The details.

Various reports over the many successive occupations report the population as ranging from about 10,000 in the town to a ghost town. For now, I will assume about 2,000 with, at best, the maximum restoration of about 5,000.

The 30,000 figure is probably for Now Zad district---all those happy poppy growers.

Probably a ton of the homes visible on Google Earth are damaged/unoccupied.

As for schools, assuming, based on the young age of the pop in general, that about 1,000 school age students are possible in the town, and a total of about 10,000 in the district, it is most likely that much of the schooling will be informal (tents, abandoned homes, people's houses), but it's important to know whether any plans for schools in town are intended to serve the town, or reach for a more regional strategy---specialized high schools, etc...

Twenty total teachers and classrooms is probably a max, to be fazed in as re-occupation proceeds. How many tea cups does that take?

Where lack of buildings is a problem elsewhere, Now Zad, it seems, would have plenty of empty space, some of which could open the door for rapid repair/re-use without costly and slow building projects. Take a few adjacent houses and turn them into schools, health clinics, kitchens. A good time to plan something out before refugees return.

Why would they return initially? Reconstruction jobs? New teacher jobs? Unfortunately, the jobs drivers will all be foreign aid/int'l supported, but what else?

The real challenge, based on past successive occupation/abandonment (Brits, Russians, us, etc...) is to find a sustainable strategy to what is around Now Zad. Is it intended as an Oil Spot, with a focused strategy to reinvent ag production away from poppy, or is poppy an assumed?

I assume there was a reasonably productive agricultural base before poppies. Wonder what it was, what old sites, knowledge and infrastructure supported that, could be re-promoted?

My guess is that unless we take the town strategy as part of a focused strategy for the immediate region, and maybe the district, then it is just another passing occupancy. In large part, that comes back to Ross's comment about what gov/societal level to target---district for higher level project/programs---but what is the state of governance and/or societal structure at that level?

How, where to engage which level of government? I think the answer to that question depends on what bigger picture is intended in Now Zad/Helmand--- central, regional, provincial, district, town, tribal?

Steve