Some solutions to surplus space usage in school buildings. (MLF)

The Denver (Colorado) Board of Education has taken a number of steps to avoid closing schools. Among these are refiguring school capacities; providing full-time space for programs that do not always function full-time; providing additional private space for related services (psychological, social work, and nursing); expanding instructional…

The Anaheim Union High School District in California purchased a retail-selling market, with three acres under one roof, and converted it into a high school and district administrative headquarters. (Author/MF)

Declining enrollments are leaving many districts with space they no longer need. The conversion of surplus school buildings to new uses can often provide communities with new vitality. Examples show unused schools converted for use as apartments, shops, and office space for public agencies. (Author/MLF)

Schoolhouses have the potential to serve a larger constituency by providing social services such as day care, health care, adult education, senior citizen clubs, and recreation. The numbers of school-age children are declining, so using school space for community programs is being considered by many school districts. This issue reports on one…

This document reports on a study made to ascertain the feasibility of preserving and restoring all or part of an existing historical site -- the "Tivoli Brewery" -- as a related and integral part of the Auraria Higher Education Center. After investigation of the building's structural integrity, the condition of electrical and mechanical…

In many communities new arrangements of surplus school space have been made that facilitate use of the space by the people of the districts, encourage government agencies to anticipate and support social transitions where they are necessary, and allow school districts to improve the quality of their programs. This paper is a survey of some of…

Many school districts experiencing declining enrollments and the resultant surplus space have, with active citizen input, found workable solutions that increase the stability of neighborhoods by enriching the lives of persons of all ages. This report is a guide for educators and citizens seeking alternative uses of vacant facilities. Suggestions…

National census data suggest a sustained period of no growth or modest growth in births; however, migration variations in the metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas and in different regions of the country portend the importance of local community planning for the future of high school facilities. The place of the high school in the scheme of…

Planning for changing types of health professions and a changing clientele necessitates designing flexible facilities. Findings from a recently completed analysis of ambulatory care facilities are directed to planners in the form of 16 memos. Approaches to planning and design considerations are made that attempt to humanize these facilities.…

After a quarter of a century of rapid and sometimes spectacular growth, an increasing number of school systems are finding themselves faced with shrinking enrollments. The problems have changed from what to do about overcrowding, double sessions, and temporary facilities, to what to do about empty classrooms. The report examines this…

This publication attempts to simplify the complex issue of declining enrollment and surplus school space. Part 1 is devoted to a thorough discussion of enrollment decline. Text and tables are used to explain enrollment projections, large city public school enrollment decline, birthrates, population mobility, expenditures for education, and the…

This booklet is the fifth in a series that examines community school centers. Because of the decline in school enrollments, many school districts must now cope with staff reductions, fiscal constraints, and an excess of unused space in school buildings. Although the school population is declining, the overall population in most communities is not.…

School administrators confronted with the possibility of having to close a school need to inform the public, assess community attitudes and needs, and identify the best possible use of the buildings. Existing schools must be reexamined in light of the new need to conserve energy and reduce operating costs. Measures that reduce energy consumption…

Discovered or "found" space in a school system most often appears as (1) space that a school system already owns in its outdated buildings and which is being used inefficiently; and (2) space lying close at hand in warehouses, factories, industrial plants, or in little-used public buildings. Found space is one solution to the problem of…