The 2025 Healthy Green Schools & Colleges Virtual Fall Summit continued on Thursday, October 30, with our session, “Exploring Hot Topics in School Facilities Operations and Management: Innovative Models for Managing Building Stock with Increasing Deferred Maintenance and Aging Infrastructure.”
The panel featured the following leaders in facility operations:
- Katherine Walsh, Director of Planning, Engineering, Sustainability, and Environment, Boston Public Schools,
- Rob Christlieb, Executive Director of Facility Operations, Chicago Public Schools, and
- Todd Kerzie, Senior Director of Services, University of Georgia.
The discussion highlighted practical strategies K–12 and higher education leaders can use to optimize their building stock, align limited resources, and sustain healthy, high-performing learning environments, even despite budget reductions and increasingly aging buildings.
Shifting from Reactive Fixes to Preventive Maintenance
All three institutions described progress moving from “fix it when it breaks” toward planned preventive maintenance. This has been possible through operationalizing some of the following strategies:
- Document the work. Digital CMMS/work order systems enable teams to schedule preventive maintenance, close the loop, and “tell the story with data” when advocating for resources.
- Plan at night, protect the day. Night crews handle filter changes and lighting retrofits to reduce disruption to instruction and daily operations.
- Right preventive maintenance for the right assets. Verifying that each building’s systems (fire/life safety, HVAC, intercoms) have the correct preventive maintenance strategies prevents costly failures and shortens downtime.
When preventive work is visible and measured, leaders can set realistic service levels and make informed tradeoffs to balance preventive maintenance and reactive fixes.
Communicating “Do More with Less”
When budgets decline, expectations must be reset transparently. Panelists shared the following insight for helping to align expectations with budget realities.
- Link funding to outcomes. Show how staffing ratios (e.g., square feet per custodian) translate to cleaning frequency and service levels.
- Clarify use cases for O&M vs. capital budgets. Move beyond-repair needs into capital programs to protect operating budgets for daily reliability.
- Use data, not anecdotes. Work order volume, preventive maintenance compliance, and response times can help to clarify tradeoffs and build trust with leadership and school communities.
Leveraging Technology to Extend Capacity
Targeted innovations are helping teams work smarter and increase everyone’s effectiveness. Panelists shared the following technologies and innovations to improve productivity and effectiveness.
- Mobile tools/CMMS: Allow for faster communication, clearer accountability, and real-time visibility across campuses.
- Autonomous equipment: Self-guided equipment like robotic scrubbers support custodial teams by handling long corridors and large spaces.
- Smart maintenance: Filter performance monitoring is extending change-out cycles from monthly to quarterly or semi-annual, saving labor and materials.
- Building analytics: Building Automation Systems and sensors provide central insight into temperature, ventilation, and water flushing activity, allowing for targeted preventive maintenance and early issue identification.
Partnerships that Accelerate Progress
In addition to on-site strategies, panelists credited their progress to strong networks, including Healthy Green Schools & Colleges, the Center for Green Schools, U.S. EPA resources, state and local health/environmental agencies, universities (e.g., public health partners), and peer learning communities.
The 2025 Healthy Green Schools & Colleges Virtual Fall Summit resumes next week with Session 4: Emerging Opportunities for Safely Incorporating AI into Facilities Operations. We hope you’ll join us.