Requesting Work for School-Funded Projects

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Definitions

A school-funded project is work that the school hasidentified as a priority and has funds to pay for in part or in whole, either through the Principal’s school budget or through fundraising (including grants). School-funded projects do not include routine maintenance, emergency repairs or major capital improvements such as roofing or boilers. A school-funded project should not result in a significant increase in school or TDSB operating or capital costs (e.g., air conditioners).

—————————————————— For routine maintenance and repairs, schools send requests to their Caretaker.

—————————————————— Within the available budget, Facility Services covers the whole cost of sports field line markings, refreshing existing games lines on asphalt in playgrounds, exterior and other painting, and first floor blinds. (For blinds on other floors, schools pay for the materials and Facility Services covers the labour costs.)

Requesting Work for School-Funded

Projects

Schools often need help from Facility Services to undertake various types of work — from the installation of basketball backstops to lunchroom tables and school ground projects. This procedure describes the options for funding projects and outlines the process to request work from Facility Services.

A. Options for Paying for School-Funded Projects

1. School budgets – Schools can use the Principal’s school

budget to pay the materials costs of projects such as interactive whiteboards and lunchroom tables. A limited amount of funding is available annually from Facility

Services to cover the labour costs of Principal school-budget funded projects. Material costs for school-budget funded projects are paid for by the school.

Acceptable uses of the Principal’s school budget:  lunchroom tables

 bulletin boards  exterior signs

 power and data lines and outlets  wireless access points

 interactive whiteboards  scoreboards

 wall-mounted gym mats  basketball back-stops  stage lighting

 blinds on the second floor and above (see note in sidebar)

 tree planting and seating

 new games lines on asphalt in playgrounds Design and Construction

Guideline GU.FAC.009 For Principals, Superintendents of Education, Community Groups, School Councils, Family Team Leaders, Caretakers and Project Supervisors

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—————————————————— According to policy set out by the Ontario Ministry of Education, schools are prohibited from using fundraising proceeds to support the following types of facility-related projects:

 Facility renewal, maintenance or upgrades funded through provincial grants such as structural repairs, sanitation, emergency repairs, or replacing flooring due to wear and tear.  Infrastructure improvements

that increase the student capacity of a school or are funded by provincial grants (e.g., classrooms, additions, gyms, labs).

Capital projects supported by fundraising proceeds should be complementary to publicly funded education, but not result in an increase in the student capacity of a school or an increase in school or TDSB operating or capital costs (e.g., air conditioners).

For more information, please visit: Fundraising Guideline

—————————————————— Monetary donations raised through fundraising by schools may be eligible for charitable donation receipts. For more information, visit: Monetary Donations

All monies raised through fundraising activities must be disbursed only for the purposes for which they were raised. Resources generated through fundraising activities must be used within a two-year period unless designated for a special purpose. Toronto District School Board Fundraising Policy PO21 BUS, 3.10: r

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Unacceptable uses of the Principal’s school budget:

 maintenance and repairs such as replacing floor tiles and painting.

2. School fundraising – Schools can also choose to fundraise for projects that are not possible within the limitations of the

Principal’s school budget, such as school ground improvement projects. The school fundraising group pays the entire cost of

projects that it initiates.

Acceptable uses of school fundraising:  outdoor classrooms

 site furnishings (e.g., picnic tables, benches)  play equipment

 decorative fencing  scoreboards

 water-bottle refilling stations  running track

 asphalt associated with playground enhancement  tree planting and seating

 new games lines on asphalt in playgrounds

Unacceptable uses of school fundraising according to policies set out by the Ontario Ministry of Education:

 all structural repairs

 sanitation, such as upgrading or installing washroom fixtures

 any emergency repairs

 replacing flooring due to wear and tear  field irrigation systems

 repairs to or replacement of existing asphalt  parking lot extensions

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—————————————————— The school Principal will be the main contact at the school during the work request process, for both school-budget funded and school fundraising projects. However, they will work closely with the

fundraising groups and include them in the process as required. ——————————————————

The CSA should forward requests for bike racks, trees, and water-bottle refilling stations, which are submitted on the Facility Services Work Request Form, to the Green Projects Team Leader, to be included in to the existing tree-planting, bike rack, and water-bottle refilling station programs.

