Overview
Welcome to the 2005 Building Condition Survey (BCS). As you know, the BCS is one component of the 1998 RESCUE statute.
Together with the Annual Visual Inspection (AVI), the 5-year capital facilities plan and various monitoring requirements, such as comprehensive maintenance plans, school facility report cards, and health and safety committees, the BCS is intended to provide districts and BOCES with all the detailed information necessary to properly maintain safe and healthy school environments for New Yorkÿs public school children. The data will allow school districts to properly plan and prioritize capital improvements, and allow the state to properly plan for building aid reimbursement to districts.
Only buildings occupied by students and staff must be surveyed. Commissionerÿs regulation 155.3, Comprehensive Public School Safety Program, states: ÿÿthe board of education of each school district and each board of cooperative educational services shall cause all occupied school facilities which are owned, operated, or leased by the district or board to comply with the provisions of the Comprehensive Public School Safety Program as set forth in this sectionÿ.ÿ. Regarding leased properties, it is our interpretation that the building condition survey must be performed on leased facilities wherein a substantial portion, an entire wing, or the entire facility is leased for a period of time of 5 years or longer. Facilities wherein a lease is executed for a small percentage of the space or a couple of classrooms, or those facilities leased for a period of less than 5 years do not need to be surveyed. For those leases executed between districts and BOCES, the district will likely conduct the survey unless the BOCES leases the entire facility.
The BCS format has changed, but the required information is substantially similar to the 2000 BCS. The survey must be completed by November 15, 2005, and all data must be submitted by January 15, 2006.
The survey will cause every major building system or component to be investigated by a licensed engineer or registered architect. SED recommends a team of professionals collaboratively review each facility in detail.
Waivers
The regulations provide for waivers to the building condition survey for those districts and BOCES that demonstrate that significant research on a facility was done that is substantially in compliance with the RESCUE requirements. New facilities that were built since 2000 will receive a waiver for the 2005 survey if requested. New additions are not entitled to waivers. They must be surveyed in conjunction with the existing facility, but obviously should not require as much investigation to determine the condition of its systems.
For those existing facilities that have undergone extensive renovations since 2000, please have the architect of record review the BCS survey and RESCUE requirements and describe in summary the investigations that were performed on a particular facility in preparation for the capital program. That information should be submitted in writing to Carl Thurnau from the licensed professional, including the specific beds code identifier and name of the facility, when the investigations were undertaken, and the current status of the capital program. Waivers will be issued where applicable.
Reimbursement
The maximum reimbursement rate for expenses is estimated to be $0.23/sq ft. The Final rate will not be known until the July labor department costs are known. It could be slightly higher or slightly lower. Aid for the survey will be either the actual expenses for the survey multiplied by the district aid ratio, or the maximum cost allowance per square foot multiplied by the district aid ratio, whichever is less.
As a result of structural deterioration discovered at several schools and, in one case a total structural collapse of roof trusses, it is imperative that all structural components be examined closely, if they were not examined in 2004. Please see additional information on structural inspections at the end of these instructions. Permanent access panels should be installed as necessary in locations where structural components are hidden. Any asbestos or lead testing and removal necessary for installation of the access panels may be included in the square foot cost of the BCS.
If districts require assistance with their five-year capital facilities plan, costs for this consulting may also be reimbursed if it is included as a square foot cost of the BCS. SED requires a capital facilities plan executive summary to be included with each building permit application to ensure the proposed work is a priority within the building.
Reimbursement for expenses is via simple claim forms found on our website at www.emsc.nysed.gov/facplan. There are two claim forms, one for expenses incurred in 04-05, and one for expenses incurred in 05-06. Districts may have expenses in both school years and must claim the aid accordingly. These claims must be submitted not more than once in a five-year period. For districts that incur expenses in the 2005-06 school year, it is important for the 2005-06 BCS claim form to be submitted no later than June 30, 2006. For districts that incur expenses in the 04-05 school year, it is important for the 04-05 BCS claim form to be submitted prior to September 2, 2005, to avoid delaying aid payments. Unfortunately, while BOCES must conduct the BCS, they are not entitled to reimbursement for any expenses associated with the survey.
Data Entry
Data entry for the survey will take approximately one hour. New York State is investing approximately $40 million every five years to ascertain the condition of its school facilities. It is critical that the data be accurate to allow appropriate State level financial decisions.
We have attempted to simplify the BCS reporting process where possible. As this is a five-year survey, only those systems with a useful life of five or less years must be provided with a cost to repair or replace. It is, therefore, expected that systems rated as excellent or satisfactory do not require cost estimates if their useful life is over five years. Any systems noted as unsatisfactory, non-functioning, or critical failure must have a repair or replacement cost associated with them.
The reporting format has been divided into six main sections and has been designed to easily mouse click from item to item. It is critical to understand that data may be changed at any time prior to clicking the submit button. Print each section prior to submitting. Any changes that must be made after submission will require the complete submission of that entire section. Therefore, work on a particular section cannot be saved and resumed at a later time. In order to break from data entry, a complete section must be submitted. Individual sections may be completed at any time.
Required fields are noted with an asterisk. Failure to enter data in required fields will not allow the section to be submitted until corrections have been made.
Section 1 contains generic district information that should be compiled prior to attempting the submission of data. Sections 2-6 contain system specific information. SED has again identified specific systems that are categorized as ÿHÿ - Health and Safety, or ÿSÿ - Structural. Please review overall building ratings on page three of the ÿwordÿ and .pdf document versions of the survey instrument (Definitions of ratings are included as a link in the electronic version). A building must be rated as unsatisfactory if any ÿHÿ or ÿSÿ system is rated as unsatisfactory. A building must be rated as failing if any ÿHÿ or ÿSÿ system is rated as non-functioning or critical failure. As previously, A/E firms provide survey data and consultation to the district and the board of education is charged with determining the overall building rating.
There are many instances where systems are of multiple ages. For example, there may be several different sections of roof coverings with multiple ages.
It is appropriate in these situations to report the last major reconstruction date of the newest section and the expected useful life of the oldest section. Use the comment line to identify specific problem areas of concerns. The detailed information will be retained and reported to the district for use in capital planning.
Structural Inspections
Our intent is not to instruct you or your design professional on how to perform various inspections of your buildings, specifically when addressing structural components. However, may we suggest the following guidelines in reviewing structural components.
1. We believe it is important to have a candid conversation between the school district and the design professionals about the degree of inspection that will be required. Obviously, a level of comfort pertaining to safety of the occupants needs to be established and all parties need to agree to the types of inspections that will be necessary to achieve this comfort level.
2. Buildings with accessible ceilings and walls will allow easier viewing of structural components. Buildings with inaccessible features will most likely require some level of destructive access. This may require cutting of hard surfaces to allow access and then installation of an access panel or door. If the surface to be opened contains asbestos or lead material, appropriate precautions must be taken.
3. Upon visual inspection of structural components no visual deformation, discoloration, rusts or scaling are evident ÿ further definitive tests may not be required.
4. If deformation, discoloration, rusts, scaling or other issues are evident, closer inspection and/or definitive tests may be required. It will be prudent of the design professional to recommend the appropriate tests commensurate with requirements of the school district.
5. Where structural issues are present, scheduled monitoring of the issue should be considered until such time the issue is resolved and/or corrected.
6. If there are serious structural concerns and life safety of the occupants could be compromised, please notify SED at once to discuss appropriate remedial plans.
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