Ready to Renovate

With remedial programs, enrichment offerings, recreational activities and extended-year schedules, many school facilities are no longer dormant in the summer months. On college campuses, the summertime pace might be more leisurely, but plenty of students and staff fill the same roles they have the rest of the academic year.

The increased year-round use of education facilities benefits students and enables schools and universities to use their buildings more efficiently, but it has made it more difficult for workers to carry out needed renovation and maintenance projects on a campus. A school that is unable to fit a renovation project into a summer recess may have to find temporary space to house a program while work is being completed; if a school needs to continue using part of a facility while work is taking place, administrators need to take steps to ensure that the appropriate safety precautions are in place to protect students and staff members whose classes or jobs take them in or near a construction zone.

The shrinking summer construction season on school and university campuses is one reason that administrators must plan their renovation projects carefully. In addition, a comprehensive renovation plan will help schools identify their most pressing needs, establish timelines for carrying them out, and ensure that the projects stay within the available budget.