B. Requesting Work

Most of the items listed as acceptable uses of the Principal’s school budget (on page 1) and fundraising (on page 2) do not require additional levels of review or approval. Exception: school ground projects require an on-site design consultation (see Section C, below).

For small school-funded jobs—such as the installation of a small number of interactive whiteboards, bulletin boards, wireless access points, LAN drops, and outdoor basketball backstops—the

caretaker should submit a Notification with Cost Centre and GL number.

If a project that requires development has been submitted as a Notification, the FTL will instruct the Principal to fill out the Facility Services Work Request Form.

For medium-sized jobs that require a design, an estimate, or multiple trades—such as the installation of a scoreboard, running track, outdoor classroom, fencing, play equipment, and new games lines on asphalt in playgrounds—the Principal must fill out and sign the Facility Services Work Request Form as outlined in more detail below in Section E: Using the Facility Services Work Request Form (page 6 and 7). The local Superintendent of Education (SOE) must also sign the Work Request Form. For more information on

understanding the scope of your project, see Section E, page 6.

C. Requests Requiring Additional Levels of Review

and/or Approval

1. School Ground Projects

School ground projects, such as tree planting, outdoor classrooms, artificial turf, running tracks, and site

renovations, require additional review in the form of an on-site design consultation from the School Ground Design Consultant.

Following the consultation, a report summarizing the recommendations will be sent to the school. The report must be attached to the Facility Services Work Request Form.

2. Requests to Install a Security System

Any new security system or security feature installed at a school must be compatible with its existing security system,

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Requests to Install a Security System cont’d

Any requests to install a security system must be reviewed and approved by the Caring and Safe Schools Advisor.

1. To have a security system installed or upgraded, the school Principal must contact the Caring and Safe School Advisor to request an onsite security consultation.

2. During the consultation, the school Principal and the Caring and Safe School Advisor will discuss the security needs of the school as a whole to determine the most suitable type of security system. If there is a tenant on site, a tenant representative should be consulted to ensure that the security needs of the whole site are being addressed.

3. The Caring and Safe School Advisor has the authority to decide if a system preferred by the school is permissible and meets the needs of the whole site. 4. During the consultation, the Caring and Safe School Advisor will describe the specific requirements of his or her recommended security system on the Facility Services Work Request form. The Caring and Safe School Advisor will sign the Facility Services Work Request Form to indicate that he or she approves the installation of the system described.

5. The Principal will fax the Facility Services Work Request form to the Family Team Leader, with the appropriate signatures.

3. Educational Partnerships Requiring Changes to Facilities or Grounds

Sometimes schools want to undertake projects that involve a not-for-profit or commercial partner such as organizations that are willing to invest in a school building or grounds improvements in return for access to the space or any other benefit.

For projects that involve an external partner, please see GU.FAC.051 Requesting Work for Partner-Funded Projects.

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——————————————————- The Ministry of Education’s 2012 Fundraising Guideline suggests that school boards require “viability reviews” for capital projects supported by fundraising activities. ——————————————————- A major component of the Viability Review will be an assessment of the impact of the request on the TDSB’s Long Term Program and

Accommodation Strategy. Requests that are in conflict with the Strategy will not be approved.

——————————————————- Viability Reviews may also include consultation with staff in various departments (such as Special Education) as required to help inform and guide the outcome of the review.

——————————————————- The Business Process Analyst will endeavour to keep the Family Team Leader informed throughout the Viability Review and approvals process.

——————————————————- For projects that involve changes to school grounds, input from the School Ground Design Consultant will be included in the Viability Review.

——————————————————- CAT may only provide preliminary approval for the request at which time Facility Services will work through the process described below to finalize the scope of work and to estimate costs. Before the project can proceed, the propose would have to be brought back to CAT for final approval with the scope of work and costs established by Facility Services.

