KnowledgeWorks Foundation is examining how state policy can better support Schools as Centers of Community by reviewing the polices of the highly effective Ohio School Facilities Commission (OSFC), which oversees a $23 billion, statewide program that provides substantial state financial assistance to public school districts to renovate and replace their existing school facilities. The Commission's design guidelines serve contemporary educational needs and support the modernization of facilities. However, many of the guidelines are still not understood or optimized by school districts, and opportunities to build a school that serves as the center of the community are often unrealized. To realize more opportunities, our Foundation is currently working with independent consultants to determine why this is, and to what extent current OSFC policies, procedures, and practices ensure the following:

• local involvement in and ownership of the Ohio school facility master planning process;
  
• community engagement in the school facility planning process;
  
• the creation of schools with innovative designs that support a community's specific educational goals and needs.

In addition, our Foundation is investigating incentives for community engagement in the school design process, including the possibility of federal tax credits.