Free, practical resources for school founders and K-12 entrepreneurs navigating the facility search process.
A comprehensive guide to facility planning for school founders. Covers internal readiness, financial health, enrollment demand, project timelines, team assembly, and facility cost benchmarks.
Getting StartedHow much space does a charter school need? Industry benchmarks of 60-120 SF per student, classroom sizes, IBC Group E code requirements, and growth planning strategies for K-12 founders.
Getting StartedA practical guide to finding low-cost space for microschools and learning pods. Covers shared-use agreements, churches, community centers, co-location, community intelligence, lease modeling, and using SchoolStack Space to evaluate non-traditional locations.
Getting StartedA realistic, phase-by-phase timeline for a K-12 school facility deal: site search, LOI, due diligence, lease signing or purchase close, permitted drawings, renovation, and certificate of occupancy.
A practical site selection checklist for school founders. Covers enrollment demand analysis, zoning verification, traffic and safety assessment, and neighborhood evaluation.
A plain-language guide to commercial lease terms for school founders. Understand NNN leases, CAM charges, TI allowances, DSCR, escalation clauses, and key terms to negotiate.
Leases & FinanceA detailed guide to charter school facility budgets. Covers lease costs by market, build-out at $30-80/SF, FF&E, technology, M&O, and lender benchmarks (MADS targets, debt service coverage).
Leases & FinanceA comprehensive checklist of monthly facility costs for K-12 school founders. Covers base rent, NNN charges, CAM, utilities, insurance, janitorial, maintenance, and amortized one-time costs.
A detailed site visit checklist for school founders touring a potential facility. Covers exterior condition, interior layout, safety systems, HVAC, ADA accessibility, and building envelope.
ChecklistsA pre-LOI checklist for K-12 school founders. Verify zoning, building code compliance, square footage, TI allowance, enrollment viability, and financial readiness before committing to a property.
ChecklistsA due diligence checklist for K-12 school founders. Covers Phase I and Phase II environmental assessments, title search, building inspections, geotechnical assessments, and financing before signing a lease.
ChecklistsA governance checklist for school boards overseeing facility projects. Covers fiduciary duties, pre-project planning, budget oversight, construction monitoring, and project completion.
A glossary of essential facility project terms for school leaders. Covers finance terms (CapEx, DSCR, MADS), pre-construction (ESA, zoning, NNN), and construction terms (E-Occupancy, MEP, CO).
ReferenceA reference guide for school founders sizing up a property. Covers classroom sizing formulas, per-student state standards, desk dimensions, kitchen footprint, outdoor play minimums, and athletic field dimensions for both lot size and interior square footage.
ReferenceA reference guide to building code requirements for schools. Compares Group E, A-3, and B occupancy classifications, what actually triggers code upgrades (use, occupant load, fire area, stories, wind zone), conversion costs, zoning, ADA, egress, plumbing, and storm shelter rules.
ReferenceThe local-verification workflow for school founders: state law vs. municipality, the questions to take to planning, building, and fire, certificate of occupancy and change-of-use, and the variance / conditional use / special exception vocabulary you may encounter.