A different kind of
facilities planning process
Building Excellence is a living set of resources that will be used to initiate a new approach to long-range facility planning. Unlike a fixed plan that lays out a district-wide project list and timeline, our approach taps into an ever-growing database of information about each of the five project areas below (Attendance Areas, Community Growth Projections, Building Assessments, Instructional Design Needs, and Community Engagement). Building Excellence provides resources to identify and prioritize needs through a cyclical process that will allow for greater transparency and accountability, and this new approach will ensure that our facilities equitably serve teaching and learning needs district-wide.
Below you will find some of the resources that make up Building Excellence, which will be continuously updated to ensure decision-makers have the most accurate information to make facilities planning decisions. To learn more about our Capital Planning strategies that will be utilized for maintenance and major construction projects, please see slide 9 in the January Board of Education presentation.
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Future Ready MMSD
The School Board is considering two referenda questions for the community to vote on in 2020 - one for facilities and one for operating expenses. Visit the Future Ready MMSD page to learn more.
Information about the Holtzman Property purchase
Throughout the 2018-19 school year, the Board of Education expressed the need to provide a more adequate learning space for special education programs that are showing positive potential for students. Based on detailed discussions regarding the programming options we had available, the number of available seats in the program, and reviews of program waitlists, the Board set into reserves approximately $5 million from the closing of three tax increment districts (TID #27, #32, and #43) to purchase a permanent location for the special education programs, credit recovery and alternatives to expulsion that currently are placed in a $243,000 leased space at Olin Avenue. Learn more here.
Long Range Facilities Plan Links

Find below all the links mentioned in the Draft Long Range Facilities Plan, in order of appearance. Please note that some links are repeated throughout the document but only appear on this page once.
Educational Facility Condition Assessment
April 2015 Referendum Final Project Summary
MMSD Capital Planning S.W.O.T. Analysis
MMSD Air Conditioning Status Report
East High School Facilities Study and Assessment
La Follette High School Facilities Study and Assessment
Memorial High School Facilities Study and Assessment
West High School Facilities Study and Assessment
Long Range Facilities Plan High School Input Report
2018-2038 Student Enrollment Projections Update
School Capacity Utilization Report Fall 2018
North Side Elementary Schools Enrollment Data and Analysis
South Allis Building Area Analysis
Sprecher School Building Area Analysis
Dohm Farm Property / Acacia Ridge Land Purchase Report
Optional High School Attendance Area Map
Background Links:
April 2015 Referendum Final Project Summary
Policy #1535 - School Buildings
January 2017 Board Update: Progress on Family Engagement
Educational Facility Condition Assessment
2018-2038 Student Enrollment Projections Update
Dohm Farm Property / Acacia Ridge Land Purchase Report
2015 Referendum Projects
In April 2015, Madison voters authorized funding for a forty-one million dollar ($41,000,000) school facility improvement plan. The projects occurred in sixteen MMSD schools during a thirty-six month period, ending June 30, 2018. A summary of the project and its outcome can be found here.
Attendance Areas
- Attendance Area boundary maps, a look at the districts current attendance area boundaries
- Considerations for boundary changes, the six considerations when redrawing boundary lines
- Imagine Madison, for links to reports about demographic trends for the city of Madison
Community Growth Projections
- 2018-2038 Student Enrollment Projections Update, a report prepared by Vandewalle & Associates
- Fall 2018 Enrollment Report Implications and Next Steps (Board Memo)
Building Assessments
- East High School Facilities Study and Assessment (2019), produced by Plunkett Raysich Architects, LLP
- La Follette High School Study and Assessment (2019), produced by Plunkett Raysich Architects, LLP
- Memorial High School Study and Assessment (2019), produced by Zimmerman Architectural Studios, Inc.
- West High School Study and Assessment (2019), produced by Zimmerman Architectural Studios, Inc.
- Periodic Table of Building Condition in MMSD (interactive version)
- Educational Facility Condition Assessment , Plunkett Raysich Architects, LLP
- Athletic Facility Assessment, Rettler Corporation
Instructional Design Needs
- Personalized Pathways
- Dual Language Immersion (DLI)
- Four-Year-Old Kindergarten Program (4K)
- Ignite Information and Technology Plan
Community Engagement
- Guiding Principles for Building Excellence, generated from community input and used moving forward to help guide facilities planning
- Draft Criteria for Capital Improvement Plan Projects, informed by best practice nationwide and community input, and used moving forward to help evaluate potential CIP projects
- Building Excellence Spring 2017 Engagement Plan, delivered to the Board in April 2017
- Building ExcellenceSpring Engagement 2016: Perceptions and Vision, a 2016 report summarizing the major themes in student and staff perceptions of and vision for facilities
- Plan for Engaging the Madison Community, delivered to the Madison Board of Education on July 18, 2016
- 2014 Analysis of Facilities Plan Feedback, a 2014 report about feedback on a draft facilities improvement plan
With this comprehensive information in hand, the Madison Board of Education can make insightful, proactive decisions about our school buildings that reflect our community’s priorities and values.
Timeline of developing these resources with your input
We are following a three-phase plan to engage our students, staff, families and community members in the development of this strategy. We are currently in Phase 3 and we need your feedback to move forward. Please read through the resources above and click below to give your feedback. Thank you!
Where can you learn more?
- The July 18, 2016 presentation to the MMSD Board of Education by the research team
- The January 23, 2017 presentation to the MMSD Board of Education Operations Work Group
- The July 10, 2017 presentation to the MMSD Board of Education Operations Work Group
- The December 11, 2017 presentation to the MMSD Board of Education Operations Work Group
- The April 16, 2018 presentation to the MMSD Board of Education Operations Work Group