ADOA Awarded Grant From The U.S. Department Of Education

Arizona Department of Administration awarded nearly $5 million dollar grant from the U.S. Department of Education  

Arizona is one of eight states to receive a Supporting America’s School Infrastructure grant 

PHOENIX (January 5, 2024) - The U.S. Department of Education announced eight new grant awards under the Supporting America’s School Infrastructure (SASI) program to bolster the capacity of states to support school districts in improving school facilities. The goal is fair access to healthy, sustainable, and modern learning environments for all students.

The Arizona Department of Administration (ADOA) will receive $4,997,500 over five years to enhance the capacity of the Arizona School Facilities Division (SFD) within ADOA, in collaboration with the Arizona Department of Education, to support public school districts with navigating complex school facilities needs and processes, especially for aging buildings.

ADOA received endorsements from the Legislature, Governor’s Office, school districts and statewide education organizations in its pursuit of the SASI grant, demonstrating broad, bipartisan support for modernizing and improving services for school infrastructure.

“This is an incredible and novel opportunity for the state to have dedicated resources to enhance its systems and services to improve public school infrastructure over the long-haul,” said Callie Tyler, Assistant Director, School Facilities Division. 

The project will modernize the State’s capacity to collect and analyze school facilities conditions data – providing better and faster information for ADOA and state policymakers to engage in data-driven decision making to support local educational agencies (LEAs) with building renewal, new school construction, and preventative maintenance needs.

The primary activities of the project include:

• Providing  technical assistance, training, and support for Arizona’s top 50 high-need public school district cohort (approximately 25% of traditional school districts) based on a needs assessment.
• Establishing a Tribal liaison position to provide targeted engagement with school districts on or adjacent to Tribal Nations.
• Enhancing and developing live and on-demand, online resources for training and supporting school district administrators with preventive maintenance and facility improvements.
• Improving state data and information systems related to public school infrastructure, including:

• Modernizing Arizona’s Building Inventory Database
• Developing and implementing a Facilities Conditions Index (FCI) for maintaining standardized information on building system components and useful life, with the goal of more efficiently  maximizing dollars across the state for building renewal. 
• Completing a School Facilities Cost Study to better understand the real costs of building and maintaining modern facilities that will enhance learning and health, ensure safety, and help save funding over time. 

For more information about these awards, please visit the SASI award page here.