Insight
Stop Paying Out of Pocket: How Small Districts Can Get the State to Pick Up the Tab for Your Facilities Master Plan
May 21, 2025
Small districts in California—those serving 2,501 students or fewer—no longer have to dip into the General Fund to pay consultants for a Facilities Master Plan (FMP). Under AB 247 the FMP is now a prerequisite for any School Facility Program (SFP) grant, but Proposition 2 (2024) carved out a Small School District Program that lets you bundle every penny of FMP planning into your first SFP application and even adds a 5 % supplemental grant to cover soft costs.
A Facilities Master Plan (FMP) is now the price of admission for any School Facility Program (SFP) grant in California. Assembly Bill 247 (2024) hard-wired a five-year FMP—complete with an asset inventory, enrollment forecast, capital budget, and deferred-maintenance roadmap—into the Education Code. No plan, no state dollars.
For districts under 2,501 ADA, paying for that plan doesn’t have to come out of your General Fund. Proposition 2 and its companion regulations created a Small School District Program (SSDP) that lets you roll FMP consulting fees directly into your first SFP project—and even sweetens the pot with an extra 5 % “Project & Construction Management” add-on to cover soft costs.
Who Qualifies?
- Enrollment: 2,501 students or fewer (current CBEDS count).
- Project Type: New construction or modernization filed after November 5, 2024.
- Timing: FMP must be board-adopted before the State Allocation Board (SAB) apportions your project.
Costs You Can Bill to the State
Reimbursable Planning ItemHow to Show It on Form SAB 50-04Consultant contract to draft/update the FMPSoft Costs → PlanningDemographic & enrollment studiesSoft Costs → PlanningFacility condition walks, ADA/Title 24 checksSoft Costs → Surveys/ReportsCommunity workshops & board hearingsSoft Costs → Planning (attach agendas)
(CEQA studies belong with the individual project, not the FMP line.)
Five-Step Playbook
- Lock in eligibility – File SAB 50-01/03 to establish baseline capacity and ADA.
- Bundle FMP fees – List every planning invoice in the Soft-Cost section of SAB 50-04 and, if you’re using the SSDP, claim the 5 % supplemental grant.
- Draft an FMP – OPSC reviewers see hundreds of plans; using School Leaders process and expertise speeds approvals.
- Adopt & submit – Pass the FMP via board resolution and upload the PDF to OPSC/CDE before apportionment.
- Collect your check – After filing SAB 50-05, the state reimburses your planning costs right alongside architect fees and site surveys.
Compliance Snapshot (AB 247 Requirements)
- ✔ Inventory of every site & building
- ✔ Five-year enrollment projection (TK expansion included)
- ✔ Capital budget by funding source
- ✔ Deferred-Maintenance Plan (Ed. Code §17070.75)
- ✔ Annual update schedule
Miss one of these boxes and OPSC can withhold or claw back funding.
Why Partner with School Leaders
- Volume advantage: We have completed state-compliant FMPs for more than a dozen rural districts—OPSC knows our work by name.
- One-stop workflow: Our in-house demographers, assessors, and grant writers keep your entire submission under one roof, compressing timelines by up to 30 %.
- Audit armor: Every deliverable is tagged to the exact statute, form line, and SAB agenda item, protecting you in post-project audits.
Takeaway
If your district serves 2,501 students or fewer, the state will literally pay for your Facilities Master Plan—provided you fold the expense into your first Prop 2-era SFP application and hit AB 247’s content marks. School Leaders can shepherd the process from kickoff workshop to SAB approval, so your local dollars stay in the classroom.
Ready to start? Let’s schedule a 20-minute discovery call and map out your pathway to a fully funded FMP.