A set of techniques is presented to assist administrators in forecasting the need for primary and secondary school facilities and in critically evaluating proposals to satisfy that need. Four basic components allow the analysis required to project future conditions and test alternative proposals. (1) The enrollment component forecasts the number and geographic location of students by grade for each year over a long-range planning period. (2) The facility component translates projected students into the number of teaching stations and/or square feet necessary to house them. (3) The fiscal component forecasts bonding capacity, tax revenue from different levels of government, and expected operating and capital costs. (4) The geographic component assists the user in considering locational questions, how best to draw attendance boundaries, and where to build or close a facility. Two additional chapters present considerations for (1) organizing a major planning project and (2) selecting alternative plans, assembling data, and periodically rerunning the system. Techniques described in this first of three documents are designed for districts with easy access to a computer. (Author/MLF)