Capacity, Consolidation
& Safety
Indoor GIS, critical incident mapping, capacity utilization analysis, and the human side of boundary adjustments and school consolidation. Led by Marci Horner.
The Data Is Only Half the Story
Track C tackles the most politically sensitive work in K-12 planning — boundary adjustments, school consolidations, and safety mapping. Marci Horner’s approach starts with the human element: who is affected, what alternatives were considered, and why this decision is the right one for students.
The technical GIS content is rigorous. But in Track C, the emphasis is always on how that analysis gets communicated to the people who will have to live with the outcome.
- Build indoor GIS maps for school safety and emergency response
- Create critical incident response layers for first responder use
- Calculate and visualize capacity utilization rates by school
- Model consolidation and boundary scenarios spatially
- Structure a community engagement process for boundary changes
- Present safety and facility GIS to administrators and school boards
- Communicate difficult planning decisions in ways communities can engage with
Who Should Attend Track C
- School safety coordinators and district emergency management staff
- Facilities directors managing underenrolled or aging buildings
- Planners facing consolidation or boundary realignment decisions
- GIS analysts supporting safety or facility planning teams
- Anyone who needs to communicate hard planning decisions to communities
Marci’s approach to Track C is built on one principle: the data earns its authority through how it is communicated. The GIS analysis in this track is as rigorous as any other — but every session also covers how to present findings in a way that communities can actually engage with.
The Full Three-Day Schedule
Day One · Tuesday, June 23
Indoor GIS foundations and critical incident mapping for school safety planning
Introduction to Indoor GIS for K-12 Facilities
After this session you will be able to import floor plan data into an indoor GIS environment, attribute rooms by function and capacity, and produce a navigable indoor map for a single school building.
Critical Incident Mapping: GIS for School Safety Planning
After this session you will be able to create a critical incident response map for a school campus, layer access control points and evacuation routes, and share the map with first responders in a format they can act on during an incident.
Day Two · Wednesday, June 24
Capacity utilization and school consolidation — building the spatial case for hard decisions
Capacity Utilization Analysis and School Consolidation Planning
After this session you will be able to calculate utilization rates by school, map underenrolled and overcrowded buildings spatially, and use that data to model consolidation or attendance boundary scenarios for board review.
Boundary Adjustment and Community Engagement
After this session you will be able to structure a community engagement process for a boundary adjustment proposal, use GIS maps to address the human questions first, and present the decision in a format that communities can understand and respond to.
Day Three · Thursday, June 25
Communication — packaging safety and facility GIS for administrators, boards, and first responders
Communicating Safety and Facility GIS to Administrators
After this session you will be able to package indoor GIS and safety maps into an administrator-facing report, tailor the narrative for different audiences including school boards and law enforcement, and respond to common questions about data accuracy and methodology.
Bring Your Own District GIS Lab — Safety and Facility Focus
After this session you will have applied Track C methodology to your own district’s safety or facility planning challenge — with mentorship from Marci Horner and David Kaitz. Come with a floor plan, a consolidation scenario, or a safety planning question.
Marci Horner
School Planner, GIS Analyst, and Demographer, MGT
Track C SpecialistMarci Horner
Marci Horner combines school planning, GIS analysis, and demographic expertise to tackle the most politically sensitive work in K-12: boundary adjustments, school consolidations, and safety mapping. Her focus is the human element of these decisions. She works with districts to understand that the data is only part of the challenge — how it is communicated to parents, boards, and communities often determines whether a sound plan succeeds or collapses in a public meeting.
The problem she solves
Boundary adjustments and consolidations are technically supported by data but politically explosive. Safety plans are PDFs that first responders have never seen and cannot act on during an incident. Districts have the analysis but not the framework to present it in a way communities can engage with.
How she solves it
Marci teaches planners to build GIS-backed safety maps and community-ready consolidation analyses that lead with the human questions first — who is affected, what alternatives were considered, and why — so that the technical rigor is presented in a form people can actually engage with.
The Stakes of Getting It Right
GIS-based safety plans give first responders spatial context they cannot get from a PDF floor plan. Districts that share indoor maps with law enforcement respond faster during critical incidents.
The majority of districts that send a planner to SPC come back the following year. Track C’s practical, community-focused approach is one of the most cited reasons attendees return.
A GIS-backed boundary proposal built using SPC methodology was approved at the first board presentation — the first time that had ever happened for a district that attended Track C.
How to Prepare for Track C
No specific software is required before the conference. Setup instructions for ArcGIS and indoor GIS tools are sent to registered attendees four weeks before the event.
Bring a floor plan if you have one
A PDF or CAD file of one of your school buildings is ideal for the indoor GIS session. Any format works — the session covers the import process from scratch.
Know your utilization numbers
Pull your current enrollment by school and your official capacity figures. Any format works. The session covers how to set up the analysis from whatever data you have.
Come with a real challenge
Track C is most valuable when you arrive with a specific boundary, consolidation, or safety planning question your district is actively facing. Marci builds sessions around real problems.
Your registration covers all three tracks
Track A: GIS Hands-On Training
ArcGIS Pro and SchoolSite Pro for K-12 planners — spatial data, boundary mapping, geocoding, and board-ready map outputs. Led by Georgia Leonard, MBA, GISP.
View Track ATrack B: K-12 Forecasting and Planning
Cohort-survival methodology, student yield factors, birth rate trends, and building board-ready demographic studies. Led by Chris Griego, SVP K-12 Facilities.
View Track BReady to Tackle the Hardest Work in K-12 Planning?
Register for SPC26 and spend three days building the GIS, safety mapping, and community engagement skills that make the difference when decisions are difficult.