4. Large, complex, or ambiguous projects and those involving changes to room use

Requests for work that meet one or more of the following criteria require a Viability Review:

 Large—projects that require a significant capital investment (e.g., cricket pitches, artificial turf, solar installations, extensive playground renovations, auditorium upgrades)

 Complex—projects that require a lot of pre-planning, consultation, coordination, many trades, or are simply unusual in nature

 Ambiguous—projects where there is ambiguity about whether they would be acceptable from a policy point of view

 Changes to Room/Space Use—projects that involve making any kind of change to how a room or any other kind of space is used Viability Reviews

For projects that meet one or more of the criteria listed above, Principals (with the support of their Superintendent of Education) must request a Viability Review by completing, signing and submitting the Facility Services Viability Review Request Form. Superintendents of Education (SOE) must also co-sign the Request Form.

Upon receiving the request, a Business Process Analyst (BPA) will schedule an onsite consultation at the school, after which a report summarizing the BPA’s feedback will be sent to the Principal and SOE and copied to the Family Team Leader.

If the Principal and SOE wish to proceed with the request, the BPA will submit the request to the Central Accommodation Team (CAT), along with his or her report.

The BPA may also prepare a recommendation for CAT’s consideration. The Superintendent of Education will be invited to CAT to advocate for the project.

If CAT approves the request, the BPA can then submit a Facility Services Request Form to the Customer Service Assistant (CSA) as outlined in more detail below (see Step 4, page 6) along with supporting documentation.

Senior Sponsor

For all projects approved by CAT, the Senior Manager of Sustaina-bility will act as the Senior Sponsor of the project to monitor pro-gress and help troubleshoot and resolve issues if needed.

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STEP ACTION NOTES

1 The school requesting the service fills out the _{Services Work Request Form.} Facility

Be sure to indicate the funding source by selecting either “school budget” or “school fundraising” from the four boxes at the top of the form.

2

The Principal and Superintendent of Education approves and signs the Facility Services Work Request Form.

3 The Principal forwards the request form to the Family _{Team Leader (FTL).}

If further clarification is needed, the FTL will discuss the request with the school Principal before submitting it to the CSA.

The FTL will determine if the work will be done by Operations or if it will be forwarded to Construction. If it is a maintenance issue, the FTL will go back to the Caretaker and ask that a Notification be created for the work or request that the Caretaker perform the work under Schedule A.

Operations will also handle small improvements that do not exceed two hours of trades time and do not involve multiple trades staff, e.g., plumber, carpenter, electrician. The FTL will ask the Caretaker to submit a Notification (including Cost Centre and GL) for small improvements. When work will be done by Operations, the FTL must discard the Facilities Services Work Request form.

4 The FTL reviews the request and sends it to a Customer Service Assistant (CSA) for logging and tracking.

If the request has had a Viability Review and has been approved by CAT, the BPA will submit the Facility Services Work Request Form to the CSA (see Section D).

5 The CSA gives the request to a Board Estimator. To prepare the estimate, the Estimator may need to _{contact the school Principal by phone or in person.}

E. Tracing the Path of the Facility Services Work Request Form

D. Submitting Facility Services Work Request Form

There are two ways that Facility Services Work Request Form can be submitted. For most projects, the Principal completes and submits the Facility Services Work Request Form (see Step 1).

If the project has had a Viability Review and has been approved by CAT, the BPA will submit the Facility Services Work Request Form to the Customer Service Assistant (CSA). See Step 6 on p.7.

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STEP ACTION NOTE

6

If a design is not required, the Estimator will provide the

CSA with the estimate. The CSA will forward the estimate to the Principal and Superintendent of Education and copy the FTL.

The Principal and Superintendent of Education either i) Approve the estimate and proceed,

ii) Modify the scope of the project or their budget as required, or

iii) Cancel the project.

7 If a design is required, the Estimator will give the request to a Board Design Service Administrator, who will assign it to a Board Design Coordinator.

The Design Coordinator will copy the FTL, CSA, and Senior Sponsor on all correspondence with the school Principal and Superintendent and keep him or her informed.

8

The Design Coordinator will obtain a design quote from an external consultant, selected from a TDSB-approved list, and will oversee the work of the consultant.

The school must first give approval to get the design quote.

9

Upon approval from the Principal and Superintendent on the design, the Design Coordinator forwards the completed design documents to the CSA, who forwards them to the Estimator.

