In my last blog, I presented some of the financial findings in the Center for Green Schools report. There was an additional article published in the LA times focusing on the school conditions in LA compared to the report. You can find the article at http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-0313-lopez-disrepair-20130313,0,7138841.column?page=1 (it is a two page article – so don’t overlook the second page) It is interesting to consider that the school district there has over 35,000 work orders in its backlog. Maintenance personnel are referred to as “triage doctors” – I wonder if that is the same as the more common terms such as “fire-fighters” or “Hero’s”. (Or maybe it is an upgraded title – excuse my digression) As you read the article, you will quickly realize how far many of the school buildings have deteriorated. You will also realize that many of the parents are willing to tolerate the poor conditions that exist in the infrastructure. Items such as exposed electrical wiring, toilet overflows, malfunctioning HVAC systems, etc. were mentioned. These items were largely ignored or at best, tolerated. I am sure that we all want our children forced to be in these conditions for 6 to 8 hours per day for 9 months out of the year.
At the end of the blog, I mentioned that there may be a solution for the problems highlighted in the report. Perhaps it is time to put some non-negotiable standards in place. As most of you know, I am an ardent supporter of PAS-55 and the developing ISO-55000 standard. What if the school systems in the US had to be PAS-55 or ISO-55000 certified?
Consider that the referenced documents require an asset management system for the entire life cycle of an asset. How much of a difference would that make for a school district if they had to set aside the necessary funds to properly care for an asset (building) for its entire life cycle? What if the necessary maintenance funds were required to be set aside (in the budget) each year to properly repair and maintain the buildings in the school district? If the funds were irrevocable and could not be used for any other purpose, it would solve many of the problems the Center for Green Schools report highlighted.
You may respond with “This will never happen!”. However, it not only can, but most likely will happen. Why? Certainly, most school districts will not voluntarily adopt PAS-55 or the proposed ISO-55000 standard. However, when the lack of compliance with a standard starts to affect the cost of their insurance policies, they might start to pay attention. In fact, if governmental organizations like OSHA, the EPA, etc. begin to use an asset management standard as their barometer of how an organization (including school districts) properly and responsibly manages their assets, many of the asset (building) maintenance problems will be further exposed. The school districts will not have a choice about properly maintaining their assets, they will be forced to properly care for the assets the taxpayers have entrusted to them.
While it is a shame to think that properly maintaining the assets that the school boards are entrusted with would be forced on them by regulating agencies, it is quite clear they are not making any improvements in their care by themselves. Perhaps the educational system needs “education” related to proper asset management. If not then, “legislation” would be an acceptable alternative.
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