The Facilities Wake-Up Call: Unlocking Revenue, Equity, and Resilience in K–12 Education

By Jeff Benjamin, CEO of Facilitron
Published July 30, 2025

With more than $6.8 billion in federal education funding recently frozen, then partially released, school districts across the country have been scrambling to close budget gaps and brace for deeper financial uncertainty.

Layoffs, program cuts, school closures—districts are being forced to make painful decisions with little time and limited tools. And all the while, vast portions of their facility infrastructure sit underutilized or unmanaged.

While headlines focus on teacher shortages and state-level funding battles, a quieter crisis is playing out behind the scenes: how school buildings are used, shared, and subsidized—often without policy, documentation, or cost recovery.

From gymnasiums and fields to auditoriums and classrooms, public school facilities are regularly used by community organizations—but often without consistent pricing, clear policy, or formal oversight.

It's not a question of bad faith. It's a question of systems that haven't kept up with the complexity—or the cost—of sharing public assets.

And it's costing districts more than they realize.

The Problem: Budget Gaps and the Hidden Cost of Space

In 2024, 35 states reported significant K–12 funding gaps. Many districts responded with painful cuts:

Meanwhile, nearly 70% of usable school facility time—afternoons, evenings, weekends, summers—falls outside the instructional day. These hours represent an enormous opportunity to engage the community. But in many districts, they remain a blind spot.

Here's why: In many districts, there's no unified approach to how facility access is governed. Policies are inconsistent. Rates are applied unequally. Some groups are favored while others are overlooked. And a significant portion of facility use still happens off the books—approved informally, undocumented, or bypassing any system altogether.

Without transparency, even well-meaning decisions can quietly undermine equity, budgets, and public trust.

The result? Facilities are routinely subsidized without intention. Policies are ignored. Revenue is lost. And the full cost of access—labor, utilities, liability—is almost never tracked.

The Wake-Up Call: A $500 Million Milestone

In 2025, Facilitron crossed a major milestone—helping public school districts generate more than half a billion dollars in facility rental revenue, without charging traditional licensing fees.

To put that in perspective, that amount equates to more than 8,300 full-time teaching positions based on national salary averages.

We now work with over 15,000 schools in 31 states, helping district leaders gain something many never had before: visibility into how their facilities are actually used—and how much value is being left on the table.

At a time when software costs are rising elsewhere, many districts are turning to Facilitron not just for transparency and efficiency, but to adopt a model that helps recover costs—instead of adding to them.

These are real dollars that school systems have put toward:

And this is just the beginning.

The Opportunity: Strategic Facility Management

Schools have always shared their spaces with the communities they serve. But in today's climate, sharing isn't enough—it has to be strategic.

Strategic facility management means:

Districts that take this approach don't just generate revenue—they reclaim control, build trust, and redefine access.

What We Found: The Invisible Ledger

In just one year of data across Facilitron partner districts, we saw more than $350 million in requested facility use. Yet only about half of that was ultimately invoiced.

Why the gap?

Fees were discounted, waived, or adjusted—sometimes in alignment with district policy, but often without documentation, rationale, or oversight. In some cases, usage wasn't recorded through formal systems at all.

Doors were opened. Lights or HVAC were turned on. Staff showed up. But what was invoiced—if anything—often covered just a fraction of the true cost.

These gaps don't reflect a billing failure. They reflect a governance vacuum—where well-intentioned decisions are made without a full understanding of their financial or operational impact.

Facilitron didn't replace the system. We revealed it.

And exposure is the first step toward accountability.

Why Equity Depends on Infrastructure

Facility access should reflect a district's mission—not personal relationships, pressure from boosters, or political convenience.

But when approvals are decentralized and undocumented, equity suffers.

True equity requires more than good intentions. It means access decisions that are clear, consistent, and rooted in transparent policy—not personal favors or political pressure.

Facilitron doesn't make those decisions for districts—but it gives leaders the tools and visibility to make them better.

With the right leadership in place:

That's not just operational improvement. That's public accountability.

The Call to Action: Audit the Invisible

Facilities are among a district's most valuable assets. But without visibility, they become one of its greatest vulnerabilities.

Every space carries a cost. The question is: Who's tracking it—and who's paying for it?

Districts must:

The wake-up call isn't to monetize our schools—it's to start managing them like the public assets they are.

Final Thought: It's Time to Lead

In this financial climate, public education can't afford to ignore half a billion dollars—or the inequities and inefficiencies that come with outdated infrastructure.

What Facilitron offers is not just software. It's a framework for transparency, stewardship, and resilience.

Facilities are public assets. The longer we ignore them, the more we lose.

About Facilitron

Facilitron is the nation's leading platform for facility use management and strategic asset governance in K–12 public education. We help districts unlock the full value of their facilities—supporting student outcomes, strengthening communities, and enabling long-term financial resilience. All with no licensing fees and a shared commitment to public good.