OMAHA- Omaha Public Schools is nearing a plan that addresses the direction of all 108 of their buildings. The plan, which outlines each building's maintenance and renovation needs over the next 20 years, amounts to a projected $2.29 billion in projects. The fine details and finishing touches are still being put in place, but school board members have had time to look at the initial run-through.

"The intent of our facilities assessment is to catalog, identify our needs and look at them to plan for years ahead. Much like a homeowner would plan for a kitchen remodel or a bathroom remodel," said Charles Wakefield, chief operations officer. "Our team walked every piece of our buildings — all 108 sites — looking at everything from above the roof to mechanical closets and looking at the windows."

Wakefield said the district's team of architects and OPS staff took photos of each item in every building, cataloged its condition and assessed the cost of replacement or renovation for the next five to 20 years. Each school has thousands of lines of data in the facilities assessment. Another part of the plan was to also create "master visions" for each OPS high school. The plans are starting points for future renovations to schools that will help support student needs.

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