Boston Public Schools officials have made no determination on potential closings, but they are ramping up efforts to monitor student needs and activities throughout the course of this year, said Superintendent Tommy Chang at a media roundtable last week.

“We want to create a school system that is coherent and that makes common sense,” said Chang in launching into a conversation about upcoming initiatives and the infrastructure of a system comprising 24 grade configurations across 125 schools.

The heated budget debate that has consumed much of the year centered on a controversial report recommending that 30 to 50 schools be closed. When asked if the administration was anticipating any closures, Chang said, “I actually don’t know at this time,” adding that he will await the results from a comprehensive survey of school facilities that will take place this fall.

Noting that 66 percent of BPS facilities were constructed prior to World War II, many of which are in need of extensive work if not outright closures, Chang said, “We have facilities we might not be able to update. If we can’t upgrade them we might have to do something else with them.”

Chang plans to present the buildings survey in November, after which the school department will begin to assess the best prospects for repair, closure, or new construction.

The old age of some buildings began to show in dramatic fashion last fall, when “unacceptable” lead levels were found in a number of schools throughout August of 2015. The findings prompted the administration to shut down water fountains and set up a bottled water policy.

After extensive lead testing, water fountains are still active in 24 schools, Chang said, adding that facilities teams will flush the systems for each of those fountains daily, as that is the most effective way to continuously keep lead levels low.

Chang also highlighted efforts to increase diversity and equitable distribution of resources  as a component of his five-point  “Stronger Schools, Stronger Boston” strategic initiative, which was unveiled in June.

He plans to expand dual language programs and increase the number of minority staff members.

Significant strides have been made toward equal access to the exam school prep initiative, geared toward students eyeing the top-tier testing schools, has made significant strides, Chang said.

In 2014, 14 percent of the students who participated in the initiative were Latino and 10 percent were black. This year, those numbers were 26 percent and 21 percent, respectively.

An effort to more accurately refine the department’s $110 million transportation program, Chang said, would involve expanding a 1,158-student pilot program where students have used tap cards every time they boarded and got off a school bus. Chang said this would help parents monitor their children’s movements through an app as well as allow BPS to assess the levels of use across all routes.

Any shuffling of school facilities and refinement of grade configurations is still to come, the superintendent said.

Speaking generally, Chang said he plans to engage students in discussions regarding program efficacy and budgeting earlier in the annual conversation. Multiple student walkouts and protests roiled the discussions over the last school year as the fiscal year’s budget was already nearing its final version.

“If there is one thing I learned last year,” said Chang, “it is that young people in this city have a voice that is louder than anyone else and they are leading on issues of equity in the city. I underestimated their voice. I am going to listen to them more. I am going to support them more.”