Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

21st Century School Fund and Center for Cities and Schools Release for Web Tool for Joint Use

  • 10/29/14

School Facilities Cost Calculator: A Joint-Use Tool for Fair Fees

The joint use of public school facilities offers educational, economic, and environmental benefits for both schools and communities. But determining the real costs of owning and operating facilities and creating a fair fee structure that covers those costs can be a challenge for districts.

The School Facilities Cost Calculator: A Joint-Use Tool for Fair Fees provides step-by-step guidance in crafting effective, transparent joint-use fees based on district policy. The calculator is available as a web-based tool or as an excel spreadsheet format. This easy-to-use, adaptable calculator helps school system leaders:

1) Identify all facility-related expenditures in their district
2) Calculate the full cost of ownership on a per-square-foot and per-hour basis
3) Formulate a multi-tiered fee structure for different types of community users

The web-based version of the calculator is preloaded with rich data from 15,000 school districts around the country. And you can save your session.

For more information, and to use the calculator, visit, www.bestschoolfacilities.org/jointusecalc.

Featured

  • How Proactive Maintenance Can Transform Athletic Facilities into Strategic Assets for College Sports

    College athletics is entering one of the most transformative periods in its history. With NIL reshaping financial models and competitive expectations, athletic departments across the country are being asked to do more than ever with increasingly constrained resources.

  • Can AI Help Build Stronger Communities in Student Housing?

    Student housing success is shifting from operational performance to student experience, with belonging now at the center. A recent 2025 report underscores a growing emphasis on student well-being, community, and engagement, signaling that expectations now extend beyond logistics to ensure students feel supported in their living environments. AI is enabling that shift by reducing administrative workload and giving teams more time to focus on meaningful student engagement.

  • Texas District Breaks Ground on Second High School

    The Waller Independent School District in Waller, Texas, recently held a groundbreaking ceremony for what will become its second high school, according to a news release.

  • Vanderbilt to Partner with ABM for Campus Preservation and Modernization

    Vanderbilt University recently announced that it has selected ABM Performance Solutions for a preservation and modernization project at its New York City campus, according to a news release. ABM will deliver its end-to-end ABM Performance Solutions (APS) model to manage critical operations during renovation and maintenance.