Facilities Director (CFD)

Established in 1998, the MSBO Voluntary Certification Program supports the ongoing professional development of school business officials. The program is a mark of distinction that reflects professional achievement and demonstrates a person’s dedication to his/her profession.

Benefits of Facilities Director Certification

The Facilities Director (CFD) certification:
1. provides access to information and training that is specific to Michigan law and regulation; and
2. provides a basis for advancing professionalism of Facilities Directors in Michigan schools.

The CFD Program

MSBO certification courses provide a great deal of information in a short time. Most courses are “bulleted” information rather than in-depth training. They are intended to cover major points about their respective topics, offer an opportunity for questions and discussion, and provide resource information for future use.

Our recommended beginning course for Facilities Director Certification is Introduction to Facilities Management. Although anyone may benefit from this or other individual certification courses, the full program is generally intended for Facilities Directors in their first 1-5 years of employment. However, any person employed in Facilities operations who meets the stated requirements may receive Facilities Director Certification. There is no requirement for holding a particular position in a school district.

Requirements

This program and the courses listed have been created and reviewed by the Facilities and Professional Development Committees of MSBO. An applicant for certification must be a member of MSBO.

In some circumstances courses from other sources may be counted toward MSBO certification. Please be aware that some courses and/or requirements may change. MSBO and the committees that created this program continue to evaluate and make minor modifications as deemed appropriate.

MSBO’s Certification Program Benefits:

Provides access to information needed to succeed in your job
Offers practical overviews of key areas of law, regulations and practices
Identifies resources for in-depth and additional information that may be utilized at a later time
Assures a quality curriculum is developed and monitored by the MSBO Professional Development Committee
Uses experienced practitioners to teach classes
Offers seminars at regular intervals and reasonable prices
Uses adult learning principles and provides a learning environment where colleagues can share experiences and information

Questions?

Contact Courtney Byam at 517.327.5937;
or Debbie Kopkau at 517.327.2587.

Facilities Director (CFD) Course Descriptions

Computerized Facility Management (3 hours):

Learn about the different options for computerization of the facility management functions, including: work order systems, utility tracking, preventative maintenance, space usage, and inventory.

Custodial Operations (3 hours):

Understand custodial operations and learn best practices that focus on procedure manuals, scheduling and staffing, training, equipment and supplies, and service contracts.

Effective Communications (3 hours):

Learn techniques and strategies to send clear messages, create credibility, and develop strategic communications programs that are effective for your school district.

Emergency Preparedness Management (3 hours):

Identify, develop, and learn how to execute a plan for emergency management.

Environmental Health and Safety (3 hours):

Understand major state and federal regulations and learn how they blend with each other and their impact on school district facilities.

Facility Planning, Design and Construction (3 hours):

Learn the principles in the planning and designing of educational facilities; options in methods of construction management; selection of design and construction professionals; and the bonding process, including laws, bidding requirement and record keeping.

Financial Analysis (3 hours):

Learn “finance” terminology that will help you analyze and communicate issues in your school district’s facilities/operations department from a cost perspective. Understand life cycle costing concepts, benchmarking, energy management, marketing, and reporting.

Introduction to Facilities Management (3 hours):

An overview of educational facilities operation with a focus on several key areas. This class discusses the role of the Facilities Manager in the educational community and the impact of facilities in general on the learning and work environment. An outline of the legal and regulatory responsibilities will also be discussed.

Maintenance Operations (3 hours):

Learn the basics and best practices in maintenance operations. Understand scheduling and staffing, the basics of work order systems, service contracts as well as the benefits of focusing on preventative maintenance of school grounds.

Performance Evaluations for Personnel (3 hours):

Learn how and when to evaluate employees, what documentation should be placed in the employee’s file and what type of follow-up should be completed. Examine discipline, discharge, and the probationary employee terms.

Principles of Budgeting (3 hours):

(Formerly Budget) Learn principles of school budgeting and explain methods of establishing and maintaining facilities or an operations budget. Understand major budget pressures that schools face; the role of collective bargaining in the budget; and how the public can affect the local school budget.

Principles of Education (3 hours):

Understand the educational process, culture of schools, major learning theories, teaching methodologies, school improvement, design of inservice programs, and the structure and function of the principalship.

Purchasing Overview (3 hours):

Learn the basics of performing purchasing functions, including related Michigan laws, the structure of a purchasing operation, electronic and cooperative purchasing, bidding, reviewing contracts, lease-purchase options, and “partnerships.”

Systems – HVAC, Electrical, and Technology (3 hours):

An overview of different systems and their components, and the working relationship between the different systems.

Team Leadership (3 hours):

Learn how to match your leadership style with the culture of the organization. Matching leadership style to the cultural landscape will allow you to increase your productivity, decrease communication problems and strengthen your conflict management skills.

Utilities and Energy Efficiency (3 hours):

Understand gas and electric utilities services and how deregulation is impacting those services in school districts. Learn about energy conservation and options on financing district upgrades.

Certification Wrap-up (2 hours):

Celebrate completion of your certification program! Reflect on what you have learned and your role in the educational process and your school district. This class can be taken only if you are two classes or less from completing your certification (not counting the Certification Wrap-Up Session).

Elective (6 hours):

Any course taken outside of this certification track but required in another.