Key takeaways
- An FCA documents condition, deficiencies, remaining useful life and cost. An FMP turns that into decisions.
- The master plan weighs condition alongside educational needs, enrollment, capacity and funding.
- Scope the assessment so its data rolls up cleanly into the plan.
- Not every deficiency becomes a project: the plan decides repair, modernize or replace.
Two documents, two different questions
District leaders often hear “FCA” and “FMP” in the same meeting and reasonably wonder whether they are the same thing. They are not. A facilities condition assessment (FCA) answers the question: what condition are our buildings and systems in, and what will it cost to address the deficiencies? A facilities master plan (FMP) answers a broader one: given our conditions, our students and our resources, what should we do over the next decade?
Put simply, the FCA is a fact base. The FMP is a set of decisions. One without the other leaves a gap: facts with no direction, or direction with no facts.
What each one covers
An FCA works at the component level. Assessors look at roofs, mechanical and electrical systems, plumbing, building envelope, interiors, site work and accessibility, and record what they find. The master plan takes that information and sets it beside everything else the district has to weigh.
- FCA: condition of each building system and component
- FCA: documented deficiencies and estimated remaining useful life
- FCA: cost to correct deficiencies and renew systems over time
- FMP: educational program needs and how spaces support them
- FMP: enrollment trends and site capacity
- FMP: priorities, funding strategy and an implementation sequence
Where they connect
The handoff between the two is where plans succeed or stall. If the assessment is organized by site and system, with costs in a consistent format, the planning team can roll it up, compare it with enrollment and program needs, and decide whether a building should be repaired, modernized, repurposed or replaced. If the assessment arrives as a stack of narrative reports, much of that work has to be redone.
It also works in the other direction. A condition finding does not automatically become a project. A failing system in a building the district plans to replace may call for a short-term fix instead of a full renewal. That judgment belongs in the master plan, informed by the assessment.
Practical advice for districts
If you are starting fresh, scope the assessment with the master plan in mind: agree on the data format, cost basis and site boundaries up front. If you already have an older assessment, check how current it is and whether completed work has been reflected before relying on it. K12CG typically treats the FCA as the first phase of master planning so the two stay aligned from the start.
Official resources
This guide is general information, not legal or financial advice. State requirements change; confirm current rules with OPSC, DSA or CDE.