While many aspects of school design have changed over the years, unfortunately the process to find the best architect is the same in many ways today as it was 20 years ago. Design teams announce how many schools they have designed, show lots of pretty photographs and list what each team member will do on the project. Education is a business and the stellar architect must truly understand your business. Asking problem-solving questions enables school administrators to find the right advocate, someone with outstanding design credentials who understands the myriad of issues that must be addressed on a project. The ideal partner has tools to achieve knowledge-based decision making, knows how to build consensus and quickly resolves project issues. Questions should be posed in the following areas: planning, design, construction and risk management. Each carries different concerns throughout the course of a project. The author offers problem-solving scenarios to help school administrators find a starting point.