Head Start

The Planning Committee should be composed of individuals who can have a positive and supportive role. The Committee should be viewed as an administrative and management tool of the executive director and the board of directors. The Committee has one purpose: the successful completion of the project.

There should be a core group of Planning Committee members. As the committee moves from assessment to design, other members may be added for their expertise.

The core group of the Planning Committee should include:

1. Administration (choose one)
   • Executive Director
   • Education Coordinator
   • Facility Coordinator
2. Finance (Choose one in addition to the Finance Director)
   • Banker from the Community
   • Corporate Finance Person
   • City Buyer/Budget Manager
3. One Policy Council Member
4. One Member of the Board of Directors
5. An Architect
6. Head Start Staff (Choose one)
   • Teacher
   • Classroom Aide or Assistant
   • Parent
   • Support Personnel
   • Facilities Manager/Supervisor
7. Construction Representative (Choose one)
   • Local Engineer
   • Local Builder
   • Local Appraiser

Planning Committee Responsibilities

The Planning Committee is responsible to the Board of Directors for the following goals and objectives. Of course, primary goals will vary according to the scope and details of an individual project.

Responsibility for compliance with or submission/use of:

• Section 1309.10 (Purchasing Regulations) requirements or The Model Format for New Construction or The Model Format for Renovations. These form the basis for funding support from the ACF Regional Office. The Planning Committee must submit a completed and comprehensive proposal that follows the outline of these documents. [PDF, 36.0KB]
• The Three- to Five-Year Facility Report Outline. This document provides an important presentation of information for funding support from the Regional Office. The outline provides the Planning Committee, the Board of Directors, and any funding sources with information to support 1309.10 or either of the Model Formats mentioned above.
• The Three- to Five-Year Facility Plan, Proposed Time Schedule. This document is a chronological description of the entire construction process. The document does not describe the entire project schedule, only the construction schedule.
• The Three- to Five-Year Facility Implementation Schedule. This document works in conjunction with the above mentioned Three- to Five-Year Facility Plan, Proposed Time Schedule by putting schedule information in a bar chart to track activities.
• A determination about who will manage ongoing operations. A member of the Planning Committee or the executive director or a designee should be involved in the ongoing operations of the construction project. This person should have basic knowledge of the construction process and the nature of a management role in the process. This function also may be filled by hiring a project manager, which is an economical option, or by asking an architect to provide construction management.
• The Facility File Checklist. This simple document is designed to identify specific dates and the corresponding important events in the life of the project.
  

Typical goals of a Planning Committee:

1. Establish individual planning action steps.
2. Find site
3. Establish processes to agree on one site.
4. Establish a project management system.

SUBCOMMITTEES

Building Subcommittee

A Building Subcommittee will play a vital role for Full-Scale Projects. Limited Scale Projects may not require this type of subcommittee. (Refer to the Tip Sheet on Project Size for a discussion of project scale.)

The purpose of a Building Subcommittee is to help the Planning Committee make decisions, perform research and assessments, and work through the critical processes required to complete the project. Membership on the Building Subcommittee should be limited to no more than five people with backgrounds in construction and management. This might include a retired contractor, a retired real estate professional, a city/county planner, a Head Start director, the grantee/agency facility manager/supervisor, or others that have the type of background suitable to the project.

The responsibilities of the Building Subcommittee include:

• Performing a needs assessment for each site. Needs assessments can be performed using a variety of instruments. However, it is recommended that you use the Deep Look Survey [PDF, 128KB] for renovation projects and the Head Start Center Design Guide or refer to the Head Start Center Design Guide Synopsis [PDF, 100KB] for new projects.
• Preliminary identification and programming of possible property/site and playgrounds. Sources of possible free or low cost property for renovation or new construction include: local governments (including county or municipal governments), real estate professionals, Federal government donation, joint venture with other non-profit agencies, vacant retail buildings, and Public Housing Authorities.
• Consideration and research of new construction vs. renovation.
• Knowledge of state regulations, including: health, life safety, fire, and local building codes.
• Development of the Facility Plan (three or more years) and its submission to the Planning Committee and board of directors for acceptance.
• The Davis Bacon Act requirements, all wage decisions, Certified Payroll Report forms, and employee interviews. To find out more about the Davis-Bacon Act go to www.dol.gov/dol/compliance/comp-dbra.htm
• Preliminary development of the Scope of Work.
• Developing the advertisement for professional services, including architectural, engineering, and/or project management.

The contractual oversight duties of the Building Subcommittee include:

1. Insurance for all contractors, including professionals
2. Environmental issues
3. Asbestos
4. Lead-based Paint
5. Special Conditions
6. Daily Construction Reports
7. Construction Meetings
8. The development and submission of federal reports; including:
   • Facility Assessment Report
   • SF-424
   • SF-269
   • Notice of Federal Interest
   • Marketing
   • Ground Breaking
   • Grand Opening
   • Contract Closeout
   • Final Certified Payroll Report form (The Davis-Bacon Act) Report
   • Contractor's Warrantees
   • Contractor's Release of Liens

Finance Subcommittee

The focus of the Finance Subcommittee is to assist the Planning Committee with the financial and accounting aspects of the project.

Membership on the Finance Subcommittee should be limited to no more than five people. Their expertise and backgrounds should be in areas of finance, banking, grant writing, bookkeeping, and budget management. One major difference between the Finance and Building subcommittees is that the grantee/agency's chief financial officer should chair the Finance Subcommittee, whereas the Building Subcommittee can be chaired by an appointee of the Executive Director or a person elected by the subcommittee.

The responsibilities of the Finance Subcommittee include:

1. Creating Debt Service
2. Researching the different types of financing programs and options, including but not limited to the following:
   • ACF, Regional Office Funds
   • Expansion Grants
   • Discretionary Grants
   • Quality or Program Improvement Grants
   • HUD Grants
   • HUD Loans
   • USDA Loans
   • Empowerment Zone Grants
   • Community Banking Loans
   • Municipal Bond Issues
   • Regular or Commercial Bank Loans
   • Lease/Buy Back Programs
   • Debt Service Program
   • Regional Funding
   • Private Grants and Loans
3. Developing, writing, and insuring the submission of grant applications
4. Loan applications
5. Working with the architect, project manager, or contract administrator to develop a construction budget and to ensure compliance with the budget throughout construction
6. Cost comparisons and cost analysis in addition to those performed by the architect or project manager
7. Budget reports