It is important that budget and maintenance plans are sufficient to ensure the sustainability of new infrastructure, such as science labs or heating systems, especially when it requires additional funds for higher utility bills. The evaluation showed that the rehabilitation led to increases in utility bills, which seem to largely be offset by increases in student enrollment, but if enrollment had not increased in these schools, it would likely have been difficult for schools to finance these improvements. Where future programs add new infrastructure components, school directors and management should be prepared to budget for the costs associated with operating and maintaining new infrastructure. Similarly, due diligence for future MCC school infrastructure programs should include a clear assessment of the degree to which new infrastructure has budgetary implications and a plan in place to cover both increased operations budgets and periodic maintenance.
Lesson Learned