A guide for educators and citizens seeking alternative uses of vacant facilities. Discusses local, legal, economic, and social issues involved. Describes some of the alternative facility uses that include human service centers; use by other government agencies; and conversion to housing, private schools, colleges, and adult education facilities.…

The growing interest in historic preservation has sparked interest in recycling existing school buildings. (Author/MLF)

At the same time that schools are closing in many communities because of declining enrollments, the arts are expanding at the community level. The problem of surplus school space can be the solution to the needs of many artists and arts groups. Mutual to the arts groups and the communities are the benefits of flexible arrangements and the presence…

Many school districts experiencing declining enrollments and the resultant surplus space have, with active citizen input, found workable solutions that increase the stability of neighborhoods by enriching the lives of persons of all ages. This report is a guide for educators and citizens seeking alternative uses of vacant facilities. Suggestions…

This publication attempts to simplify the complex issue of declining enrollment and surplus school space. Part 1 is devoted to a thorough discussion of enrollment decline. Text and tables are used to explain enrollment projections, large city public school enrollment decline, birthrates, population mobility, expenditures for education, and the…