The cost of the design must be paid for by the Principal’s school budget or fundraising group.

10 The Estimator will use the design documents to obtain _{estimate(s) for the project construction.}

Estimates can be from TDSB in-house Construction or from external contractors.

If external estimates are required, a Project Supervisor may become involved to obtain those estimates according to TDSB Purchasing Policy.

11 The Estimator will give the project construction estimate to the CSA who will send it to the school Principal and Superintendent and copy the FTL.

If required, the estimator or Project Supervisor will meet with the school Principal to discuss the project construction estimate(s) and detailed scope of work. The Superintendent and FTL are invited to attend the meeting.

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STEP ACTION NOTE

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Once the school Principal and Superintendent have reviewed the project construction estimate(s), including taxes, they have the following options:

For estimates from the TDSB’s Construction department:

i) accept the estimate and scope.

ii) reject the estimate and cancel the project.

iii) reduce the scope to fit available funds and then proceed. iv) reject TDSB staff’s in-house estimates and request external estimates.

For estimates from external contractors: i) accept the estimate and scope.

ii) reject the estimate and cancel the project.

iii) reduce the scope to fit available funds and then proceed.

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Once the project is approved by the Principal and Superintendent and paid for by the school (see section E below), Construction will assign a Board Project Supervisor if it has not already done so.

The Project Supervisor will keep the Principal, the Superintendent, the FTL and the Senior Sponsor up to date about the project schedule.

14 The project is executed according to TDSB guidelines and procedures (including the TDSB’s Purchasing Policy).

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—————————————————— Schools and fundraising groups must bear in mind that external competitive bidding requires formal design documents and that they must also pay costs (if any) for the production of design documents, as outlined in #9.

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—————————————————— Because of limited staff resources, the TDSB must contract out design services; it cannot provide design in-house. Schools and fundraising groups are required to pay for design costs, which can be substantial.

—————————————————— Please note: For projects that require design documents, it is not possible to know the full project costs until the design work is done. Schools need to understand that they could pay for design only to find out the that the full cost of the project exceeds their ability to raise all of the money needed. This possible outcome is a risk that schools have to assume.

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E. Understanding the Scope of Your Project

Project Costs

The costs of school-funded projects include materials and labour (construction costs), design fees, permit and regulatory fees, and taxes. The full cost of all but the simplest projects involve costs other than just construction. Some projects require specialty work, such as geotechnical investigations and legal surveys.

“Soft costs” (costs other than construction costs) can be as high as 30% of the full cost of the project. For example, if a school has $100,000 to pay for a school-funded project, a conservative assumption would be that $70,000 is available for the actual construction costs. Try to get a sense early in the project what the soft costs might be. Schools and fundraising groups are responsible for all soft costs.

Design Documents

Many projects require formal design documents before they can begin. These design documents communicate what is needed to take a project from the original idea, solidify it through discussions and translate it into drawings for construction. They also allow the client to understand what the full costs will be. Often that means that the scope and/or timelines of the project are changed to fit the budget available.

The design professional (usually an architect or landscape architect) guides the client through the design process and provides professional advice on aesthetics, technical, regulatory, budgeting and other issues. As well as meeting legal and technical requirements, the design documents define the scope of work and materials to be used, and set out the specifications of the

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F. Paying for Your Project

Requests by Notification

Caretaker must include the appropriate Cost Centre and GL (General Ledger) on the Notification. (See Section B.) Requests by Facility Services Work Request Form When design is required, there are two payments required in advance: (i) for the full design cost, and (ii) for the full cost of the construction work.

For work paid by the Principal’s school budget, the school provides an appropriate Cost Centre and GL (General Ledger) and forwards it to the Customer Service Assistant (CSA) in the Construction department.

For work paid for by school fundraising, cash and donations are typically deposited into a school bank account, and then the school sends a cheque payable to the “Toronto District School Board” to the CSA before work begins.

G. Requesting Work Coordinating Committee

A Requesting Work Coordinating Committee, with representation from all divisions within Facility Services, will meet regularly to review the implementation of this guideline. The purpose of the meetings will be to assess the quality of services being provided to schools, troubleshoot and resolve issues, and to identify, implement, and document process improvements.