachers want to be teaching their students–and how physical facilities can support that teaching. The educational specifications also detail standards for the size of, and amenities included in, classrooms, libraries, multipurpose rooms, gymnasiums, outdoor spaces, and offices. The California Department of Education requires that districts have Ed Specs in place before beginning new facility projects.

PUSD’s Education Specification Committee consists of nearly 30 teachers and administrators from across the district.

Click here for the Educational Specifications Report.

Education Specifications are completed in two parts: Educational Program and Building Program.

Educational Program: The Educational Program is provided by the District and focuses on pedagogy, curricula, learning support programs, activities, and persons to be served. Prior to any Facilities Master Planning, districts typically have developed elements of their Educational Program that may impact facilities. Examples include the use of Small Learning Environment, class sizes, Career Technical Education, other special programs, integration of technology in the curriculum, etc. During the Education Specifications process the architects will ask questions about elements of PUSD’s Education Program that may impact facilities.

Building Program: The architects translate the language of education into the language of buildings. Relying on the District’s Education Program, QKA will facilitate four meetings with the Education Specification Committee to develop the Building Program portion of the plan. The Building Program will detail facility needs and standards including space sizes, features, adjacencies, etc. that support the District’s Educational Program. This document will be divided into the three grade levels that reflect our schools. During this work QKA will lead in the development of the Building Program but needs guidance from educators in interpreting requirements and determining priorities.

Site Planning Meetings

Because of the dependence on Education Specifications for master planning, PUSD held Site Planning Meetings in October-December 2015. Site Planning Meetings were hosted at individual school sites to facilitate discussions about the facility needs of each respective school. Participants included educators, students, families, and community members.