About the Data
Data sources, methodology, glossary, and embeddable previews
Data freshness
- Last refreshed
- August 3, 2026
- Current snapshot
- August 3, 2026 cycle
- Source file
- DPSCD Capital Projects Dataset
- Refresh cadence
- Biweekly
Glossary
Plain-language definitions of terms used throughout the Capital Projects Dashboard.
Methodology
The DPSCD Capital Projects Dashboard draws from the district's official capital project tracking workbook, maintained by the Office of School Design and Construction. Data is refreshed on a biweekly cadence (1st and 15th of each month).
Budget & Spend: Budget figures represent the total approved project budget, including all change orders approved to date. Spend-to-date reflects cumulative contractor invoices paid through the most recent refresh cycle. Budget utilization is calculated as (Spend to Date / Budget) × 100.
Completion percentage: Percent complete is reported by the general contractor and verified by the district's project management team. It reflects the estimated physical completion of work, not the financial expenditure percentage.
Timeline dates: Start dates reflect the date of initial contract execution or notice to proceed. Estimated completion dates are the contractor's current working schedule. Baseline completion dates are the original contracted dates. Revised dates reflect any approved schedule modifications.
Pacing alerts: The system flags projects where spend percentage significantly outpaces completion percentage. A "Watch" alert triggers when spend exceeds completion by 10+ points; an "Alert" triggers at 20+ points. These flags prompt review but do not necessarily indicate a problem — front-loaded equipment purchases, for example, can explain the gap.
Feeder patterns: Each project is assigned to one of five DPSCD high school feeder patterns: Southeastern, Henry Ford, Pershing, Western, and Cody. This allows the Board of Education to assess investment equity across the district's geographic regions.
Source dataset
The 12 projects shown across this portal are drawn directly from the DPSCD-supplied Capital Projects Performance Task dataset (Solicitation 26-0204, April 2026). All Project ID, school name, project type, project category, budget, spend to date, % complete, status, start date, est. completion, contractor, architect/engineer, feeder pattern, and project description values mirror that workbook. Totals: $173.9M total budget, $46.8M spend to date, 26.9% utilization across 12 projects at 12 sites.
Illustrative content: school addresses and map coordinates, funding-source allocations, refresh-run history, data-quality issues, support tickets, activity-log narratives, and named admin personas are illustrative operational data added to demonstrate the platform’s workflows. They reflect DPSCD-typical structures but are not part of the supplied source workbook.
Site photos: a subset of projects display illustrative stock construction photography as a preview of how site photos render in the platform. Sources: Unsplash (free-use license) and Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0 — “Demolition” by John Hoey; “HVAC duct installation” by MTA Capital Construction Mega Projects). These photos are labeled as illustrative on each project detail page and would be replaced with district-supplied project photography on production launch.
Downloads
Embed preview
Use the following iframe snippet to embed the Capital Projects Dashboard on detroitk12.org or other authorized sites.